Peter Doherty at The Troxy

Sunday night and there were long ques outside The Troxy on the commerial road in East London. It feels like at the moment I am chasing guests from “Friday Night with Jonathan Ross” around the capital.

Must admit, I have never waited so long to get in. This was not so much to do with the crowds, more to do with the lack of knowledge of the security staff. It even took them 30 minutes to let me into the “pit”. Total chaos.

Another gig with great atmosphere within wonderfully restored building;



Sparks

Friday night with… Sparks. (Well they were on “Friday Night with Jonathan Ross” at the same time as being on stage in Kentish Town.

A great theatrical opening (I wonder if Tescos have had their shopping trolleys returned) followed by a strong performance. Sounded great and the enthusiastic crowd loved every minute.



Snow Patrol

Yet again the 3 song rule comes into play, but boy what 3 songs! (Altough they were a little short for my liking). Only by the end of the third was I satisfied that I have enough “in the bag”. Once I am happy I have enough, I really start playing with different lenses etc. but of course, taking all 3 songs ment I did not have time for any really whacky perspectives. However, that said, I am, really happy with what I have filed this morning and am fairly sure it will stand up well against the “opposition” ;-) . 3 Songs means you get to see 3 samples, I hope you like them;




Hard Rock Cafe

Well, I have (just about) fixed the laptop and have a system on which I can process as I leave the site. Its not complete (colour proflies, printers etc) so it is going to be a long weekend.


I just managed to get it up and running before poping down picadilly to the London “Hard Rock Cafe” where  Ocean Colour Scene’s Steve and Simon played an acoustic set in aid of Nordoff-Robbins music therapy.

Small venue but a really enthusiastic crowd made for a great night; it’s just a shame I only had the first few numbers before heading home – I would have loved to stay.

A night off tonight (Friday) and then up to the O2 for Snow Patrol on Saturday – theres a lot going on at the moment!

World Premiere of Duplicity.

Gosh, what a day! I must admit, I was looking forward to this premiere; I had never seen Julia Roberts before and was keen to get some nice images of her. I think she has a classic face – in the 1960′s / 50 vain.


It was not a good day though – one hour before the doors were due to open, my laptop failed giving me no processing and uploading route. It required a kind laptop loan and some frantic software loading; but we got there. Like everybody there, I was disapointed that there was no stunning frock but the suit was very elegant. My modern take on the old black and white portrait;


Level 42 – They stil “bounce”

Saturday night – Level 42 at the Indigo O2. A great “little” venue inside the O2 dome. I say “little” as it still holds some 2400 peeps. I arrived about 5 minutes before the band went on; not due to “coolness” but due to traffic. New rule; Do not visit IKEA before a gig!


We got the usual 3 songs and although they have all aged, the Indigo bounced. A few shots;




I still love shoting Black and White and have tried a new idea here also…  Monday I have an evening off (I think) but Tuesday is the premiere of Duplicity and Wednesday is Steve Craddock and Simon Fowler (ex. Ocean Colour Scene) so more later in the week.

Shannon Noll, London Borderline Club.


I must admit, Shannon is a good looking guy with a nice voice. The Boarderline is a nice intimate club and the atmosphere was good too. Apart from that I could not tell you much as I tend to miss everything else when photographing – I don’t have a clue which songs he performed.


I stuck to my usual plan; get there early to see the end of the support set. This enables me to see the lighting and pick a good spot (or at least area). This is even more important in a small club with no “pit”. When photographing gigs, you only get the first 3 songs so you have to be quite quick and approximatly right from the start. After the 1st number I was joined by 2 other photographers covering the gig so they must have thought I had the right position also.

Anyway – 3 songs and out. Send the images up to the agency and done for the night. A sample:

No! To the bike parking tax and Shannon Noll

Saturday I was in London, Oxford street to be precise and the street was held to a standstil by hundreds of bikers of all shapes and sizes. (Thats the bikes and thier riders!) As ever, camera in hand but no means of uploading to the wire (ok, in fact I could not be bothered to run back to the office). Here are a couple of shots. 

I spotted the “citizan smith” arm raised and walked out into the stationary traffic alone to take the shot. After shotting a couple of frames I turned to leave only to find 4 or 5 other photographers behind me. Funny thing was, before I had walked down the street and into the traffic they were fixed firmly to the pavement. The really annoying thing is I missed the shot; croping the logo on the riders back!

Yesterday it was off to Berlin for a quick meeting… out on the late Sunday, meeting all day, back on the late Monday. Really tiring; at least I did not have to drive to and from the airport.


Tonight, it’s Shannon Noll at the borderline club (his first UK Gig). Shots to follow.