The first gig of 2009...Shinedown in Brum

Last Thursday I finally got to shoot my first live action of 2009 when the excellent Shinedown played the Barfly. I was reviewing and photographing the gig for Birmingham Live, and it should go online soon. The band were excellent, and I got some pleasing shots.

Shinedown are massive over in America, but not especially well-known here in the UK. This gig was part of their first ever headline tour outside of their homeland, and they really showed what a class act they are with a great show.

If you've been on my blog before then you may remember the name Shinedown from last October, when I shot them at the Academy when they supported Disturbed. You can find my pics from last time right here. You'll also notice that the band has lost one of its guitarists since I last saw them, but they are just as effective as a four-piece.

Don't be surprised if Shinedown start to become bigger over here this year, they're getting plenty of good press and their albums are excellent. On top of that, they're also a terrific live band.

Here's a few more pics for you all...

...and some more...

...and some more, check out the mad eyes!

That's it for this one. I'm hopefully going to be shooting some great bands over the next few weeks, so don't forget to keep checking back here to stay up to date with what I'm photographing. Thanks for reading, see you next time.

Are they human?...or are they a tribute band?

Last weekend I was asked by Hot Fuss - a Killers tribute band - to come and do a shoot with them as they prepare to launch themselves onto the live scene. I was only too happy to help them out, particularly as their guitarist is my old guitar teacher Paul Humphreys. The majority of the shoot was some "live" ones, so I snapped away while they performed a full dress rehearsal. Here's some of the best shots.

Judging on what I got to hear, Hot Fuss have the Killers sound spot on and should have no problems in doing well. They also make the effort to look the part, which always gives you a few extra points when it comes to being a tribute act.

Here's a few more, hopefully these shots will help the guys start getting some bookings.

And here's couple of more of my favourites from the live ones.

We ended the session with a few promo shots, my favourites being these next couple. Hope you've enjoyed seeing these shots - if you like the Killers at all then do click over to the Hot Fuss Website as they've recorded a couple of demos so you can hear just how good they are. And of course, if you are in a tribute band and want some shots doing, then please get in touch using the links at the side of this page. Until the next blog, ciao for now.

Holte Enders in the Sky

A bit of a different post to my usual ones to start off 2009's pictures, but one very close to my heart. For Xmas, Ellie's mum and dad gave me tickets for a tour of Villa Park, home of the mighty Aston Villa Football Club, which was excellent. Unfortunately for Ellie, they gave me two tickets so she got dragged along as well. The tour was fascinating (for me), and I'm really pleased with some of shots, because they show plenty of behind the scenes stuff - the kind of thing that normal fans like myself don't often get to see. For instance, we went into the press room, and saw where the managers do their post-match press conferences with the written press, as well as the best chairs and carpet I've ever seen!

We also got to walk through the players' lounge - not as posh as you may expect, but comfy all the same.

Next, we were shown around the hospitality parts of the Trinity Road stand - all wonderful facilities that would be great to go to once, but I think I'd still rather be out in a normal seat most of the time! I particularly liked the Villa-themed windows that were dotted around.

Of course we also got to see the pitch and the stands. This next shot is of the Holte End - the biggest and best behind the goal stand in the country. This stand holds 13,500 Villa fans, and is awesome on match day.

Then we got to the bits that really started to wake up the over-excited football fan in me by heading to the tunnel and dressing room areas.

Then, even better, a look inside the Villa dressing room. I even managed to get Ellie to be in a shot, sitting by the shirt of her favourite Villan, so she can't deny that she was on the tour now! I sat by Freddie's shirt, becasue unfortunately the number 17 of Salifou had not been hung up.(Apologies about the quality of the panoramic - it was shot hand held and in a rush etc etc, hence the very noticeable join.)

Then it was out of the tunnel, to pitch side and some more shots of the stadium itself.

There you have it. The tour is excellent, well worth going on. You find out all the info right here. It's almost worth it just so you can pretend to be on Match of the Day!