LIVE music photography

Occasionally I get asked to cover a gig at late in the day and end up getting totally blown away by the performance. I had expected to shoot the Wombats at Shepherds Bush Empire however as there was a mix up with the passes was asked to cover Stephanie Dosen who was playing just down the road from SBE at the Bush Hall. The Guardian newspaper had commissioned me through the agency to take some shots during the gig so I was pretty excited about actually having some pressure rather than the relaxed affairs which I have come accustomed to.

I had seen Stephanie Dosen on Later with Jools Holland in June or July of last year and had heard that her latest album “A Lilly for the Spectre” had received favourable reviews from the serious music press and broadsheets. Stephanie looks fantastic, tall, beautiful in a quirky kind of way with a pre-raphaelite Southern twist. Her looks may encourage people to pick up her cd’s whilst browsing in their local record store however musically she sounds utterly bliss. Accompanied by a cellist, violinist, keyboards, drums and bass her shimmering voice soars above the other instruments which provide a perfect and unobtrusive backdrop. It would appear that Dosen has had a recent change in musical direction and that the new material is much and downbeat compared to her earlier work. More akin to the Sunday’s or Cowboy Junkies Dosen’s musical path has seemed to have moved to another level. Rumour has it that she’s collaborating with Massive Attack on their new album this sounds like the perfect musical union and could if it materialises escalate her to a much wider audience.

I have included a videos entitled “This Joy” which was the first single from the album A Lilly for the Spectre” . Pure Bliss!

Written by John Rahim

Mark Ronson’s second night sold out show at London’s Hammersmith Apollo brought a close to an unbelievably successful mini tour and month where his career has skyrocketed in to a new league. Mark Ronson has been criticised by some quarters of the press and many have failed to understand how someone who does not perform his own material or sing could win the converted “Best Male Artist” at The Brits normally reserved for the likes of Robbie Williams and Daniel Beddingfield. Tonights performance though showed that he is certainly worthy of The Brit and the host of other Grammy’s that he picked up last month.

The concert was excellent and there was a real feeling of anticipation when the 32 year old producer of the year took to the stage. The solid musical performance was underpinned by bass supremo Stuart Zender who onstage appeared as Ronson’s right hand man. Zender who was one of the founding members of Jamiroquai is no stranger to the limelight having sold millions of records in his own right. The show which had all the razzmatazz of a Las Vegas spectacle had a host of stars all trying to out perform each other. Australian singer Daniel Merriweather sung a number of tracks including the number one hit “Stop me” and newcomer Tawiah shone with her stunning performance of the Zuton’s classic “Valerie”. Other singers included New York Rapper Cee Lo, Brit winner Adele, Candi Payne, Tim Booth, Jamie Klaxon, The Pipettes and others. None of the big name singers on Ronson’s album singers were present at the gig however the crowd didn’t seem to mind and enthusiastically lapped up every performance. Overall the concert was excellent and even more impressive when you consider than Ronson himself is more of a backroom player. I am sure that he will play other dates later in the year and if you can get hold of a ticket I’d recommend that you snap one up.

As a rule I normally never shoot the support bands at the Brixon Academy. I have seen some great support acts over the past 12 months, The Twang, The Courteeners and Biffy Clyro have all opened for mainline acts however the lighting and sound tends to be terrible. Also take in account the three song no flash rule which makes the exercise virtually pointless. As tonight was the NME tour featuring 4 acts all of whom have had considerable press I thought (wrongly) that the gig would be like a mini festival with great lighting. How wrong I was.

The first band to open was The Ting Tings. Opinion on this band is really divided most of the newspapers view them as a gimmick and focus on Katie White’s apparent lack of musical talent. The other camp, so to speak, think that they are excellent. I personally am in the second camp. I think Katie is full of charisma, is sassy, stylish and is actually very talented. They write catchy three minute pop songs which could appeal to a very wide audience. They single “Great DJ” is my favourite single of the year however I guess it’s still only February.

The second band on the bill was “Does if offend you…Yeah!”, well with a bloody stupid name like that actually you do! I personally think the Nu-rave genre has run its course. 2007 will be a year that will be remembered by records from The Klaxons, CSS, Shit Disco, Test Icicles however DIOYY don’t actually do anything different, new or even exciting. The nu rave scene now reminds me of the “old rave” scene in the early 1990’s. Loads of bands exploded onto the scene in 1991 however few had staying power. In fact the only Rave bands who sold albums in any significant numbers were The Utah Saints (remember them), KLF, The Shamen and The Prodigy and out of them The Prodigy were the only act to develop past their first album and build up a sizable live following. DIOYY are ok however don’t expect anything different or dare I say intelligent from them.

Third up were the hotly tipped Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong. Again JL has been cited as the big breakthrough act of 2008 however i thought that they were really average. Maybe I saw a bad gig however I thought their songs were very mediocre and JL himself came across as nervous and uncomfortable. That surprised me as his performance as an actor in Peep Show was brilliant. I have not heard any of their records so I’ll reserve judgement on them.

The Cribs who were the headlining act were superb. Undoubtedly one of the best new bands around The Cribs have come a long way in the past year. The new album “Mens needs needs whatever” is an excellent record however their live performances really are something else and well worth catching. I heard recently that Johnny Marr is going to be collaborating/producing them which should be interesting to say the least. 10/10!

