Here’s a few more shots from Allan with a slightly different twist this time; none of them are live performance shots. We’ll let him explain.

I always like the challenge of doing something a little bit different; new artist, new venue, just change things up a bit. The shots featured below happened for a variety of reasons and the one thing they have in common is that they aren’t onstage shots. They’re all shot with available light and not really posed; it’s more about letting the artists arrange themselves and trying to capture the moment where it all works.

The Velveteen Orkestra @Pizza Express

This was a very, very impromptu shoot. I was packing away my gear after the gig and Dan asked if I could just do a few shots that they could use for promotion. He asked me where he wanted the band to sit and Sarah was already sitting under a downlighter where she was perfectly lit. The only thing I had to do was seat the band together and fire the shutter as they stared grinned and flicked the v’s. This is one of the two shots that I really liked from the shoot, because it captured something essential about all three characters.

Simba Jindu @The Camden Chapel

This was Saara Kaldma’s first headline gig. Simba has played drums alongside Saara in various line-ups, including Lisa Canny’s band and he’s great percussionist as well as being a genuinely lovely guy as well. When I shoot at The Camden Chapel, I always try to get a few soundcheck shots because the show lighting can be a bit under-powered; very atmospheric but challenging for available light photography. I tend to shoot low-key, high contrast stuff, but this shot works as a high-key shot, emphasising the optimism of Simba’s infectious smile.

KAT ‘Rise’ video shoot

Whenever I get a message from KAT inviting me along to a shoot I know it’s going to be interesting, whether it’s a gig or a video shoot. This was a video shoot for KAT’s song ‘Rise’ at a church in Hoxton where KAT played an angel. The lighting was a bit of a challenge, but I think we just about got away with it.

Belle Roscoe@Pizza Express

Another impromptu Pizza Express shot, this time in the famous Green Room. Julia Gurry popped her head round the door of the Green Room and asked me if I would take a few shots. As younger brother Matty will tell you, that’s not really a request, it’s a summons. Anyway, the light’s pretty good, so I was happy to have a go and I think the result was pretty good. It was a rush job that I missed the fact that the toilet door was open and you can just see the toilet bowl. You can also see that Brother Strut have left their mark – I included that deliberately.

Morganway@Green Note

The Green Note gig that sold out without any artists being announced. It was billed as ‘The Road to Madison Square Gardens’ (the one in New York and not the proposed monstrosity in Stratford) and it was Morganway supported by Isabella Coulstock. Kari Jones (the sensible side of the Jones partnership) wanted a few shots with Morganway, then we moved on to shooting the band on Parkway outside Green Note. I liked the city backdrop of Camden Parkway and the band always look great.

Here’s another set of photos from Allan and he’s been putting a bit of effort in on his themes. None of the usual male or female artists, black and white or monochrome, he’s been a bit more creative with his categories. You have to keep the mind occupied when you’re getting on a bit.

If I’m working really close to an artist (and I usually am), then I’ll often set the focus point on the camera on one of the eyes. The old saying, attributed to many people over the years that the eyes are the window of the soul is particularly true of performers; you can feel the intensity lasering towards you. There are many singers who close their eyes while singing; you won’t find them in this set of photos.

HUX

I like HUX a lot. He’s a great singer-songwriter with a beautiful voice and he’s become a great collaborator as well. I saw him a few times as a solo performer who could stop audiences in their tracks, then as a harmony vocalist with Say Anise (yeah, it’s a small world) and then also playing bass with Say Anise as well as singing harmonies. As well as all of this, he has an incredibly striking visual presence:

Dan Shears (The Velveteen Orkestra)

I’ve worked a lot with Dan since shooting him at a John Lennon birthday tribute at the Hard Rock Hotel in Marble Arch. The Velveteen Orkestra is his project with long-term collaborator Sarah Boughton and a revolving cast of supporting musicians creating a unique blend of music that has been described “a ragged-trousered rock and roll orchestra” although there are elements of Eastern European music and louche 1930s Weimar cabaret in there as well. Dan’s a really engaging guy with an earthy sense of humour which breaks out on stage between songs as a contrast to the intensity of his performance. This is one of the intense bits:

Ernie McKone (bass player with Matt Johnson from Jamiroquai)

There’s not a lot to say about this shot. Ernie’s a great bass player and the lighting in The Jazz Café was challenging. When I finally found a break in the tsunami of hazer, I saw Ernie looking directly at me. One shutter press and done. The blue lighting gives it a kind of jazz feel. And, apologies to Matt Johnson, but this was by far the best shot I got on the night:

