Sunset Sounds 2010 – Day 2
I had been looking forward to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs since as long as I knew I would be shooting Sunset Sounds, them and Editors of course. Neither act disappointed and both retain their place as personal favorites both in album and live.
Karen O did not take long to demonstrate to the crowd (one of the thickest crowds I’ve ever seen in the Riverstage, possibly only followed by the epic Muse performance in 2007) why she is one of the most badass front-women in rock. She moved about the stage with reckless abandon, crying out with a satanic rock tongue. In her quiet songs the devil tonsils subsided to reveal an angelic voice. Perhaps strepsils could jump on this for an advertising campaign?
Vocals aside Karen O and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs are fantastic to shoot, there is no shortage of energy, colour and drama. I was also blessed on the day with seeing one of my favorite bands Editors. To be frank I was so absorbed with the photographic process I don’t recall many details about the first 3 songs played, however once out of the pit I quickly joined the crowd to watch the rest of what was an incredibly impressive performance. Favorites such as The Racing Rats, Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors, Bullets and Munich were performed with a power and clarity that was absorbing.
Front-man Tom Smith I found quite interesting. While watching and photographing him perform I very quickly got the feeling that his movement on stage reminded me of autism, and in some instances, echolalia. I thought this was somewhat odd of me until discussions with another photographer revealed they thought the exact same thing. There is autism in my family so it is something I am close to and very familiar with.
Other performances I photographed on the day included a stellar performance from The Temper Trap, Hungry Kids Of Hungary, and the incredibly fun King Khan & The Shrines.
Sunset Sounds 2010 – Day 1
Sunset Sounds day 1 was headlined by Moby, who took me by great surprise with his energy and level of performance. I was expecting to see a nerdy looking bald guy, chilled out, and mixing tracks with some laptops. What I got was a Moby who played primarily as a lead guitarist, full of aggression and determined to put on a memorable performance for the massive crowd at the Brisbane Riverstage.
Although Moby sings himself in a few tracks and definitely adds to the banter with the crowd, he allows others to do the vocal heavy lifting. It works incredibly well live and allows him to focus on keeping up energy levels and ensuring the spectacle is visual and audible.
Throughout the day I was also lucky enough to photograph lots of other talented bands; Dappled Cities, Datarock (always great to photograph), Emiliana Torrini, Kaki King, Hilltop Hoods and Seasick Steve. Kaki King in particular created one of my favorite images of the day, giving her best impression of a New Yorker being encouraged to dance. Beyond impressions you have likely heard that she is an incredibly talented guitarist (Dave Grohl believes her the best right now in-fact) and that would be correct. Jump on youtube and check it out.