Written by John Rahim

After cancelled shows and band problems the LA rock band returned to Brixton to promote their 4th album “Underclass Hero”. Simply put Sum 41 are a pastiche of so many poppy punk rock bands rock from the States. Despite having very commercial radio friendly songs Sum 41 have failed after four albums to reach the same recognition and sales of their contemporaries (Blink 182, Good Charlotte, Green Day) and despite having been together for over 10 years are still very much regarded as the underdog within this rather tired rock category. The show at Brixton Academy was certainly lively and the band are incredibly tight it will be interesting to see where they go from here. They need to turn down the comic factor and find a real point of differentiation.

Written by John Rahim

On Tuesday 19th I shot the DJ/Producer Shy FX who is in London recording his new album. Andre spends his time between Miami and London. His new album is due summer 2008.

Written by John Rahim

Last year Gibson Guitars UK staged a charity auction and exhibition called Gibson Guitartown London. Gibson Guitartown London was a unique charity inspired campaign bringing together the power of music with art to raise money for three chosen charities; The Princes Trust, Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy and Teenage Cancer Trust. Many of rocks legends such as Paul Weller, Slash, Ronnie Wood, Rod Stewart, Noel Gallagher, Mark Knopfler, Roxy Music, New Order, Bruce Dickinson, Brian May, Gary Moore, Gorillaz, Dirty Pretty Things, The Lost Prophets, James Dean Bradfield, Ocean Colour Scene, Graham Coxon, The Kooks, The Magic Numbers, Ozzy Osbourne, Paul Rodgers, Suggs, KT Tunstall, Razorlight, Hard-Fi, Depeche Mode, James Morrision and Motorhead pledged their support by endorsing a public exhibition at More London.
Thirty 10-foot free standing fiberglass Gibson Les Paul guitars and 30 regular sized Gibson SG’s were creatively designed and hand painted by visual artists ranging from some of the UK’s leading and established artists such as Sir Peter Blake, Gerald Scarfe and Andrew Logan to competition winners. Each guitar was signed by the associated musician to authenticate and endorse their own individual guitar.
The thirty 10 foot Gibson Les Paul guitars were publicly displayed around More London (by Tower Bridge, SE1) for ten weeks. The regular sized hand painted Gibson SG’s were also on public display at The O2 in Greenwich. Following the exhibition all the guitars will were auctioned off at an event in September which raised over £180,000 for the three charities.
On the 18th of February the three charities met at Gibson’s UK headquarters to pick up their respective cheques.

Written by John Rahim

Camden Lock always is full of atmosphere however tonight it looks like something out of a World War 2 film set. Less than three days after five townhouses were burnt down right opposite the lock, the air is still heavy with the stench of smoke and dodgy burnt bongs!

I first came across Mark Eitzel and American Music Club in the early 90’s. When I first met “On a Friday” in 1992 their guitarist Johnny told me that their ambition was to be as good as AMC and as successful as Buffalo Tom. Odd comments from a 24 year old however I guess at the end of the day the record buying public determine your fate. That said it would be safe to say that without Mark Eitzel and his unique songwriting skills there would be no Cold War Kids or The National (I’ll leave out RH and Coldplay from my list). The set tonight was brilliant with many numbers from earlier records and as always the band was incredibly tight. I’ve been puzzled for a while why Mark and his erstwhile band have not been more successful. Surely if the Cowboy Junkies can sell out the Royal Albert Hall AMC should be able to sell out The Forum? Well either way if you have not heard them or don’t any of their CD’s in your collection you must check out their excellent album “The Golden Age”. They are also touring extensively in the UK and Europe over the next two months so do go and see them live. You won’t be disappointed.

Written by John Rahim

The NME Bababyshambles gig at the Brixton Academy was one of the most hotly anticipated gigs of the past months. Fresh out of rehab a clean Pete Doherty looked better and five years younger since I saw him last. No doubt the split from Kate Moss and a well received second album has boosted the spirits of the band who looked like last summer were certainly going to split.Even though 2007 no doubt will go down as the band’s annus horribilis it seems like they have put their demons behind them and will finally get the respect that they deserve.

The band certainly sounded very solid, well rehearsed and gelled better than I have seen them in the past. I always considered Babyshambles as an interim band biding time for the reunion which no doubt will happen some point soon. That said their second album “Shotters Nation” has established them in a different league and I am sure the fans and critics will start to view Babyshambles as a permanent fixture.

The Courteeners who supported them were less convincing. This is the second time that I have seen them and although I think they will do well can’t see what all the hype is about.

Written by John Rahim

Dev Hynes certainly is the man of the moment. His new band “Lightspeed Champion” is certainly a massive departure from his previous Nu Rave incarnation the Test Icicles. In less than a year Dev has moved on to create a very subtle and beautiful album. Lightspeed Champions debut album “Falling off the Lavender Bridge” has received rapturous reviews from most areas of the music press and is already being lauded as album of the year. Certainly if you like Belle and Sebastian, The National, Arcade Fire or even Prefab Sprout this will come as a welcomed surprise.

Watching Dev at the Zodiac Club in Oxford on the first night of their latest tour it’s very difficult to associate him with his old band and indeed the scene which many recognise that he and his former Klaxon housemate, Simon Taylor-Davis, were responsible for creating. Watching the audience who are largely made up of 18 year olds you can tell that many of them have mixed feelings, or don’t really understand what they are watching. Bottom line Dev Hynes is a true talent and he will probably will find that this album will appeal to a much wider and older audience. My recommendation would be to download it now from iTunes, at £6 it’s a bargain and is full some of the best pop songs that you will hear all year! I have added a link to the video of the single “tell me what it’s worth”.

Written by John Rahim