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Hole In The Earth

The Deftones have toured Australia on numerous occasions since their beginning and for some reason or another, the planets have never aligned and I haven’t had a chance to cross paths with them. Receiving a last minute call-up to photograph them tonight was sheer bliss because they do rank as one of my fave band of the last decade or so. Indeed, it was a thrill to be given the opportunity to be in their photo-pit tonight.

This Is What You Want, This Is What You Get

Even though the majority of acts that I photograph are usually from the Metal sphere, it was hard to knock back the opportunity to photograph an icon legend in John Lydon.

There were several photographers present for tonight’s shoot. We had all been instructed to meet our contact outside the ticketing booth at a certain time. As we were all anxiously waiting, our contact was no where to be seen.

The Baying Of The Hounds

I have honestly lost count of the amount of times I have seen Opeth live. They regularly tour Australia on each tour they undertake and almost always without fail, they never, ever disappoint.

I believe tonight was the second time I have photographed them having shot them on their last tour in 2009.

I arrived early at the venue as I wanted to photograph tonight’s openers Katatonia as well. What greeted me on arrival at the venue was a queue that stretched down the length of two city lanes as many had come early to see Katatonia too.

Stoner Fest

After last night’s insanity at the Slayer/Anthrax gig, it was good to be back on home turf at Melbourne’s Palace for tonight’s stoner-fest with Red Fang, Orange Goblin and the legendary Kyuss Lives! set to rip Melbourne a new one!

Being a fan of all three bands, I pretty much got to the venue straight from my Sydney flight and although I was feeling slightly weary, there was no chance in hell I was gonna miss a solitary second of this.

Collapsing New Buildings

Einstürzende Neubauten are the stuff of legend. Their influence on what is now known as Industrial music is the stuff of legend. For instance, there would be no Ministry or Skinny Puppy or Nine Inch Nails without these guys pioneering the sound and ethos.

I was excited about tonight’s gig and jumped at the chance when offered the opportunity to photograph it.

Imaginaerum

After the debacle that was the Marduk shoot a few days ago, I wasn’t feeling too passionate about tonight’s Nightwish/Sabaton gig. But I needn’t have been too concerned. The Palace as a venue, is about a million times better than the Hifi and production values are improved tenfold.

The venue was packed to the brim when openers Sabaton took the stage. I made it into the photo-pit just in time to hear my fellow photogs rib me about the Marduk shoot and the ensuing bitching I put forth after the show! (as you do!)

One Way Ticket To Hell… and Back

There aren’t too many bands that one would drag themselves out of their deathbed to go and shoot! Feeling completely and totally under the weather with a head-cold that only Satan himself could have befallen upon me, I was dead to the world and considering my options on whether to go and shoot this gig or not.

But it was The Darkness for fucks sake! The original line-up of the Darkness!

If they can put aside their differences and reform then head cold or not, I was not gonna miss out on this opportunity.

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!

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.

Damnation And Deliverance

I had never shot at the Palace before so it was to be a night of firsts. I made my way to the front of the stage 20 minutes before Opeth were to kick off their set. I wanted to familiarise myself with the front of the venue and get a feel for the place – as you do.

With 10 minutes to show time, I made my way into the designated photo-pit and sternly checked my gear again and waited for the band. Several other photogs made their way to the pit.