Posts tagged with live music pics

01/29/2013

Ellie Goulding @ Royal Oak Music Theatre 1.28.13

Here it is, folks. Our first photos of 2013. In fact, our first photos since mid-October. We’ll blame it on the holidays and the general lack of energy that overtakes life once the weather takes a turn for the worse, in addition to that November/December show slump. We couldn’t be happier to kick off the year with the ever lovely Ellie Goulding, who we’ve been lucky to photograph once before.

I was bummed to miss openers St. Lucia after recommendations from some well-trusted musical resources, especially after I caught their last song and really liked what I heard, but I guess that’s what the internet is for. Ms. Goulding took to the stage in all black with a hooded T, some chunky Dr. Martens, and some shorts that gave just the slightest glimpse of her bum, while sipping on some [iced] tea (how ever so British of her). While much of the crowd could have put me in jail under the wrong circumstances, I was happy to see a bevy of coworkers (past and present) a bit closer to my age also enjoying Goulding’s brand of pop that begs you to move your feet and sing along if you know the words (and boy, did they know the words). She slowed it down a bit in the middle to throw in some of her softer tunes but the energy from Ellie and the long sold out crowd was so thick that you could quite literally barely wade through it, as her light show extended onto the walls and ceiling of the venue. She seems to have hit her full stride this side of the pond and we hope it continues, because we like huge pop stars that seem to be friendly, decent people that are not completely caught up in their own fame as well.

Check out the pics below, as well as this classic Goulding remix by Monsieur Adi, one that Goulding herself said made her cry the first time she heard it. You can check out a few more pics on our Flickr page.

And how about those gams?

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10/10/2012

Crystal Castles / HEALTH at Royal Oak Music Theatre 10.9.12

If there’s one thing I love to do on a Tuesday night, it’s to see Crystal Castles perform just a few miles from my house. When HEALTH is the opener, things get even more interesting. Having a torrid remix history with each other, the two bands took to the stage at the Royal Oak Music Theatre last night for an affair to be remembered. After a photo pass dispute (where I spent 2 of the first 3 HEALTH songs convincing the security guy that it was possible for there to be 2 opening bands at a show), I took a few pictures of HEALTH in the 10 seconds I had left and enjoyed the rest of their distinct noise rock set, including a cover of Pictureplane’s “Goth Star”, from the comforts of the crowd. The saddest part was that I didn’t get to see more of that drummer who so entertained me when I caught them opening for Yeasayer many moons ago. Crystal Castles then took the stage and the venue was turned into an extremely enjoyable near epileptic light and sound experience from outer space. Between the heavy beats and digital blips from Ethan Kath and the energy of Alice Glass (who must have spent just as much time above the crowd as she did on the stage), there was really a little something for everyone. I like these bands a lot, so it’s always fantastic to catch them live so they can remind you that you need to listen to them a lot more than you do. Check out some pictures of some of the madness below.

HEALTH

Crystal Castles

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09/27/2012

Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros @ Royal Oak Music Theatre 9.25.12

What’s up bros? Last night, the wonderful tour bus commune lovefest that is Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros rolled into my neighboring city of Royal Oak for their first trip to the area since that killer show at The Crofoot a few years back. I definitely didn’t give their latest album as many listens as their debut which was one of my faves that year, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t stoked to see them live again so close to home, though at a much bigger venue than last time.

It definitely didn’t hurt that Clap Your Hands Say Yeah would be opening up the show. Surprisingly, I think they were the loudest act I’ve heard in that room. Despite that, it reminded me that I really liked this group and had totally forgotten about them. I even bought their debut on vinyl and took a cheesy picture with them like one of those annoying people who does that. And I listened to it tonight. And it was good.

