Making Monsters
Honestly, I hadn’t heard too much of Combichrist’s catalogue but what I had heard, I did like. Add to the fact that they were a highly visual act, which would hopefully make for some cool shots, that left me in high anticipatory mode for the show! Oh yeah, I’m easily excitable!
A few days before the gig I prepared somewhat, looking over some YouTube videos of the band just to see exactly where they all stood and what sort of choreography I could expect. As far at YouTube clips go – yeah, they looked totally cool so I got a feel for what I would expect tonight.
Arriving at the Hifi Bar relatively early I was immediately plagued with thoughts of how much I hate shooting here. You’ve probably read countless of rants here on this blog about my disdain for the place as it is almost always woefully lit so I hoped with all my might that tonight might have been an exception.
After a couple of hours(!) of having one’s head mashed by DJ’s A+D+A+M and then a set by Angelspit – it was now time for Combichrist to take the stage.
As if on cue, the lighting became non-existent. No front lights to speak of and with a maniacal lead singer taking ownership of every part of the stage – it was proving to be so hard to get a decent shot. I was working the camera over-time but shooting tonight with a woeful f/4.0 proved to be a huge, huge mistake. Of course my killer prime f/1.2 was in the other bag. Sometimes, one just does not prepare enough hey? Shoulda been packing my gear instead of looking over YouTube clips methinks!
Industrial/Electronica bands always sound so amazing live. Yes there are a lot of keys and samples and the like, but without fail, live, these bands sound fucking pristine! Combichrist were phenomenally good! Thoroughly enjoyed their performance tonight… I wish I could say the same for the shoot.
Read HEAVY Magazine’s review of the show here which also features one of my photos from the night.
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