Hunters at The Studio at Webster Hall

Hunters are one of those rare polished punk bands. They are not the least bit sloppy but their music is still aggressive, their lyrics even a bit viscious. The gutteral rumblings of the instruments contrast nicely with the higher-pitched lead singing. The contrast gives their songs a quiet-loud quality without actually varying the volume all that much. It stays nice and loud.

The last time I photographed this band they were playing at Death by Audio. I know they've played plenty of loft shows too. This band illustrates how to break out of the Brooklyn punk haus circuit and take a shot at the big time. Not everyone wants that but if you do this is how it's done: be good musicians, have an interesting sound, and don't water it down.

Also, it doesn't hurt if your lead singer resembles Madonna circa 1984. More generally putting on a show doesn't hurt. I mean, if you just want people to hear your music you can always put out albums and not play any gigs. If you want to play gigs, if you want to perform, then it doesn't hurt to put on a performance, you know?

Posted: 2/18/2013 at 11:20pm     Tags: Hunters  The Studio at Webster Hall 

Hunters at Death By Audio

As you can faintly see Death By Audio is one of the most poorly lit venues in Brooklyn, though on this occasion stage right was not too bad. Hunters singer/guitarist Isabel tended towards stage right (and is nearly as reflective as a mirror) so she was relatively easy to photograph. I assure you that the other Hunters were doing things too and in fact the performance was quite energetic. Certainly the lighting did not interfere with my enjoyment of Hunters's crunchy, guitar-heavy pop.

Posted: 9/3/2011 at 6:24pm     Tags: Death By Audio  Hunters