It's been fun. I would like to thank Alternative Music Hub and Tone Deaf for allowing me to occasionally photograph for them. 2012 will see me dragging my camera wherever possible and hopefully being able to take some more larger bands/festival photos. If you're reading this and you want me to take photos for your publication/band/etc, please hit me up on photo@moshpitson.com.
Now that's all done, here's my favourite live music photos I took last year. This list has been impossible to make as I keep changing my mind and I tried to only limit it to 1 photo per show.
20. The Chariot, Sun Distortion Studios, April 20
This gig was absolutely insane. Despite being a small room with one small bulb from the roof making for horrible lighting, the band was so crazy that most photos turned out. Even this one of the bass player being carried out the door while still playing.
19. The Damned Things, Soundwave Counter-Revolution, Riverstage, September 24
Although not an action shot, I just really enjoy this picture of Damned Things/Every Time I Die lead singer Keith Buckley walking off stage. (See the full gallery here)
18. The Walkmen, Harvest Festival, Riverstage, November 19
I had been waiting the better part of a decade to see the Walkmen. This picture of the lead singer looking suave and slightly 1950s is everything I had ever imagined about this band. (See the full gallery here)
17. The Grates, Tivoli, October 28
Patience, the energetic lead singer, is generally the focus of attention in the Grates live show. However, in this picture, John shows he can still get his boogie on. (See the full gallery here)
16. Alesana, Soundwave Counter-Revolution, Riverstage, September 24
I may not be the biggest fan of their music, but their live show was sure fun to watch. Even though my camera was minutes away from breaking, this shot of the guitarist mid-dance at the back of the stage managed to capture some of the action. (See the full gallery here)
15. Army of Champions, the Jubilee, November 17
It was the first time I had seen, let alone heard of, this band and I fell in love. This picture captures all of them singing/shouting at once, in the Against Me! punk vibe they put out.
14. Man Overboard, The Globe, September 3
Whenever I watch a punk show, it's always my goal to get a picture of a guitar jump. It's bloody hard and very rarely works out. This shot was taken just as I put the flash on my camera and before I even had it set up properly and it needed a lot of post-editing to not be dark. The post-editing gave it a very old-school film feel I think. (See the full gallery here)
13. Raein, Sun Distortion Studios, December 31
This was one of the last photos I took in 2011, of the Italian screamo
band playing the last Sun Distortion Studios show. The whole energy of
the set was intense, with almost everyone in the band screaming into any
microphone that was near them and just jumping around like madmen. Was a
great way to see out 2011.
12. Periphery, the Zoo, July 29
The first gig I shot for any reason apart from for fun. Although I had to jostle with the crowd a lot to get shots, they were
just fun to photograph. Every shot I took had them in different poses
and it was really hard to pick a single photo for the best of list! (See the full gallery here)
11. Nuclear Summer, Sun Distortion Studios, December 31
Nuclear Summer will go down as one of my favourite local bands in 2011. This shot shows basically everyone you see regularly at gigs in Brisbane just getting into the song as well.
10. The National, Harvest Festival, Riverstage, November 19
The lighting, the mist, the composition... I think it really just goes hand in hand with the style of music that is the National. (See the full gallery here)
9. La Dispute, the Zoo, January 25
Adam Vass screaming into the mike. This was my favourite photo for the first half of the year.
8. Architecture in Helsinki, the Tivoli, September 25
I couldn't take my eyes or lens off the front man of Architecture in Helsinki. I think of this picture as the hipster music version of Egon from Ghostbusters. (See the full gallery here)
7. Every Time I Die, HiFi, September 23
The second Keith Buckley picture of the top 10. He's just such an an
enigmatic front man, you can't help to take a lot of photos of him. This photo was part of a set of photos I took of him just tossing the microphone around in between singing. (See the full gallery here)
6. Trash Talk, Step Inn, February 25
This was taken the night before Soundwave festival, in a special flood
benefit fundraiser in the small band room of the Step Inn. Trash Talk,
as always, were absolutely nuts on stage and barely kept still. This
photo made the countdown purely for the expression of the guy on the
side of stage. That's what everyone feels like after watching the
insanity and non-stop movement of the Trash Talk live show.
5. Jim Ward, Alhambra, August 13
If I was to give an award for the worst lighting in a venue to take
photos in, it would be Alhambra. One spot light and a mirror behind the
performer. But I managed to get this shot with the lights above the bar
reflected beautifully in the mirror. Artistic almost. (See the full gallery here)
4. AC4, The Zoo, April 7
I was lucky enough to see Dennis Lyxzen (lead singer of
Refused/International Noise Conspiracy) twice this year in different
forms. Dennis is renowned for his stage performane, and at the Zoo in
his hardcore band AC4 he showed us all why. Despite only landing in
Australia a few hours earlier, he danced like a mad man and finished
writhing on the floor while still singing.
3. Touche Amore, Old Museum, September 8
I got to take most of my pictures on stage, which is rare for me in such a large venue. I was singing along the whole time and this whole band photo, with Jeremy screaming, was turned into a poster for my friend Jess who's hand is sticking out in the crowd. (See the full gallery here)
2. Flaming Lips, Harvest Festival, Riverstage, November 19
Anyone who has seen a Flaming Lips show will know about how insane it is. The photo pit was packed and I took about 400 photos just of the first 3 songs of these guys. So much was going on it was so hard to keep up with the action. This is a shot of Wayne just as he unleashed streamers from his blow gun, with more streamers in the background and all of the photographers trying to get a good angle. (See the full gallery here)
1. Fucked Up, Alhambra, December 9
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