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.

Dead Man’s Bones is actor Ryan Goslings band. For those that don’t know him, he was in “The Notebook”, “Half Nelson”, and “Lars and the Real Girl”. The band was created with his best friend and they have been on their first tour for the last few weeks. He is also one of the few actors that will make me swoooon, cuz god damn it, he’s CUTE!

I bought their album a few weeks ago…. the album is totally spooky. Its a very “haunted” sound with creepy organs, brooding voices, and a kids choir. It’s a concept album, which I didn’t get AT ALL…   after about 5 listens, I fell in love with it. I couldn’t WAIT to see how this album translated to the stage. Happily I came to the show as a music fan, and not just to oogle Ryans good looks

This was honestly one of the funniest, and strangest shows I have ever been to. The opening act was a group of random people doing a mixture of comedy/musical/acting skits. I hear in every town they recruited “traveling show” people to open….cool idea.

Of course the place went nuts when the band finally came out…. I don’t think I have ever seen so many bouncing barbie dolls in a Seattle club before. While Ryan is usually the front man, he’s not stationed in front of the stage. Him and the other musicians will rotate instruments a lot. Vocals, guitar, piano, keyboard…. They brought out a small childrens choir to stand in the back, and they were all painted up as zombies with white faces. Every town had a different choir, they didn’t travel with the band. I loved watching the band interact with the kids, leading them on and sneaking them smiles. The band looked like they were having a great time. And I gotta tell ya…. theres something hysterical about watching children sing, “My body is a zombie for you”. LOL.

Did they sound as polished as the record? eh………. maybe it was the mix, but everything sounded a little muddled to me. The crowd seemed to be enjoying it though, and by the end of the show the aisles were full and people were practically sitting on the stage because there was no where else to go. Great show, if they ever come back again…. I’m there.

I had never seen Ingrid live. I always meant to, but she seems to always play on a work night. Last night was a work night as well, but my friend talked me into going.
And I’m glad I did!! Ingrid is so FUNNY. I was enjoying the stage banter more than the actual songs (though she does have some damn, good songs!).

My fave part was the end of the show. Instead of walking down the stairs and waiting for us to clap for the encore, they instead chose to HIDE on the stage and wait…. and just hope we clapped for them. HAHA! I couldn’t stop giggling everytime I would look at their body parts sticking out behind a instrument.

The opener was Matthew_Perryman_Jones. His voice was a little too country for my taste, but I still liked him A LOT. Who could not love a guy that is Katie Herzigs friend, and does a Patty Griffin cover?

Ingrids new songs are solid, and her whole band is entertaining to watch. I highly recommend everyone seeing her at least once.

I just got back from vacation in Detroit.  While there, I got to see brandi in Ann Arbor (cuz I’m a fanatic and plan my life around her!). Not only did I get to see a show, but she did a in-store at Borders as well.

Great time! She played “Touching the Ground”, “Dreams”, and “That Year”. The show was being filmed for Borders, so hopefully we get the video released one day. I don’t really have much to say…. but thanks to the couple in the front of the “meet and greet” line that let me stood with them. Borders wouldn’t let me meet Brandi unless I bought a record
Also, Audrey if you’re reading this….. SOOO GOOD TO FINALLY MEET YOU!!!

That day was important to me for other reasons. I’ve decided to start taking my photography more seriously, and incorporate it as part of my Web services. I could careless if I’m ever to the level where I’m photographing for Rolling Stone, but maybe I’ll meet some bands that need a website

So i’ve rebranded my portfolio (its still in process, but you can see it here rengland.net. And I bartered some services to get a logo/biz cards printed. And yes…. I slipped Brandi a card…lol. Shes one of the main reasons I got into photography in the first place, AND this was my first website! I got my chance to say thanks.

I was so excited for the show that night, since I had a photo pass. Usually the rule is that you can only shoot the first 3 songs, but tonight it was FIVE. Then I learned something very important….. “If you’re going to start taking this seriously, You MUST have the right tools for the job!!”. Turns out you couldn’t shoot from the front row, you could only crouch in the aisles or shoot on the wings. My lens wasn’t even close to being long enough (25mm-75mm) UGH. What a waste of a photo pass….

Now that vacations over its time to get back to work and save up for a zoom lens. The one I WANT is $2000 (yikes), unless Santa surprises me…that ain’t happening. Theres a 3rd party Sigma lens for $800 that I will probably get….. for now at least.

ADDED: Borders put up video of the in-store. http://www.bordersmedia.com/liveat01/carlile