Babyshambles

Despite Pete Doherty trying to kick lager into the photographers pit, it was still a great gig. Although more notorious than famous, he has an obvious talent, both punk and poet and the audience were not let down.








ps this gig was from 26th Feb 2006 but a post was never made

James Morrison

Even if you manage to make it to the venue in time to catch the support act, you usually only photograph them half-heartedly, saving your battery power and memory space for the main event. The lighting is also generally subdued, to allow the main act to 'shine'.

So in April, when James Morrison's only claim to fame was having the same name as The Lizard King, arriving too late to go into the pit meant grabbing a couple of sneaky shots from the edge of the stage. Then he was supporting the up and coming Corrine Bailey Rae. Today he has surpased her and is No. 1 in the UK album charts.

Funny what difference a few months make.... Congratulations to you.


Leeds Met Events, 8th April 2006

The Big Chill

Security was much tighter this year. Despite obtaining a couple of wristbands from some early departees, an 'Eagle-eyed' guard spotted our fumbled attempts of wearing them properly. However an hours stroll to the main gate and some sleepy stewards enabled our 5th consecutive visit to the Eastnor Festival!





1. Fat Tuesday's
2. Castle Stage
3. Open Air Stage

Across The Tracks : Day One

A unique festival by the canal, under the railway station, in a city centre car park with two very different stages.

Thank you to Bar Home for the perfect vantage point.

In (almost) chronological order, here are the peformers:

The Chalets

Lovely.

The Acutes

Paolo Nutini

Very talented singer/songwriter....

Terry Callier

This Et Al

Challenging lighting....

The Pigeon Detectives

Was up a tower block taking 'aerial' shots when they came on stage. By the time I got down, 'Under The Arches' was packed.

Young Knives

The Sugars

The Research

Lively, fun, upliftling local band. Very refreshing....

Jose Gonzalez

Class act. Highlight of the 'Canal Stage'.

Black Wire

Wired....

Yes Boss

Great set - full of energy. During Sunshine Underground performance, one of the singers did some crowd surfing - they threw him into the pit but security 'forgot' to catch him and he split his head open. Everyone thought it was hilarious until he was dragged to his feet with blood pouring down his face.

The Bees

Got my 'Bees' muddled up. Was expecting a Scottish 'dub' band and ended up with a bunch of rednecks...

New Young Pony Club

Strange what you get when you type 'New Young Pony Club' into a search engine....

British Sea Power

Unfortunately for them they clashed with The Sunshine Underground.

The Sunshine Underground

Superb band with top tunes - worth coming just for this act. Wouldn't be a suprise to see them headlining festivals like this by next summer.

The Magic Numbers

Great bland. Er, I mean band....

Saturday People

When your pupils are the size of saucers and your eyelids wont open - dont ask for for a photo to be taken - however good you feel, you generally dont look your best.

Across The Tracks : Day Two

A mellower line up today - but, hey, it's Sunday....

Joyce

Some of these blog enteries are moving themselves around. Joyce opened the main stage on Sunday morning but has slipped into Saturday night?!

First Word Record Allstars

Excellent opening act, set the marker for the day.

Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain

The main stage is six foot high so it's hard enough when they are jumping around. But when they're sat down it's plain difficult.

An interesting addition to the programme but very well recieved and set the crowd up for a fun day.

Haggis Horns

New Mastersounds

Instrumental.

James Taylor Quartet

There were actually seven of them in the end - but only one worth photographing....

Foreign Beggars

Orifice Vulgatron was joined on stage by the incredible beatboxer Shlomo. Blew the audience away - outstanding talent.

Monkey Swallows The Universe

Haven't seen a recorder played since primary school. Very twee...

King Creosote

Skitz

Crazy P

Roy Ayers

After a chilled Sunday afternoon by the canal, there was a chance it wouldn't pick up like had yesterday evening. Roy changed that as soon as he came on stage - the crowd were on their feet and the atmosphere was charged.

Stephen Fretwell

Badly Drawn Boy

This brought back memories of Glenn Hoddle. For years, as a Spurs fan, I grew up admiring, ok, adoring him (if you never saw him play, his free kick was better than Beckham's and he had a shot like Lampard, Gerrard and Scholes rolled in one - or at least thats how I remember him.)And then during the summer of 1998 I realised he was a pratt. He made a fool of himself and shattered all my childhood memories.

Damon Gough (aka 'Badly Drawn Boy') has been held in the highest regard for a long time as a very talented singer/songwriter. Tonight he also emerged as a twat. Looking like Bill Oddie birdwatching in winter, he came on with an bad attitude and although the tunes were good he lost the audience's attention very early on. Even half a dozen rows from the pit people were chatting throughout his set. 'Boy' kept looking at his watch, announcing how long he had left of his set and asking for suggestions to what he should play next.

He may have had the biggest name but fell a long way behind in passion and ultimately, size.

Sunday People

A great festival which needed the household names to attract the crowds but was successful mainly due to the plentiful local talent.

Looking forward to Across the Tracks 2007....

Blues

The Upton Blues Festival; surely the best free weekend in the country?! Didn't want to take the camera as the beer was flowing but caught this fly in the garden....


For some real photographers blogs check out Dan and Bob .....

Gomez

A little sad about tonight. What started out as a one off photo job for 'Babyshambles' in February turned into a 21 gig stint for The Met, ending tonight. Special thanks to everyone at the venue, it's been a great experience and a rare priviliage.

As for 'Gomez', they were the perfect act to finish with. They've already made their name and were out to enjoy themselves. Top entertainment.

The Elected

"Hey, man. We're from California", didn't go down too well with the audience. It was still sunny outside and the venue was nearly empty for the support band, who were introduced to some drunken English heckling! Shame, they sounded very good.

The Wedding Present

6th June 2006 - 666! - Somebody told me that they brought out the re-make of 'The Omen' today. Is everything a copy these days?

The band tonight were a re-gurgitation of an '80's Indie band; the only original member was the lead singer, David Gedge. To be honest, it wasn't really 'a band', there was no unity, it was just 'him' and some other musicians. An enjoyable evening but when they announced that they 'never do encores', nobody seemed too bothered.

Victorian English Gentlemans Club