Chris is an artist that I have been meaning to see for YEARS, she didn’t disappoint. The band was rocking, the fans were loyal, and Chris was freaking adorable (and a great musician). Photos are posted at flickr.

Now that the weather is getting nicer and the days are longer, it’s time to get back into the concert swing. I don’t actually know much about Kate, but I have been listening to her new album (My Best Friend is You) for the last few weeks. The album is a rocker. I thought for sure it would be a bright, loud show with a dancing crowd. Well… It was loud alright. I don’t however think that the “all ages/young female crowd” knew what to think of her. She’s British, she’s vulgar, and all the black makeup made her a bit scary. While the die-hards sung-a-long in the front, the applause behind them was getting thinner and thinner. I felt kinda bad for her… She’s got some great songs and was really working the stage. Her presentation just wasn’t really assessable. I hope she has better luck with the rest of the tour.

Photography notes: I’ve recently graduated to a 5D mark II, and just in time cuz this is one of the darkest shows I have shot yet. I shot a majority of the time at ISO 4000, just so I could keep my shutter speed up (yea I realize this was probably overkill, but I would rather have underexposed grainy shots, than blurry ones). My original spot at the front of the stage was soon obstructed by her keyboard, which featured a tarp on it that said, “A cunt is a very useful thing”…lol, yea that wasn’t going to work too well. Luckily I was able to move to the side of the stage, without pissing anybody off.

This isn’t one of my better sets of photos, but if anyone would like to see them, they are on flickr

This is the 3rd time I have seen Brandi at Mount Baker, and easily the best. If I ever had one gripe about the hometown shows, it was that “old favorites” would be more focused on rather than the new stuff. I’m not the only one that in the crowd that has heard “Turpentine” more times than I can count, we want to hear all the new stuff you’ve been practicing cross country. The hometown show should get all the surprises!

Well we finally got it. 3 new covers were played, including a unheard cover of “over the rainbow” (at least I think that’s the first she played it – the song was dedicated to a 5yr old Ill child.) and of course we got a healthy heap of songs from “give up the ghost” (my fav album of the year). The other 2 covers were “landslide” and the twins doing “sounds of silence”. You can check out the photos and videos here.

Each member of the band came out to sign autographs after the show as well

This show actually marks the first time I took any video in a LONG time. I had stopped mainly because there was always a inner conflict in me, capturing and archiving a moment, or being fully immersed in it. I also hated the stress that came with it, getting caught, keeping steady, not making sound…. I needed a break and focused mainly on photos. Just as a note, I think I’m horrible with video…. But I have a decent p&s camera and an awesome collection!

After a10 week tour, the band is on a well deserved break before they hit Europe in a month.

Well after being locked out of my blog for nearly a month, I’m finally able to post again… wow, that was hell. Save your passwords in multiple places folks!

Anyway, I wanted to make sure I mentioned one of the favorite albums of 2009… Zee Avi’s self titled album. I can’t tell you how many late nights I spent listening to this album on repeat. Her sound is “jazzy folk”, simple songs with some great melodies. Zee is from Malaysian and got her “break” on youtube. Since then shes been playing at festivals and just passed through Seattle last month a small tour.

The show was at the Crocodile Cafe, and this was my first time going there since they remodeled it. OMG…what a makeover! Gone is the large flat music room, with the annoying bar in the middle. Now its “smaller” type feel, with a larger stage and a balcony. I think this is my favorite Seattle club…. especially since they didn’t seem to care about cameras (figures…. since I went through the effort of getting a photo pass).

You know how when there’s an artist you really like, and they end up being horrible live? Yea I was a little nervous…. I’m happy to state that that was NOT the case here. Zee is not nearly as mellow and quiet as I thought she was. Not only did her voice sound exactly like the album, but she had a band as well. And shes funny! Shes generally a lot more charming on stage than I thought she would be.

Photography notes: When it comes to photography, I’m going to take back what I said earlier about this being my new favorite club. The lighting was horrible! The didn’t use a spotlight at all, and just illuminated Zee in colored lights. Even my 1.4 aperture lens was having difficulty getting enough light to get a fast shutter speed. My photographer friend has a full frame camera, and literally smoked my Canon 40d. Sigh…. Just when you think you’ve finally made all your photography purchases, and have all the lenses you need….. there will yet be something else. While I don’t see myself saving up for a full-frame camera (its a lot of money for a amateur), I do see myself upgrading to a 7D….eventually.

Here’s is the song that originally hooked me in:

I first saw A Fine Frenzy a little over a year ago when they opened for Brandi Carlile. Although they weren’t the most exciting live act (Allison stayed mostly at the piano), the music hooked on me immediately.

Fast forward now to the 2nd album, Allison apparently got the memo that its time to rev it up a little and have some fun. The large piano has been replaced by keyboards at the front of the stage. And no longer does she have a shy persona, but instead dances around and strikes theatrical poses. I was with the pack of photographers in the front, so its hard to see what the crowd was thinking. But I know I was enjoying it! I love to see people enjoying themselves, even at the risk of looking stupid.

My favorite moments were “What I Wouldn’t Do”, the cover of Blondies “Heart of Glass” (that was AWESOME), “Almost Lover”, and the extended “Blow Away”. I have heard Almost Lover live before, but the vocals last night were so much RICHER than I remembered them. The crowd sweetly sang the last chorus, and quite a few of us got teared up (myself included).

Opening acts were “Among the Oak and Ash” (Josh Joplin and Garrison Starr folk/rock) and Landon Pigg.

This was my first time shooting at Neumos, and have never realized how much the lighting SUCKS there! All the red backlights make Allison’s hair look like its on fire..lol. And the club doesn’t make very good use of spotlights. Next time I shoot there, I won’t be trying to shoot from the front.

Anyway, great band, great show…  I should be in Portland tonight seeing them again.