Raise The Flag
With Rose Tattoo tunes blasting through the PA, and a packed house at the Palace chanting ‘Airbourne! Airbourne! Airbourne!’ long before the band was scheduled to hit the stage… you just knew then and there you were about to witness something special! You can feel it in the pit of your stomach as the rowdy crowd ascends to a blistering fever-pitch and your adrenaline kicks in to overdrive.
You’re there just as the photographer for crying out loud, but one can’t help but to get immersed in the electric vibe and Rock And Roll passion that is dripping from the walls. Within minutes, all thoughts of a shitful week at work had all but evaporated. I was pumped for this one – and so was the enclosed throng as well!
I don’t know why, but I haven’t really taken Airbourne too seriously. Never given them a second-look let alone a listen so it was safe to say, I really didn’t know too much about them.
Having said that, how utterly stupid of me – because when these guys hit the stage with vengeance and rock and roll fury, they quickly won me over in an instant just as they hit the third chord in the set opener. Holy fuck! Pure! Fucking! Rock! Simple as that really.
Standing in the photo-pit, I think I was momentarily stunned and forgot I was there as a photographer there to shoot the show. I was blown away by the energy and witnessing a band that was as tight and as high-energy as I have ever, ever seen or heard.
I’ve lost track of the amount of gigs I’ve been to in the past few years. Hundreds of them but these guys could blow away any band you’d care to put before them. This was probably one of the loudest gigs I have been to and I was enjoying watching them command the stage with power and more moves than Paul Stanley in his prime!
I was drenched in VB and sweat from both the crowd and band onstage and stank of pure rock and roll sweat that seemed to be spraying over me from both directions!
It was a busy photo-pit tonight. Things kicked off nicely when we were allowed to shoot the first four songs. Nice change. I hadn’t shot at the Palace since the Ace Frehley tour and geez it is a great venue to shoot at! The lights were great and it was an absolute pleasure to shoot in favourable conditions for a change.
What can I say? I had a total blast tonight and left the venue with a camera full of pics, the stench of VB all over me and a smile on my face that you could not pry off even if you tried.
Rock And Roll boys and girls! Rock and roll!
Visit the Official Airbourne Site
Serena September 30, 2011
Hey! I met you at Morbid Angel in the pit. You showed me briefly how to use the video on my Mk 2. Just wanted to say that your photos of Airbourne are epic. Love that first one in the set!