cultshock

Cool pics, I wanted to go to the Arch Enemy/Behemoth show locally, but couldn't make it.


A lot of metal is very underground now, but still has a very dedicated fanbase that spends tons of money on albums, t-shirts, merch and concert tickets, it's probably the music genre with the most rabid fans. There are literally thousands of current bands, I can't keep up with most of them. Funny story about the Finnish coworkers, metal is much bigger in Europe than it is here, especially in Scandinavia. I wonder what band shirts they were wearing, there are some great bands in Finland these days, my favorites are Moonsorrow and Havukruunu.

PerryD

Although I saw maybe 20 shows in the past few months with some 50 bands, I'll stop with this photo, one of the favorite shows of the year, Burning Witches.

Paff

I really wish you listened to better music, Perry, so you could take photos like that of bands I actually like.

PerryD

Looks like John Galt is posting pretty good photos with his new camera if you prefer his musical taste. I recently replaced my Sony RX100 II with the RX100 VA which is 5 years newer technology (2013 vs 2018) with better low light and focus capabilities. Got a good deal from Amazon Warehouse used model that popped up for $727 (it's listed at $999 new). I just went to see Icon For Hire last night and they played pretty much in the dark, I haven't looked at my photos yet, it'll be interesting to see if any of them are useful.

John Galt

^I'm using the Sony RX100 VII. First P&S camera I've had in probably 15 years. I do photography for Minor League Baseball so I have two top of the line SLRs and wanted the best camera I could find that I could actually bring into a show (especially considering what I spent for front row seats to every concert this summer). It works pretty well; it's easy to have complete control over exposure. The focus is great, and the 20 fps makes it easy to spray and pray trying to get that good shot. As expected, the sensor is nowhere near as capable as my SLRs for low light shooting, but I'm learning the limitations and compensating accordingly.

PerryD

I was considering the RX100 VII, but the only benefit for me would be the external microphone port for better audio on videos. The RX100 II had a hot dock and when I first got that camera years ago, I was obsessed with sneaking in the microphone and recording full songs. But cell phone videos/audio got better and clubs and tour managers started to give me grief with my setup, that I switch over to recording so-so cell phone videos rather than good quality ones from my RX100 II setup. Once I stopped using the video, I decided it would be good to upgrade the camera to a new RX100. I chose the VA model since it was the last with great low light capabilities with the larger aperture f/1.8 lens. For VI and VII they switched to a smaller aperture with a longer zoom, neither of which helps me in the smaller dark club settings for the shows that I see.

It's been a process over the past 10 years or so to get to a quality level that I'm satisfied with now using the camera that I have. It's fun seeing bands and band members stealing my photos and using them on their social media. I've contemplated moving to professional equipment and getting a photo pass, but I'm really there as a fan to see the bands.

To keep on topic, here is a photo from Amorphis back in April, one of many Finnish death metal bands that I saw this year.

John Galt

A 1.8 certainly would be nice. I don't use the longer ranges anyway since the aperture is about 4.5 at that range. I do about 110mm at 4.0 before it increases and I don't go above that.

I've thought about reaching out to some independent publications to offer to shoot for them. Basically a quid pro quo to let me bring some gear in and get better vantage points, but I haven't yet. I went to a small, outdoor show in Montana last year and emailed the venue ahead of time and said no issues to bring the SLR. Here's a couple shots from that show. They really show the difference in low light quality for SLR vs P&S. Both cameras are considered top of the line for their respective technology.

The Steel Woods (Nikon D850, 24-70, f/2.8, 6400 ISO)

Paff

A big punk rock extravaganza/Covid superspreader event. T.S.O.L., The Dickies, D.I., Voodoo Glow Skulls, and Anarchy Taco at The Observatory.

