100% Black at Shea Stadium
Okay, there are these three guys in terrible drag, and one of them looks like Charlie Chaplin. I just had to shoot this in black and white. As it happens their look seems to be more Twin Peaks inspired. Someone book these guys at The Flat, pronto!
I believe 100% Black only did three songs. They were long, they were atmospheric, in a sort of angry gothic style. Even their cover of Bela Lugosi's Dead was more aggressive than the original. Yet it is noteworthy that the band rarely (if ever?) looked at the audience. The drummer actually performed with his back to the crowd. So the aggression was not directed at the crowd. It seemed to be something more internal, seething up inside but not (yet?) spilling out.
Posted: 8/11/2013 at 11:24pm Tags: 100% Black black and white Shea Stadium
Wild Yaks at Shea Stadium
I think I need to stop shooting at Shea Stadium. They keep booking all these crazy rock band who fly around the stage (and off the stage) but the lighting just isn't up to it. Wild Yaks are actually poppier than they (especially their lead singer) might look at first glance, but they're plenty intense. Definitely a Shea sort of band.
Posted: 7/9/2013 at 9:13pm Tags: Shea Stadium Wild Yaks
Big Ups at Shea Stadium
Well, that's what I get for shooting in color at Shea Stadium. I took an all-male punk band and turned them pink. It looks... cute.
So what do Big Ups sound like? I would say they are somewhere between the Circle Jerks and Henry Rollins. They're not as funny as the former or as long-winded as the latter, but they have that same talk-then-rock style. They also have a penchant for climbing up on the drum kit. I think the only person who didn't climb up there was the drummer.
Posted: 6/17/2013 at 9:00pm Tags: Big Ups Northside Festival Shea Stadium
LODRO at Shea Stadium
Here are some more photos from my recent black and white experiment. Although I have photographed LODRO recently and hate to keep shooting the same bands over and over, their musical style (and those projections!) are such a good match to black and white photography that I just had to do include them.
Posted: 6/1/2013 at 11:15pm Tags: black and white Bushwick Open Studios LODRO Shea Stadium
EULA at Shea Stadium
Doesn't black and white just make sense for a show at a DIY warehouse venue? It's not like we went there to see the fancy lighting. Noisy, high contrast monochrome photos have the right sort of punk feel. Also, I wanted to try something a little different photographically.
Posted: 6/1/2013 at 11:53am Tags: black and white Bushwick Open Studios EULA Shea Stadium