And Alex Ebert and crew kinda brought the house down with their set that nearly reached 2.5 hours with very little breaks in between. Perhaps it’s the catchiest of folk melodies that all sound like you’ve known them for years, or the 12 person ensemble on stage who must have played 2 or 3 different instruments, or the enthusiastic crowd (those youngsters are good for something at shows, I guess) that was actually even dancing a little, but if you don’t walk out of the doors feeling at least a tiny bit better about the world (if only temporarily), you are probably some sort of emotionless sociopath. They played a great combination of all of the greatest tunes from both albums along with a new song or two and a few misc jams, all seeming to break out into a quick tempoed singalong with each chorus. The loyals who stayed until the bitter end were treated to the customary Alex Ebert sitting in the crowd final song. But man, the kids these days are just so much more obnoxious about it, more concerned with instagramming themselves making a rock and roll face next to him than listening to the song. But anyway, yeah, see them if they come to a town near you.

As promised last time, I tried to make a few animated gifs out of photos from the show because I think it’s lame and funny, so check those out below, along with a lot of pictures in dreadful to photograph red lighting with lots of grainy noise.

And now some less vomit-inducing stills.

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06/12/2012

Radiohead @ The Palace of Auburn Hills 6.11.12

Last night, I saw Radiohead for the fourth time. However, considering the first three were at Lollapalooza, Coachella, and from the lawn at Blossom Music Center in Ohio, I’ve never actually seen any members of Radiohead, up close at least. But that all changed last night in what was perhaps the highlight of my life as an amateur photographer as I got to take pictures right up close of one of my favorite bands in the history of bands.

It had been 15 years since the band had been to town for whatever reason, but better late than never I say, and it was definitely better with over 20 songs played over the course of 2+ hours and 2 encores. It’s always the most exciting to see a band in my hometown, especially the ones that come to town just after I’ve convinced myself that they never will. The show was phenomenal as expected, giving a pretty even mix of everything OK Computer and beyond (though skewed a bit towards the newer material of course) and Mr. Yorke did acknowledge that it had been a hell of a long time since they’d come to town. Because sometimes it’s nice just to hear it from the band itself.

Anyway, check out a bunch of shots below from what will likely go down as my happiest/proudest moment as a freestyle music blogger. It was funny chatting before the show with the professional photographers who shoot everyone and their brother trying to act like it was no big deal for me, all the while jumping up and down inside uncontrollably. If there was any downside to the night, it was the fact that I showed up just too late to shoot Caribou, and then heard from several people how insane their set was to start the night off. But it was all worth it in the end. Here’s a few rad Radiohead remixes to stew on as well. I hope it’s not another 15 years before the band comes back to town.

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Battles / Child Bite @ Saint Andrew’s Hall 6.7.12

In what could have been the best early summer Thursday night in memory (complete with a day off on Friday), Battles made their long awaited return to Detroit at one of my favorite venues in town, Saint Andrew’s Hall. The band said they hadn’t been to town since 2005 (which is still up for debate) but regardless, it had been a while. I just saw Battles live for the first time last fall at ATP and was very pleased with their unique breed of art rock and their energetic live show, centered (quite literally) around the crazy drumming of John Stanier and his way up high cymbal. And when I found out that my friend’s band Child Bite was opening, it capped things off quite nicely. Check out some pictures from the night below – none of which do justice to the energy of either band (and especially Child Bite, who was just too quick for my terrible camera). But hey, my theory is, the worse the pictures, the better the show. When you cap off a few awesome sets with a shawarma sandwich from Bucharest Grill and a cold and delicious Ghettoblaster on a hot summer night, you have yourself a pretty killer evening in Detroit.

Child Bite

Battles

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06/01/2012

2012 Movement Electronic Music Festival in Pictures

This past weekend was Memorial Day Weekend which, for many of us Detroiters, means the best Detroit weekend of the year, better known as the Movement Electronic Music Festival, formerly known as the Detroit Electronic Music Festival (aka DEMF). On this weekend, around 100 of the most well established and up and coming electronic artists take 5 stages all over the geometrically complex Hart Plaza for 3 days of dancing, people watching, and all around awesomeness.