Didn't catch Taco's set (who starts a show at 6:45PM? I mean, really). Saw most of VGS' set and was not impressed. D.I ran through the hits, and that was enough for me. The Dickies were really impressive though, and that's saying something as I've seen them a million times. It helped that they got a really good sound mix, as Leonard's voice ain't what it used to be and 9/10 shows I go to he's almost completely inaudible. Not on Saturday, it was ringing clearly through the hall and I have to say, very much on key and strong. I've never been a big TSOL fan, and decided to beat the traffic out of the one parking garage for the venue and left after a couple of songs.

PerryD

I saw Icon for Hire, Awake at Last, and Sumo Cyco last week. I've seen Sumo Cyco a couple times before opening for Butcher Babies and also Jinjer which musically are much heavier. This pairing with Icon for Hire makes more sense since they are both kind of standard rock bands. I actually never listened to Icon For Hire before, but they seem like a decent Paramore style rock band. Their show was played in almost complete darkness for some reason that night, so even after jacking up the brightness on my photos, there wasn't that much to see. I always enjoy Sumo Cyco though, so it was good to go to support them, and pick up a CD from them and get it signed by the band after the show.

Paff

Oh, and tacking on to the concert I went to over the weekend, I'd like to praise the techs at The Observatory, not just for a good sound mix, but for making the show run FAST. Like, there was 10-15 minutes at the most in between bands, and each band got to have their own gear and drum kit, and use of the drum riser. I think the rock-and-roll equivalent of "sitting at the kids table" is when the drummer is relegated to the stage in front of the drum riser, the whole band at the same level, and in front of all the gear of the headline act.

Jason

I saw the opening show of Roger Waters' "This is Not A Drill" tour in Pittsburgh Wednesday night. It's a lot more political than the Us and Them tour, as virtually every song is tied into his political message, except for some personal stuff about Syd Barrett. The whole thing was not a giant diatribe against Trump. Since I agree with his politics, it wasn't an issue, but forewarned is forearmed. They even put up a notice on the video wall before the show started that said "If you're one of those people who say they love Pink Floyd but hate Roger's politics, It's best if you fuck off the the bar now."

The pink floyd selections were unsurprising except a couple things:


No opening act, which would have been difficult given the stage setup, and a brief intermission. If very much had the feeling of a farewell tour even though it was never specifically mentioned. I guess at 78, every tour should be expected to be a farewell tour though.

Pointyskull

I'll be seeing the Chicago show on 07/26.
Really looking forward to it....

Pointyskull

07/09/22

Cactus Blossoms
Dehd

Square Roots Festival
Chicago IL

Cactus Blossoms were fantastic - and were one of my main reasons for going to the fest. Chicago's own Dehd - who I think are on the verge of becoming huge - were the other reason to come. Excellent stuff. Sorry no pics, because my vantage point for their show was on the side of the stage due to the crowds.

The fest itself was too crowded for my liking, and the ticket/beer/food lines were insane. We took off just before headliners Guided By Voices were to come on, because from the spot where we ended up then the sound was a boomy mess.

Pointyskull

07/10/22

Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls

Concord Music Hall
Chicago IL

With this stop Turner was on state 32 of his '50 States In 50 Days' tour. The venue was a sweatbox, but the crowd was loud and manic to match the band. Great stuff all around - and as I promised my wife I got a little weepy during 'Wave Across The Bay' because that song guts me every time.
My pics sucked, so I won't embarrass myself.

darkdaze73

Freaks on Parade Tour Charlotte, NC

Rob Zombie - pretty solid show as usual. I didn't care for a couple of the songs he did last night and pretty short show for a headliner in my opinion(hour 10min)

Mudvayne - first time seeing them since they played the second stage on Ozzfest. Enjoyed their set but the vocals were really distorted

Static X - wasn't sure how I would feel about seeing them w/o Wayne Static, but Edsel Dope(assuming that it's him on vocals) did a really good job. Thoroughly enjoyed their set

Powerman 5000 - solid set from them; although I thought one or two of their other songs would have fit in better

mndtrp

I saw Static-X a few years back on their reunion/tribute tour. I thought it was a great show, it took me right back to when I used to see them all the time in the early 2000's. Once Wayne went solo, the quality of the shows went way downhill, so having the original 3 with Edsel was a huge improvement. It was a little weird having Edsel mimic Wayne, but overall was a ton of fun. I have tickets for their upcoming tour that's been rescheduled two or three times.

darkdaze73

They only got to play 7 songs, but it definitely left me wanting more. They also announced that they were coming back to Charlotte next March with Fear Factory, Mushroomhead and Dope. I may consider going just to see more of them.

