LIVE music photography

Lenny Kravitz is one of thise rather unfortunate artists whose music is so closely associates withe the late 90’s early nineties that he’s had a tough time getting press and airplay for his recent records, many of which have been as good as the likes of  “Mama Said” and “Circus”. That said his live performances have always been a sell out and tonight’s sold out show at the O2 Brixton Academy was a very hot and sweaty affair on the hottest day of the year.

Despite it being almost being 25 years since he released his first record Lenny Kravitz looks remarkably similar to as he did in the mid nineties and puts on a highly energetic and enjoyable performance.  In the songs that I photographed he preformed numbers from his latest album “It’s Time for a Revolution” as well as classic numbers such as “It Aint Over Till its Over”. I have to say that by the fouth number became quite nostaligic bringing back many happy memories form the early nineties. Lenny Kravitz certainly is worth checking out live and if you liked his older material you may try before you buy on Soptify, I am listing to Love Revlution whilst writing this which is bloody good!

Written by John Rahim

The word legendary is massively overused when describing rock stars and musicians. However there can be no doubt in the impact that B.B King has had on contemporary music. In fact I go as far as saying that without the likes of Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and B.B King the second half of the 20th century would have sounded very differently.

At 83 B.B King is the only surviving member of the original blues gang however although being extremely frail still played with the same vigour and passion as he did decades ago. I was invited by Gibson Guitars to cover the show and take photos of B.B King with his famous ES 355 called Lucille. Story has it he ran into a burning building to rescue one of his guitars after a fight broke out between two members of the audience. Both men died in the fire which started over a woman called Lucille and since then every one of his Gibson 355’s has been names Lucille to remind him never to fight over women or run into buring buildings!

Although I was only allowed to cover the first thirty minutes or so of the show what I heard blew me away. The sheer technical ability of each of his band members was totally breathtaking, and I guess most of them were in their sixties! The music that I heard was a mixture of older songs and instrumental numbers. The gig started with a 15 minutes intrumental number followed by one of his better known songs “The Thrill is Gone” which was utterly submlime. I don’t know how much longer B.B King will be performing for however everyone  should try and see him perform at least once - Highly recomended.

Written by John Rahim

The problems facing photographers covering gigs seem to be getting worse, and it’s always the blandest of MOR acts that cause the most trouble! Firstly we were told that we would be photographing Seal from the mixing desk at the back of the stalls so bring along a long lens. OK no problem however none the less a bit of a pain. We then arrived to be presented with a  photo release form including the following clause:

“I shall promptly forward to you, at the address set forth above, technically satisfactory copies of the Photos in the form of a digital disc or negatives.  You shall have the right to use the Photos for any and all purposes in any and all media throughout the universe, in perpetuity, free of charge.  You shall have the right, but not the obligation to use my name in connection with credits for any use by you of the Photos.”

So then I had a decision go home or sign it and agree that they can potentially exploit my photos for no money. Anyhow I signed the form foolishly however after the first number figured that the chances of ever earning anything from Seal was pretty much a million to one! The gig itself was pretty dull however that said I have never been a massive seal fan.

Written by John Rahim

I have tried to photographed The Eagles of Death Metal for the past year or so however every time they they’ve performed I’ve invariably been covering another band or have been out of the country. The first thing that drew me to this band back in 2000 was their ridiculous name only topped by 10,000 Maniacs and Black Rebel Motor Cycle club. The band which comprises of long time friends Jesse “Boots Electric” Huges (AKA The Devil) on vocals and guitar and QOTSA SINGER Josh Homme on drums have released three albums and after since then have built up an enviable cult following.
Tonight’s show was certainly important to them as it was the largest show that they had ever done something which (according to Jesse Huges) was revelling in the joy of playing to such a packed audience. After years it would appear that the Eagles of Death Metal are being recognised more than just a side project of Josh Homme’s more successful main band.
The gig tonight was excellent and included songs from all of their albums including some covers. The band are currently embarking on an a 40 date tour which will see them performing at the Pyramid Stage in Glastonbury across the UK and the US and ending up at the Reading Festival in August/ The Eagles of Death Metal are a great live band and if you want to check them out visit they MySpace page for a full listing of their gigs.

Written by John Rahim

Ok anyone who has spent any time looking at my photos or read my blog would probably hazard a guess that I am not  likely to the world’s greatest Boyzone fan. I don’t have anything against boy bands per se however with the exception of The Beach Boys and the Jacksons have always found them incredibly dull.

It would appear that the credit crunch is facing everyone and one sure way of filling your coffers if you are in an aging boy band is to have a reunion tour and release a greatest hits album. Ironically Ronan Keating admitted a few bands back that the wanted to do a “Take That” and wanted to get the band back together after an eight year hiatus. In the mid to late nineties the band had been incredibility successful and sold over 20 million albums. After the split of Take That in 1995 Boyzone took the mantle as the UK’s favourite pop band quipping E17 who everyone at the time thought would overtake the Irish newcomers. By the time the band split in 2000 they head earned their place in pop history and the subsequent success of Ronan Keating made a reunion look unlikely. What’s interesting is that the band unlike Take That decided to announce their comeback with a rather paltry greatest hits record rather than a album with new material. I guess the true success of Boyzone Pt2 will only be able to be gauged after the release of a new record which by all accounts will be in the stores later in the year. There were rumours of a collaboration with Mark Ronson however that looking unlikely.

Their gig at the O2 was an interesting affair. Surprisingly there were only three photographers covering the show, I would have expected in the region of 20 to cover such a big band however it would appear that the interest in the media has waned somewhat. Also the arena was not entirely sold out which may be an indication of a slightly less loyal fan base to that of Take That. That said their performance was impressive with the band being lowered onto the stage from a platform which was suspended from the lighting rig. They also had a all female dance toupee consisting of roughly 20 dancers who performed intricate and highly choreographed moves for the first three numbers.  I was also staggered about how unbelievably loud the  band were. In recent months I have photographed Razorlight, Snow Patrol and AC/DC at the O2 and all of them have been quieter than Boyzone. The audience however didn’t seem to mind who were happy to lap up the show.

As pop bands go Boyzone are pretty inoffensive however it will be interesting to see if Ronan can actually pull off a Take That and launch a second phase of the band.

Written by John Rahim