Kiara Chettri

This was the second time I had seen Kiara and the first time with her full band. She can belt out rockers with the best of them but she also excels on the slower, more challenging songs. In this shot, taken downstairs at 229 The Venue, she’s looking towards her incredible guitar player Kiuzano in one of those band interactions that you manage to capture sometimes:

Lisa Canny

What can I say about Lisa Canny? She’s non-stop, she’s funny, she has a fabulous voice, she plays harp and banjo to an incredibly high standard and she’s completely committed to her musical vision of blending traditional Irish music with more progressive elements like pop and rap. It hasn’t always made her popular on the traditional Irish scene but that’s not going to stop her; she’s a woman on a mission. I’ve shot Lisa loads of times and I always get something different and it’s always intense. This was shot at The Dublin Castle in Camden:

We like to have a visual element to our High Fives, and we like to feature the work of as many gig photographers as we can, not just our own resident snapper. We’re hoping to feature some guest photographers later this month but, in the meantime, we’ll start with five from Allan because he’s got five ready to go. Here’s what he has to say about this year:

There was a time earlier this year when I wondered if I’d have enough pictures for this feature. This was supposed to be a great year for gigs and January, February and the first half of March was living up to the promise; loads of gigs around London, a weekend mini-festival in Fife and my first shoot at the legendary Fairfield Halls in Croydon. A week after the Croydon gig, we were in lockdown. I was lucky enough to squeeze in a few gigs between lockdowns but let’s just say I won’t be doing a calendar this year. I normally shoot a lot of portrait-style shots with one person in the frame, but for various reasons, including avoiding brother/sister fallouts, I’ve shot a few group shots this year. Here’s a few of them:

The Velveteen Orkestra

I photographed Dan Shears at a John Lennon 79th birthday gig at The Hard Rock Café in 2019 and following on from that, we arranged to do some shoots at upcoming gigs in 2020 with a variety of Velveteen Orkestra line-ups. The second shoot I went along to was an early evening gig at Jamm in Brixton with Dan and violinist Sarah Boughton. I got lots of good solo shots of Dan, but having Sarah out of focus in the background gave some depth to this shot.

Amy LaVere & Will Sexton

What could be better than dashing around between venues in Hackney for two nights at the end of January. This was the annual Americana Music Association UK showcase 2020; it needed careful planning, stamina and shoeleather, but there were good shots to be had if you were fast and lucky. Amy LaVere and her husband Will Sexton were individually photogenic, but I was keen to get both of them in the frame. Amy draws the attention by staring straight at the camera, as Will plays the supporting role. If you want to know why this was a black and white shot, it was down to some flat and not very colourful lighting.

Belle Roscoe on a barge

I love shooting Belle Roscoe. They’re a brilliant band and, like the Velveteen Orkestra, they play in a variety of configurations from a duo format to full rock band. Whatever the format, they’re great to listen to and always interesting to shoot. Coming out of lockdown, I shot them at The Bedford in Balham and a few days later they announced a series of guerrilla outdoor gigs on a barge on a Saturday afternoon starting at Hackney Wick. After mistaking the River Lee for the canal and getting totally lost (and horribly late), I finally found the location for the first gig just as the band moored the barge to set up for the gig. As always, the band rocked and there were a lot of interesting shots there for the taking. I think the shot captures the strange setting, the cold and windy weather and the rock star quality of Julia and Matty Gurry.

Dean Owens, Hannah-Rose Platt and Rab Noakes

This was a couple of weeks before lockdown. I had train tickets booked months in advance and fingers firmly crossed that the UK wouldn’t grind to a halt before the event. It was a weekend at The Woodside in Aberdour curated by the fabulous Scottish singer-songwriter Dean Owens celebrating Johnny Cash’s roots in The Kingdom of Fife. The weekend featured a wide variety of artists including Fay Fife and my favourite crime novelist, Ian Rankin.

My favourite session of the weekend was a songwriters’ circle on the Saturday evening featuring Dean, Hannah-Rose Platt and Scottish folk legend Rab Noakes. They complemented each other perfectly and I was positive that there was a good shot coming at the end of the set, so I got myself into position and waited.

Georgia and the Vintage Youth

Just before the first lockdown again, this was a bit closer to home, at Paper Dress Vintage in Hackney. The gig was an EP launch and Georgia had the full band for this one. I have to say now that this is probably my favourite shot of the year. It was almost at the end of the set and I’d packed away the zoom and just kept the 35mm lens ready for any close-ups that might happen. It got interesting when Georgia sat down on the stage, got more interesting when guitarist Charlie Manning got in on the act, and absolutely perfect when Georgia flicked the ‘V’. It’s not technically perfect, but I love the Sid and Nancy/Kurt and Courtney feel of it.