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Last Thursday I headed back down to a place that is fast becoming a second home for a night of folksy pop and indie rock – The Annandale Hotel. Having shot a bunch of shows there, the venue is fast becoming a favourite of mine in spite of the lack of a pit, small space and mainly backlit lighting technique that many people are discouraged by in the world of concert photography. As is my way I rocked up early to ensure I got to check out the lighting rig, speak to the techies and get a feel for the vibe of the evening, following a chat with the lighting tech for the night I discovered that he has been responsible for some of my favourite shoots at the venue – including Melbourne’s hiphop-and-strings outfit True Live, the lovely Whitley, the absolutely gorgeous Kate Miller-Heidke and one of my favourite live acts Vasco Era. Talking to him he offered to ensure I had a bit more front lighting – enough to bring the faces out. I’m hoping he’ll be working the light desk on Friday when I shoot TZU as I think I’ll ask for him to bring up the front truss a little more every so often.

The boys of End of Fashion are back ladies and gentlemen. After a bit of down time to themselves the Perth outfit has hit the East Coast to play a few weeks of residency shows at both the Annandale Hotel in Sydney and the Northcote Hotel in Melbourne. The purpose of these shows is to do some roadtesting of new songs ahead of their forthcoming album Book of Lies to be released in September. They definitely put on a great gig as fans dusted off their memories and headed down to once more enjoy the live sound from a band not seen in nearly two years.

Support acts were both Sydneysiders – with Cuthbert and the Night Walkers (CATNW) and Bridgemary Kiss both performing well. I must say that it appears that CATNW have taken on a presence very much resembling The Seabellies who they have toured with previously. I was however thankful that their once oversized choir has been whittled down and now sing far better than they were able to last year. Rumour is they’ve received some lessons.

As I left the gig I wasn’t really especially happy with the shots I took and it took until Sunday afternoon to sit down and go through them properly. As I sorted through them and spent some time with the action set from Lakshal Perera (aka ‘Lucky’) I found that I did have a few gems in amongst the collection of shots from the evening. Overall I’m quite pleased with the shoot – hope you enjoy.

More after the break or check the full flickr photoset.

Cuthbert & The Night Walkers

Bridgemary Kiss