Illud Divinum Insanus
Arriving at the Hifi Bar a good hour before headliners Morbid Angel were to hit the stage, I noticed a couple of things almost immediately. One, the venue was absolutely packed to the rafters and two, the light show bathing openers The Amenta looked fucking phenomenal. I turned to my fellow photog Anwar and said, “Dude, check out the lights tonight! I think we’re in for a ripper!”
Now I say this because for the most part, I really hate shooting at the Hifi Bar. Reason being, the lighting is mostly woeful on the many occasions I have had to photograph here and subsequently, that makes it darn hard work to get a decent shot.
But on seeing the lights at this early stage of proceedings, you couldn’t wipe the grin off my face.
I decided to capitalise on that and made my way through the throng as I wanted to fire off a couple of shots of opening band The Amenta.
I’ve seen these guys a couple of times before and I haven’t really paid too much attention to them. Standing in the pit before them, with the crowd behind me firing all sorts of obscenities and spit in the band’s general direction. Couldn’t understand the hostility to be honest, I thought the band played real well and they kinda reminded me of Cradle of Filth in places.
Once their set was over the obligatory change-over began. The photogs (four or five of us tonight) chatted amongst ourselves and/or the fans behind the barricade.
One wild looking studded to the brim lass tapped me on the shoulder and informed me she would be “slamming her fucking brains out tonight” and would I mind “getting out of her way” lest I get hurt.
Yeah love. Slam away.
It wasn’t too long before Morbid Angel were ready and as the roadie uttered “kill the lights” and the house lights went off – armageddon began!
I let out a huge sigh that you could probably overhear even from the extraneously loud music – gone were the magnificent lights that openers The Amenta enjoyed and for the vast majority of the three song shooting limit, the band was bathed in that woeful Hifi Bar red.
The fuck! I could not believe our luck and what promised to be a kick ass shoot, turned so fucking sour.
“There’s gonna be a helluva lot of black and white stuff happening in Photoshop tonight” I thought to myself.
Post a Reply