The Gaslight Anthem at The Forum

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04 June 2009 – Tonight I photographed The Gaslight Anthem at the London Forum in Kentish Town. It was my most anticipated live show of this year and it blew my mind in so many ways possible and I can definitely say that it was my favourite live show this year and probably all in all.

I did a review of the show for Clink Music Magazine so I am going to write more about shooting the show as apposed to what the show was like because if you want to read about that you can check out the review I did by CLICKING HERE.

Basically, I thought of using this as a quick explanation of what shooting a live show like this is actually like. It’s CRAZY, that’s probably the best way to explain it. First of all it needs to be made clear that majority of the shows that I shoot live with big bands there is a NO FLASH rule which is really pushed and this was one of those. In non-technical terms that means that you cannot use a flash or any other light to shoot the concert besides the light that is available which is sometimes really easy and then some times EXTREMELY difficult. Then there is a 3 SONG RULE which means that you are only allowed to photograph for the first 3 songs that the bands play and after shooting plenty live shows I have come to the realization that the bouncers have NO concept of how long 3 songs actually is. Maybe they don’t teach you that at Security Guard School but it seems really easy to me. It’s like 1 …. 2 …. 3 songs and then you can tell the photographers to start making their way out. Actually it probably is really hard you know because they never seem to get it right and a song most of the times is spent with the security and the other photographers fighting each other about how much time left and this is normally when I shoot most of my stuff because there is normally a lot of other photographers. That’s another thing I want to know is how the hell do so many photographers get access to get into the pit. I mean, I love the idea of learning to shoot photographs but there are a million other shows here to concentrate on because that is where I started and I am sure the other people that are there to shoot for work have started small as well. It’s not that I have issues with anyone in the pit, I just find it really weird to mosh in a space that has been created to ensure that photographers have space to move around freely and shoot the stuff that needs to be shot. In saying this though, it is always fun and I just laugh at the people there getting in my way to shoot blurry photographs with a mobile phone.

Anyway, this isn’t a moaning post, it’s one where I wanted to share my experience so let me carry on by saying that lighting is the most crazy thing in the world and like I mentioned earlier, it can either be something that makes life easy or something that makes me want to rip my eyeballs out. Next time you are at a show, take note of the lights and you will see what I am talking about. For some reason the person controlling the lights seems to think that you need to roll them out slowly so that the show only looks good when the photographers have finished shooting what they traveled miles to shoot. Maybe that is why the vibe in the pit is sometimes really awkward. It’s not really an excuse though because I don’t think I am cool for having a camera especially because anyone could buy one at any store so maybe there is some other reason why everyone there just ignores each other. It’s also something that I laugh at. Haha.

The last thing that I really enjoy is the die-hard fans in the front row getting their brains crushed out just to be that little bit closer. I don’t know what goes through their mind when they think that I am going to take their little point and shoot cameras and spend my short 3 songs shooting happy snaps of them instead of shooting the band that we all came to see. It’s really funny and they almost always seem shocked when I can’t. I do feel bad though so I normally end up shooting the set list for a MILLION kids and it always sparks something that I regret but again, the whole reason for a live show is experience and I know that the little effort on my behalf makes their day.

So that’s it really. Shooting live shows is without doubt one of my most stressful things to do but I love it EVERY single time I do it. Nothing can prepare you for a show because it is always different. Lighting, space, stage height, stage size and and and …..

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