Bull & Gate: Heel; Drilling Spree & Lilygun

Ok so haven't done this in a while and suppose it's time I really got back into it so here goes...

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Last ever gig at the Bull & Gate in Kentish Town. I'm saddened that I only discovered the venue on it's closing night as it was a beautiful venue with some of the best lighting I have found in a small club...

First up was Heel & whilst they were good musically and quite talented their music wasn't my cup of tea and I couldn't help wondering how they had ended up on the bill... a bit too pop for the hard rock that was to follow.

 

 Next up was Drilling Spree; a band whom I have had the pleasure of shooting many several times before, I first saw them at Boston Music Lounge and was shocked to hear that it was only their second gig together. They are quite tight as a unit and very accomplished musicians. Probably my favourite unsigned Heavy Metal band at the moment

Last up was Lilygun whom I've only seen once before and was floored then by their sound; their music has been likened to a shower of petals and bullets and I'd have to agree with that; there is plenty of light and dark shades in their music.

A big thank you to all the bands for an entertaining evening; hope to catch you all again at a gig soon

The Troubadour: Jer Gregg; Gwendolen Chatfield; Don Gallardo & How Far West; The Genies

It was with much anticipation that I headed off to The Troubadour near Earls Court in London. The club has had some big names in music play there over the years including Jimi Hendrix; Bob Dylan & Paul Simon. Descending the stairs to the club I was surprised by the lay out, the club is circular, arranged around a support structure/staircase.
I was pleased to note the lighting; The Troubadour has the best lighting I have come across outside of a major concert.

Jer Gregg was first up a signer from the mid-west of the USA who's sound is reminiscent of Chris Cornell. Unfortunately I arrived towards the end of his set so didn't really get a good idea of how he performs...

 
Second on the bill was Gwendolen Chatfield an accordion driven folk rock band. There is a heavy Celtic influence to their music and the songs are story driven and quite eclectic. I enjoyed their music but did feel that they were a little too eclectic and didn't really fit in with the rest of the line up.

Next up was another American band Don Gallardo and How Far West. I was pleasantly surprised by their sound, Guitar driven Southern Blues with a good shot of rock thrown in for good measure. The songs are toe tappingly good (In fact some people even got up and danced) and the harmonies sent shivers up my spine. Chatting to Don afterwards (He actually approached me asking about the photos I'd taken) I discovered some of that fabled Southern Hospitality as we chatted about their tour here and where they were going etc. They will be back next year, I look forward to that tour eagerly.
The Band consists of:-
Don Gallardo - Lead Vocal and Accoustic Guitar
Travis Stoke - Bass Guitar and BGV
Clint Maine - Lead Guitar and BGV
Andrew Squire - Drums

The Headline for the night (& reason I was there) was The Genies. Sporting their new Drummer (Ryan Pincott.) Now these guys have become really good friends of mine (in the short month that I've known them) so there might be some bias in my opinion of their performance, but I really do think that The Genies are getting better and better every time they perform. In my last post about them I said that these guys will go far and it appears I may be right. They have been approached by a world renowned producer who has taken a few other bands to number one & apparently he only takes on bands whom he thinks are destined for big things... so watch this space.

These photos and more are viewable here

Release the Bats

I had the pleasure of photographing Release the Bats this week a local "Horror Rock" band as they played a midweek gig at the Wilmington Arms. Having seen them before at BarFly I was interested to see how much, if any, different their stage presence would be with less of a crowd & I wasn't disappointed; they were as electric with the 30 odd people in this pub as the 200+ people at Barfly. Their song "Make you my baby" is still ringing in my ears two days later, got some great riffs and a really singable chorus (Check out the awesome music vid here)
I look forward to seeing where Release the Bats goes in the future, they appear to already be making waves in the music world and I think that those waves may only get bigger.

Christopher Lumsdon lead signer for Release the Bats

Deadly Cicus Fire

On Saturday I had the pleasure of seeing Deadly Circus Fire at the Boston Music Hall in Tufnell Park. I'd met their guitarist a couple of weeks earlier at the gig I shot for The Genies. And knew then, from a photo on Saverio's iPhone that I would probably like these guys and their music. I wasn't disappointed. Starting off the show Saverio Addario (Guitar), Mike Enort (Bass) and Paul Igoe (Drums) come on stage and play a pretty good tune which ends with Saverio smashing the guitar to splinters (Speaking to him earlier I was prepared for this as I was informed that this is how they start every show) They are then joined on stage by Adam Grant (Vocals) and when he opened his mouth I literally had shivers running down my spine, Adam has a powerful voice,  (not really surprising considering, according to the Bio on the site, his fathers a voice artist.) and he easily transitions the harsh to the smooth vocals.I know I shoot better when I'm enjoying the music and boy did I enjoy DCF I could only have wished for better lighting, the stage lights were situated directly above the edge of the stage with the net result being that for 90% of the time Adam was out of the direct light... not the best for shooting but I wasn't about to let that keep me from getting what I think are some amazing photos.
This photo is one of the few I managed to catch with all the of the guys in the lights, I think the spooky feel really fits their image
I look forward to seeing them again in the near future

Adam Grant ~ Vocals
Save Addario ~ Guitars
Mike Enort ~ Bass Guitar/ Vocals

The Genies

About two weeks ago I was contacted by Jimi Yates, the Keyboardist/BGV for the Genies saying he'd seen my work online and that he would like to meet up with me to discuss the possibility of me photographing his band. How could I refuse, so met up with him on the Saturday & then the rest of the band on the Wednesday... anyway to cut things short I attended their first gig in London last night. It was at Barfly in Camden; great little venue just down the road from Chalk Farm Tube station. Considering it was their first gig together (The Genies have been around for a while but have some new members) they were pretty tight and the music is catchy. I have a feeling these guys are going to go very far; VERY quickly.
You can hear a couple of their songs on their Facebook Page
And see more photos from the gig on Mine