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Phantasmagoria

I have fond memories of the Damned’s heyday back in the day. They were clearly my sister’s fave band at the time and I distinctly remember her room plastered full of posters and pinups of Dave Vanian and crew. I also remember driving her to (the now long gone) Venue in St.Kilda to see the Damned on their first Australian tour many, many years ago. A veritable plethora of nostalgia when it comes to the Damned so that made for high anticipation before tonight’s shoot on the band’s return trip to Australia.

Conjure And Command

You know, you lose track of the amount of gigs one has photographed over the past few years. You lose track real fast. One gig bleeds into the next and for the most part, you can get a little complacent and find yourself in photographic auto-pilot. But… every so often, a classic falls your way and you’re left on such a high and infected with a restless, sleep interrupting buzz – well into the cool, dark confines of the AM digits on your clock!

Toxic Holocaust fucking blew me away tonight. I’m talking smithereens here! Kaboom!

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.

The Devil’s Rain

It was with great excitement and anticipation that I got the call up to shoot The Misfits. Whoa dude! The Misfits! The band hasn’t toured these shores for the better part of 5 years and they were always a band whose name I had hastily scribbled onto a natty piece of paper and ceremoniously dumped into the old bucket list of bands I’d love to shoot!

With or without the mighty Evil Elvis Glenn Danzig, the Misfits still are a classic legendary punk band and I for one, was super excited about the opportunity to be in their photo-pit tonight.

Artists From The World Of Tattoo

I’m gonna be brutally honest here, when it comes to event photography… I suck! I suck a lot! Chuck me in the most violent of mosh-pits and I can handle that with ease. Getting to ask someone if I can take their pic? Fergetaboutit! I really don’t like doing this sort of photography because I am not good at it and I am as uncomfortable as one could possibly get when shooting in such a scenario.

Which is a crying shame because if I told you of some of the photographic opportunities I have forfeited due to this phobia, you’d be astounded.

The Ugly World Tour

Can’t say I have ever been to a gig at Melbourne’s Palace that I haven’t enjoyed. Whether there as a punter or a photographer, each and every show has been nothing short of kick ass. Totally! The vibe is always blistering, the lighting is just perfect and more often than not – every band that plays there seems to regularly deliver the goods!

It was a veritable who’s who in the photo pit with plenty of familiar faces tho for some inexplicable reason, there was a dude amongst us shooting the gig in the pit with an iPhone. Ummm, yeah ok dude. ‘Scuse me whilst I try to get a decent shot or two!

I Walked With A Zombie!

“City authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the dead are rising from the graves and attacking the living…”

I’ve lost count, but I think this was the fourth Melbourne Zombie Shuffle I have photographed and easily – it was the biggest.

Going Out In Style

I first shot the Dropkick Murphys back in 2009. It ranked as one of the first gigs I had ever shot and the photos were pretty much stamped with all sorts of newbieness! So much so, the gig that night was shot with my 450D as I didn’t have the more fanciful gear at my disposal. You do what ya gotta do! Cut your teeth and learn from each and every experience! Well, that’s what I keep telling myself!

I was a rookie. A total newbie – but I have fond memories of that night as it was a predictably crazy gig by both band and the rabid fans the Murphys seem to have accumulated over their career. Having said that, the gear might have improved since that night and a veritable feast of gigs since then has elevated me away from total novice, but I still feel there is along way to go as a photographer.

Jet Boy

I only found out that I was shooting this ‘secret gig’ a few hours before the legendary New York Dolls were to stomp out onto the Cherry Bar stage in Melbourne’s hallowed ACDC Lane. When an opportunity such as this arises, one doesn’t sit back and pontificate if they’re ready… you just say ‘yes’ and get your ass over to the Cherry post-haste!

The New York Dolls are currently in Australia as part of the Buroughs NYC Culture Festival. The Buroughs is a boutique New York City inspired arts and culture festival and no one screams NYC more than the seminal and influential punk rock gods, the New York Dolls.

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.

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.

The Pleasure Principle

The anticipation for this gig had been extremely high from the get go! Several months ago when the fine folk at Red Ant Touring announced the dates, I was already psyched!

Gary Numan was one of the first gigs I got to shoot when I began this venture into this thing known as ‘rock and roll photography’, and I remember just how much of an amazing gig that was. Every so often a gig comes along that just enwraps itself into every synapse of your mushy brain, and that Numan show from 2009 was certainly one of them!