Hot Water Music at Islington Academy

21 June 2010 – It’s been a really long time waiting to see Hot Water Music play live and it was super cool that I photographed it.

Islington Academy is a super cool venue to be as a spectator because its super small and intimate but when shooting photos it definitely isn’t my favourite because I find the lights so randomly positioned and its always super dark so I try to fill in with flash but then that lights up the background which really isn’t the most attractive and the crowd surfing became quite hectic and I don’t like getting kicked in the head so I moved stage side and so majority of my shots are of Chuck. Haha. Anyway, I feel really fortunate that I got to see these guys live and shoot their show. Speaking to them before they kept saying that they really hope to not disappoint me tonight and there wasn’t even the slightest chance in hell that could ever happen.

The guys work so well together and even after playing a set of around 21 songs they still seemed like they were just warming up. Never once did the energy (and their was a LOT of it) tone down or dampen in any way. They never brought any fancy lights or background props to sell their show and it wasn’t necessary with their powerful instrumental and intense raw vocals. The crowd was going wild from start to finish and I battled to choose between watching the band and the guys in the crowd singing their hearts out.

One of my favourite shows of all times, without doubt. They announced that they are currently writing and when the album comes out they will be back. I cannot wait. Make sure not to miss that. These guys are pioneers and have influenced more bands than you can imagine.