Holly Throsby performs to her Sydney crowd at The Factory Theatre in Enmore
I headed out to The Factory Theatre on Friday to shoot Holly Throsby as she played for a local crowd on a cold(ish) winter’s night with support from Sly Hats and And Then To Bed. I’m not the biggest fan of The Factory - it’s a hard venue to shoot, mainly because it feels far too big for the bands that play there, but also because there’s no pit. What made shooting even more difficult was that everyone was seated. It just didn’t have the same atmosphere as similar indie folk acts have created at smaller venues like The Annandale Hotel (think Kate Miller-Heidke or Whitley). The other good thing with the smaller venues is that the lighting arrangements seem to be better - even when working with fewer lights - and smoke machines can more easily be used (to great effect!). With an audience all seated the night felt more formal - stifled even. As a result shooting is a lot more difficult as you take into account the audience being about half a meter shorter than normal and you’re up front - not really conducive to standing to shoot. Anyway, the music was good but the stage too big, the room too big and the seated audience as I’ve said before a bit stifling for the sort of sound that was on offer.
Didn’t really feel satisfied with the shots from this gig at all, but have a look anyhow.
More shots below or check the full flickr set.
Sly Hats
And Then To Bed
Shot for FasterLouder

















Hey Joel, nice pics! I agree the seated gigs are tough at the Factory, but I have to say I don’t mind their lighting - the blue backlight and the yellow/white fill can be pretty cool (your 4th and 6th shots of Sly Hats).
Oh gosh… how I <3 Holly. I hear her new album comes out this Friday!