Concert Pics Archives

I had a pretty good day yesterday.

First the Pitchfork thing, and then late yesterday afternoon I got a call from the Washington Post asking me if they could use some of my Radiohead shots to run with J. Freedom DuLac's review of the show.

I said yes.

Obvs.

I had to rush home from work and get them edited and handed in, but it all worked out. I got quite a rush this morning buying a copy of the paper and seeing my photos in there. Front page of the Style section! Pretty exciting. Special thanks to the fine folks at PrefixMag.com for letting me send the Post some photos even though I was on assignment for them. I'm looking forward to shooting even more stuff for Prefix in the very near future.

So, enough of my babbling.

Check out my full set of Radiohead & Liars photos on Prefixmag.com.

Check out my two Radiohead photos on Washingtonpost.com.

Screenshots from the web edition after the jump.

I thought I would give everyone a break from my "All Elbow, all the time" coverage late last week before I wrote up the review from their show on Sunday night at the 6th & I Historic Synagogue. Simply put, the show was phenomenal.

Guy and Co. worked their way through a hand-picked set of tunes that played up the band's sonic strengths in a venue unlike any other. Although we did a get a few stompers ("Leaders of the Free World," "Grounds For Divorce"), the band mainly stuck top their mid-paced material like "Mirrorball" and "The Stops," letting the songs expand and contract as necessary. The audience, seated in pews, sat in wonder and gave the band no fewer than three standing ovations. "Newborn" earned one of them, and rightfully so, even if the end bit didn't melt anyone's face off like I had hoped. Elbow saved the best for the last song of the night, as they played a truly memorable version of "Scattered Black & Whites", one of my favorite Elbow songs and one of the songs I requested from Guy when I did my DCist interview earlier in the week. That's what I call BEST.

Last night The Future Ms. Leaf (formerly known as Ms. Smith) and I went to see Dolly Parton at the Patriot Center, which was ultimately a bit disappointing. Mostly because the show was a concert for people that don't go to concerts. Everyone sitting in our section was twice our age. Seriously. It was more like a dinner theater show without the meal. Dolly talked for what seemed like forever in between songs, so the pacing was a bit hit-or-miss.

Oh, and the show STARTED at 7:30. Started. It took us forever to find parking and to be honest I wasn't in that much of a hurry, because, who starts a show at seven freaking thirty? So apparently we missed "Jolene." (Argh!) But Dolly's voice was fantastic, and she did tell some good jokes. I just wished she had played more tunes.

So as I said before, I went in to the 9:30 Club last night with an open but still slightly pessimistic mind about seeing (and enjoying) Okkervil River and The New Pornographers. After a quick bite during our first ever visit to Nellie's Sports Bar (First impression: Thumbs up!) Ms. Smith and I got there fairly early and secured a spot dead center, about three people back.

Unlike when I saw them in 2005, Okkervil River really impressed me. I have a hard time listening to their recorded work (it's soo S L O W), but it's much easier to connect to the band and lead singer Will Sheff in a live setting. We he gets those far away eyes and his voice cracks on the high notes, you're there with him. I feel disconnected to him listening to the CD. They started out strong and faded in the middle of the set with some slowies before picking it up again at the end. They sounded great even though you could tell they weren't used to playing venues so big. When Sheff was pitching back and forth on the stage it looked like he kept expecting to bump into another band member, but he hadn't accounted for the extra few feet of space everyone had. My only complaint was they didn't play the two songs of theirs I really like, "No Key, No Plan" and "Last Love Song For Now," but that's nitpicking. So yeah, I finally "get" Okkervil River.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said for The New Pornographers, even with Neko Case in tow. I tried, I really did, but all of their songs have the same tempo and feel really samey to me. This group should be right in my wheelhouse, but I just don't get it. I will say that the harmonies between A.C. Newman and Neko sounded brilliant, I just couldn't hear any hooks in the tunes. To make matters worse, there really is no "show" to speak of with this band. Neko just stood there and stared at the floor when she wasn't singing. Newman did little more stand behind the mic or walk back to the drum kit with his back turned to the crowd. And he had his eyes closed the entire time he was on stage. We left after 7 or 8 songs and headed down the street for a beer.

[mp3] Okkervil River | Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe
[mp3] Okkervil River | The President is Dead

[mp3] The New Pornographers | Myriad Harbour
[mp3] The New Pornographers | My Rights Versus Yours

Being a glutton for punishment a good rock show, I ventured down to the Black Cat on Friday night to take in a triple bill of The Dodos, The Big Sleep and Les Savy Fav. I actually wasn't in the mood to go out when the time came, but I went anyways, thinking that a good killer show might do me some good.

First up were current interweb darlings The Dodos. I am not ashamed to say I had all but convinced myself I would hate them before even getting to the show. All the lavish praise from SXSW will do that to me. But the band won me over by putting on a very intense set that had everyone in attendance pushing up against the stage so they could see the seated duo. The drummer only plays toms and uses the rim for his cymbal. He duct taped a tambourine to his shoe to act as a hi-hat. The guitarist totally shredded his acoustic guitar and used his array of pedals to create all sorts of loops that ran under the bands songs, which were made up of all sorts of weird time signatures. It was enthralling. Add me to the interweb cognoscenti that are singing this group's praises. They are the goods.

And as good as The Dodos were, The Big Sleep were better. I had listened to their latest CD, Sleep Forever, quite a bit in the last few weeks. It has this ...Trail of Dead meets Mogwai vibe that I really like. They used their own lighting system, powering up some spotlights you would hang in your garage to set a dark and sinister mood that was perfect for their propulsive, post-rock stylings. Their album has a few clunkers on it, but they wisely stuck to their guns during the live show, focusing on their more urgent, up-tempo, rocking numbers. Their set was for me, the best of the night. I can't wait to see them again.

[mp3] The Big Sleep | Bad Blood
[mp3] The Big Sleep | Pinkies (highly recommended)

I had never seen Les Savy Fav before Friday but their reputation preceded them. Front-man Tim Harrington might just be the funniest person in indie-rock. As for their live show, lets just say I was unprepared for the chaos that ensued. A good time indeed.

Full photo set after the jump.

A somewhat smallish but vocal crowd braved the rain and generally crappy conditions last night to see Robbers on High Street and D.C.'s own The City Veins put on a great show at the Rock and Roll Hotel. Sincere thanks to everyone that came out.

Last night was my first time seeing both bands and I walked away very impressed. The City Veins played a smattering of new tunes from their forthcoming EP, as well as a few old favorites, to great fanfare. Robbers were super tight, incredibly so, and their melodies and harmonies sound even better in the live arena than they do on disc. They turned in a great set and made it look easy. For the last song of the night, they played a fierce cover of New Edition's "Cool It Now" that brought down the house. But that's easy for me to say because I heart New Edition.

Can't wait to see both of these bands again real soon. I'll have more photos from this show up over the weekend.