Decker

Took my daughter to see Thundercat at Brooklyn Bowl. Not a big fan of his (think he's great, but don't listen to his music much), but he's an extremely talented bassist. I did enjoy the show quite a bit. He can make sounds with that bass like I've never heard before.

GuessWho

Saw Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Poison & Joan Jett a couple weeks ago. Three of four were awesome. And then there's Vince Neil... ugh.

Seeing Metallica this Thursday.

Green Day just announced a small club show for Friday (1,000 capacity), so gonna try against all odds for that when they go on sale tomorrow.

Pointyskull

07/26/22

Roger Waters

United Center
Chicago IL

This show well exceeded my expectations (which were already pretty fucking high). I don't typically go to big arena shows, but Waters puts on visual spectacle on a ginormous scale.
Fan-fucking-tastic.

Side note: There were a ton of people violating the unofficial-and-I-do-not-really-care "don't wear a shirt of the band you're currently seeing" rule, so maybe that's not a thing anymore.

Paff

Good luck! Man, I'd love to see Green Day in a club. Of course, had I not been sacked from my band back in 1992, I would have opened for them in a small venue just a couple of months later. I was aware of their existence prior to them hitting it big with Dookie, but missed my chances to see them when they were still playing the smaller rooms like that.

I'd also love to see Billie Joe's power-pop outfit The Longshot in a club sometime. I actually dig their music, and would go to see them play their songs and not be one of the assholes who just hopes he'd sprinkle some GD songs into the encore.

As for upcoming shows, I just bought tix for Josie Cotton (band that played at the prom in Valley Girl, sort of one-hit wonders from the 80s with "Johnny Are You Queer") and Soraia, who get a lot of airplay on Little Steven's Underground Garage, my go-to station on SiriusXM. Very small venue, only about 100-150 people max.

darkdaze73

The one time I have seen Green Day live was at a club in Charlotte, NC while promoting the Nimrod cd. Me and my youngest brother won free tickets for the show and an afterparty at a place called Celebration Station(they have video games, go karts, bumper boats, etc). So we along with a few others got to join in as they(GD) goofed off for about 90 or so minutes riding karts, taking pictures, etc. I would have liked to have caught the stadium tour they recently did as my daughters favorite band is Fall Out Boy.

[email protected]

Saw the most amazing party band when I was in Oslo last week. The Frank Znort Quartet has been playing free Sunday shows for 24 years now, and its grown into massive party onstage. 6-piece horn section, two drummers, 2 keyboardists, a bunch of singers. Playing jive/swing, New Orleans funk, calypso, torch ballads, and everything in between. They've even had two (!) documentaries made about them. This should be the #1 tourist attraction for Oslo!

Also saw the black-metal band Convulse while I was there (at the same club, different night). Not my genre, but wanted to check it out. Music was good, but those growly vocals aren't for me.

Paff

Norway's music scene is really interesting and I need to learn more about it. 5 years ago I saw Death by Unga Bunga open up for Stiff Little Fingers and I loved them. Spent all my merch money at the DbUB table, There's other bands that get a lot of play on the Little Steven's channel I mentioned a couple of posts back, like Cocktail Slipper and The Yum Yums.

Decker

On one level, I really want to see the show, but he's kind of persona-non-grata in the Jewish community for his use of anti-Semetic tropes and harsh anti-Israel stances. It's a complex issue I don't want to get into too much here, but it is an issue for me. It was a hard "No" from my wife when I mentioned it. I might still get a single ticket at the last minute when the show comes to town