The Airborne Toxic Event

Absolutely fucking incredible night. One of the greatest gigs I have been to in a very long time. Encapsulating atmosphere created by such powerful songs. Their stage presence has come on leaps and bounds since I last saw them in Electric Picnic 2010(?) and it’s getting really easy to love this band more and more with each gig and album.

The photos, I’ll admit, are a bit shit. Seemed like all the lights got turned on after we left the pit.

Also, check our Mikel climbing the mezz for an entire song. Heart.In.Mouth.

Electric Picnic 2011

Festival season has nearly killed me this year… I was nearly about to give it all up, then Hot Press made one of my Arcade Fire images the latest cover. Feels kinda like getting an A in a school report, so I’m hooked again.

Bands worth a nod: M Ward & Willy Mason. A lot of other people (with bigger budgets) bored the pants off me.

For the tech heads: Everything shot on a D700 using either 200mm 2.8 or a wide 2.8. Didn’t go near the 1.4 50mm even though the stage lighting was appalling.

Expect a future rant about the festivals poor treatment of snappers. Not today though, today’s a cover story glory day! Issue hits the shops on Thursday (8th Sept!).

More on Flickr!

Oxegen Preview

Preview of the rake of photos from the weekend…the rest will be up in the next few hours. Thousands of photos from about 50 bands to go up…..

Beady Eye

Yea, I’m not a fan, in the slightest. So i’ll keep this short.

Here’s pix of Beady Eye in the Olympia.

Choice Awards 2011

(please accept my apologies for the tardiness of this post…it’s been awfully busy down my way!)

Choice Awards… it’s like a giant Christmas party-office-doo for the Irish Music industry workers. By far the highlight of my year as I get to snap most of my fave Irish bands while hanging out with some of my best mates. Yes it’s ball breaking, knee skinning, hard bloody work. But I loves it.

As far as the live performances went, it was nothing I haven’t snapped before really.

Big love to all the ever patient and obedient folk whom I dragged back to Miss M’s gaf at 4am. Yis are true troopers.

 

Photos appear in backwards chronological order (cause I like to wreck your head). Starting with The Cast Of Cheers. .

Ones To Watch 2011 (Whelans)

I’m not gonna lie, I was mostly watching the barman pour me another pint. I saw about 4 bands and got bored. It’s not that they weren’t good, they were. I was just dying to hear some dirty guitar, but I guess guitars are out in 2011.

Datadrip followed by the amazeballs Cloud Castle Lake ending with Catscars and a 5am burger in BoBos. Classy.