Like many years past, I spent much of the weekend at the Red Bull Music Academy stage (because this stage generally has the most diverse lineup with the most up and comers and, admittedly, this is what draws me in more than the house and techno). Some of my major highlights were my boy SBTRKT, Lindstrom (who had one of the only disco-influenced sets I heard all weekend – perfect for a hot summer afternoon), Gold Panda and AraabMUZIK because, for real, have you seen that dude perform live? Shit’s crazy. The RBMA stage had its fair share of heavy dubstep which the kids love these days, and even though I wasn’t totally into that, it was extremely entertaining just watching that crowd go nuts over the Tetris theme song followed by vomitous bass.

Just as I have the last 2 years, I’ve compiled a gallery of some of my favorite shots from the weekend. This is by far the most diverse crowd of any of the music fests I’ve been to, and you could spend your whole weekend at the fest just enjoying the scenery without even stepping foot near a stage (but why would you want to?). Anyway, enjoy a bunch of pictures below from throughout the weekend. There’s about twice this many pics in total, and you can view these and all the rest over at our Flickr page as well. Here’s to Paxahau for another successful Movement, one that saw the fests first 100,000+ crowd in its 13 year history. And enjoy some tunes from some artists who performed at the fest while you’re perusing some of our favorite shots we took this weekend (which you may have already seen featured on Stereogum!). Click the jump for all the pics. Read the rest of this entry »

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05/03/2012

Frankie Rose / DIIV @ The Magic Stick Lounge 5.1.12

On the way to last night’s show, I rolled my windows down for approximately 30 seconds and wasn’t freezing. Yes, that’s right, summer concert season is officially here. In fact, it was just announced today that Beach House, something close to my personal holy grail of bands I wanted to see this year, would be coming to town. But let’s not jump too far into the future without reflecting on the recent past. On a historic day in which Dive became DIIV, I got to see the artists formerly known as Dive and now known as DIIV on a Tuesday night along with Frankie Rose with 20-30 others, at most.

DIIV was perfect for a Tuesday night and rocked way harder than I expected. Oversized Bill Cosby sweaters notwithstanding, the foursome had all the energy I could have asked for, a pair of Chucks that I can’t believe are still held together, and some songs that I really, really like. Pretty excited for them to have an album. I wanted to buy a record but there was strangely no merch at all from either artist. But what most surprised me about DIIV (via guitar sticker) is that they are all or part conspiracy theorists, actual or perceived.

Frankie Rose was perfectly chatty and I kind of want to hang out with her romantically. She seems to be a really big Oakland Raiders fan and her favorite beer is Bud Light Lime. Though sometimes seeming slightly disinterested (totally fair given it being one of the last few shows of a long tour), I was still very glad to have seen her and she just might be making her way up my list of indie crushes. There was one particular song that was extremely Crystal Stilts-y. I wonder if I’ll ever try to figure out which one that was. Sounds and sights.



DIIV





Frankie Rose


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03/31/2012

Chairlift / Nite Jewel @ The Magic Stick 3.29.12

Well it’s been some time since we’ve done one of these, hasn’t it? The main reason was that I haven’t gone to a proper show since the Tycho show back on January 11. Might be the longest stretch I’ve gone in several years. After my discovery that Chairlift is awesome a few months back, I was more than excited to see them live and Nite Jewel opening up was a welcome bonus. Shoutout to the girl standing next to me while we waited for Chairlift to start who reprimanded me for checking my Twitter because she wanted to experience real life. We actually became friends after that even though she was super something undetermined, aka not sober in one way or another.

The show was fantastic and just as danceable as I’d hoped for. Accidentally got a little drunk, which led to me only taking pictures of the babes who lead both of the bands I saw that night in the inadequate lighting that is the Magic Stick. I also experienced a miserable Friday at work due to the dranks and the fact that I clearly can’t stay out late on school nights anymore. But I’m glad I stayed til the end because the very last song of the night was my favoritest Chairlift song “Amanaemonesia”. So listen to some songs by these bands and look at a few pictures of Caroline Polachek and Ramona Gonzalez (babes). Let’s do this more often, k?




Nite Jewel

Chairlift

Oh, and these are my friends.

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