April 2017 Recap

In addition to the usual sport and concert shoots, last month I also had the chance to work on a music video, some audio and video podcasts, and have been booking portrait and event shoots for later on this summer. April was a busy month, and I'm hoping it sets the tone for the rest of the summer.

So here's a quick look at what went on last month.

Berserker Fest at The Crofoot Ballroom - April 14

This festival was an interesting one, with the combination of a large, well-lit stage and smaller, darker, side "stages" that brought me back to my early days of shooting shows at The Coach and Horses in Windsor. It made me realize how spoiled I am now with the types of shows I've been shooting, and kind of inspired me to get back into some smaller club shows for a bit.

But more on the actual bands. It was amazing to see Eyehategod, and I was also pretty stoked about Off! and Fuck You Pay Me. Nuke from Detroit was new to me, and I was very, very into what they were doing. After shooting Easy Action when they opened for Dinosaur Jr back in March it was neat to catch them again, this time in their heavier form, Negative Approach. While the shots from this set aren't as epic as last time, I'm still happy with them (especially considering I got in a little late and had to kind of sneak those ones).

EBX "That's What She Said" Album Release at The Loving Touch - April 15

This was a busy weekend, shooting in Pontiac on Friday and and Ferndale on Saturday, but I loved it! This was also a fun night for me because I'v been working with Elsie Binx for about a year now, and it's been so awesome to watch this band grow. This new album is really awesome, and I was happy too be there to help celebrate the release of it.

Acoustic Ash was the opening act for the night, and I loved what she had going on. This girl can really sing. I was also finally able to catch Those Hounds, who I've heard a lot about, and they were awesome. I'm a bit of a sucker for noise rock, and these guys had the perfect amount of fuzz to be prevalent but not obnoxious. Highly recommend. Reign came on right before the headliner, and I was quite happy to see them as well. I hadn't even heard of the much before they were added to this bill, but they were described to me as Dream Theatre-esque, with female vocals, so what's not to love about that? Definitely a major Within Temptation/Evanescense vibe, which I can dig. I'd certainly see this group again.

John Wozniak at The Dominion House - April 20

I've been hearing Sex and Candy for about as long as I can remember, so having the chance to ee it performed live by the composer in a dingy little bar was kind of cool.

I'm no totally sure what I expected going into this show, but I know that I left feeling like I had seen something really cool. And also having learned that John Wozniak is a sweaty mofo.

Empire Muscle Powerlifting Competition - April 29

Sports are fun to shoot, and I always get a kick out of the silly faces people make. Powerlifiting takes the faces to hilarious new levels, and also leaves room for the possibility of some supe badass shots. This competition had all of that. But it was also a very weird experience for me. I was lifting in this meet as well as photographing it, and it was sometimes difficult to switch from my lifting mindset to my shooting one, and vice versa. But both my lifts and photos turned out well, so huzzah! Unfortunately I don't get to look at any of the silly faces I made, though.