nick pickles music photographer

Yes, contrary to many’s belief that they had indeed banished themselves from the airwaves, the Kooks are still going.

From memory, the last time I saw them they were pretty dull to photograph, so I was a little pleased that the singer decided to move around quite alot - unfortunately with barely any light on him it made the photographs pretty pointless. Fair play for trying to liven things up though, the songs aren’t going to do it. Although his shouting ‘come on’ at the crowd did seem a bit, well, crap.

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I would say these guys rock, but apparently that’s a massive insult to them as (in the words of Danny North) they’re more metal than metal. So - I’ll leave it at that.

Needeless to say, by the time this gig finally came around - having been rescheduled twice - I was slightly complacent about what to expect. As someone who will happily admit that metal isnt my scene, I’ve never really heard much of Slayer and had no real grasp of the band’s history. That was soon remedied after seeing a good mate Rowan in the pit (at his request I won’t disclose who he was shooting for!) and hearing his tales of seeing the band over the years, complete with musical scene timeline.

Aside from some slightly bizarre lighting - LED mixed with parkans, with random intermittent strobe and white light killed by red wash before you’d got the exposure right - it was a cool gig to shoot, with each member of the band offering very different (but no less *metal*) shots.

Also, special nod to this shot which I’m really pleased with. It’s a bad habit but when I’m shooting a band I’m not personally a fan of, I often tend to drift into trying to take shots that make me smile, rather than perhaps capturing the essence of the performance. So, with Slayer I started trying to get shots of the band smiling rather than screaming, or capture some warmth rather than the sheer agression of the performance. This shot came about trying to create some intimacy around a guy who was very, very in your face on stage, and I hope it works.

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So, another support band with better lighting than the main band. That I missed because I was in the pub. Ooops.

I can’t really comment much on this gig - for all I enjoyed the first couple of tunes, I didnt get the overwhelming wonderfullness of the band the crowd seemed to be doing, and nothing in the first half hour made me think I’d particularly missed out by not knowing them.

This is without saying that it was the 2nd worst light show this year (second only to Echo & the bunneymen) and that the bassist had such huge hair you never saw his face. Both of which made photography much harder.

They did, however, have the longest setlist i’ve ever seen. Not in terms of songs, but in terms of actual length.

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Bit of a tough gig to shoot this - one of those occasions where there was so much light, but it never quite fell right.

Not a bad band, they did sound a bit samey and the vocals didnt really cut through. Having said that, I was half asleep so I can’t claim to be the most objective critic. Then again, not sure I have ever claimed that. The joys of the internet!

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Some bands come and go in a buzz of media excitement, others fall into producing records to please their record company execs, and very few can carve their own path through the choppy waters of the music business.

BRMC are, in this photographer’s humble opinion, one of those bands. From the first time I saw them back in 2001/2 (I can’t remember when) I’ve been a huge fan, mainly because they were one of the few bands around who made dirty rock n roll music that didn’t compromise. Then, when things went a bit mad, they ditched their major record label, wrote a country-influenced acoustic record that dealt more with god than drugs, sex or rock’n'roll, and then reappeared weilding Gibson 355’s and screaming ’suicide’s easy what happened to the revolution?!”

They may have lost, then reacquired, then lost founder drummer Nick Drago, toyed with an expanded live line up and struggled to propel their latest effort, Beat the Devil’s Tattoo, into the mainstream, but frankly this selfish fan doesn’t want them to be mainstream.

Not since Nevermind has being bleak been this f**king cool.

Oh, and I’m pretty pleased with the photos too…

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A flying visit - in at 8.58pm, out by 9.20pm (campaign kicking off!), but clear the Courteeners haven’t given up on eclipsing the other rabble of guitar-weilding, heir-to-Oasis bands around. and in fairness, with some of the tunes they have, and from what I’ve heard of the new record, they’ve got a better chance than most of going onto greatness.

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Homecoming gigs are always a bit special, and this certainly did not dissapoint. Despite the band worrying they might have to cancel the gig when Craig woke up without a voice, in the end it was one of those shows where you look back and wonder just how good it was. Surely not as good as you think? Well, for anyone who had overindulged at the bar I can safely say it was exactly that good.

From the rousing, anthemic ‘Borders’ and ‘Commercial Breakdown’ to newer tracks like ‘The Messiah’ or ‘Nobody’s coming to save you’ it was amazing to watch a venue go from Oasis-like passion, to the kind of dancing normally seen in nightclubs and finally end on the kindov euphoric comedown seen at Glasvegas gigs, it illustrated just how broad a reach the Sunshine Underground have. It may have taken them a few years to get round to the second record, but with a live show like this boy was it worth the wait.

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Amazing to think a year ago Hot Chip sold out the Academy at 24 quid a ticket, yet tonight they didnt manage to come close at £16 a go. Funny what having a big single can do for you.

Still, it’s the loss of everyone who didn’t attend. Their new record, One Life Stand, has some immense tunes on it and from the older songs - No Fit State, Boy from School - to the more recent One Pure Thought and Hand Me Down Your Love - the whole gig bounced along like the best kind of disco.

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Once again a band opt for the zero front lighting approach, and rather than looking like the fun-go-happy band they are, Vampire Weekend end up looking like, well, vampires. Oh Well. Must admit I quite enjoyed this lot - they seemed to be a bit wishy washy when I saw them at Leeds festival, but in a smaller venue they came across as a pretty good band, in the same vein as Death Cab for Cutie - not at risk of a mosh pit breaking out, but some great and very sincere tunes to sing along with, and even have a bit of a dance.

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The NME tour has produced some great line-ups over the years, and 2010 was no exception. I have happily admitted before I love the Maccabees, so seeing them again was great, but I also was really excited about seeing the Big Pink, who made a really great record last year, and The Drums, who I’ve heard a great deal about. Bombay Bicycle Club completed the lineup, and although I saw them at Glastonbury they turned out to be the surprise package of the evening - amazing how well they filled the academy, and got the crowd going with songs that at first listen dont appear to be your average pub anthems.

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