1) Brunch at the Driskill (followed by a few cocktails at the bar);
2) Meet up with Little Lo there, and wander around the hotel for pics;
3) Quick jaunt over to Markov’s Richard Kentopp’s place (with brilliant natural lighting and hardwood floors for days; am so jealous) for the next shoot;
4) Race home and frantically edit edit edit in my one free hour before:
5) the Electric Aquatic Club party bus to Lake Travis and a killer boat party.

Here are pics from all of the above.

Little Lo

Richard Kentopp // Markov

Electric Aquatic Club

Oh man, look at these pics, it is just so amazingly sunny; I love summer.

It’s time for something a little different around here, and by different I mean I have no idea what I’m talking about. See, I generally shoot concerts, with the occasional party thrown in for something different. If you catch me in the daylight (Ahhhh! It burns us!) I get a bit flaily at all that light just hanging about. What I wouldn’t give for half of that light in the evening! What do I do with all that easy illumination? What, I don’t have to work really effing hard to get a good pic without flash? I don’t understand!!!

Shooting during the day, shooting people who are very conscious of the fact that I’m taking pics of them, being able to choose where and when the photos take place; It’s all a strange new world to me, and I want to explore it more. So, in a very different type of post than usual, here are a few of my favorite daylight shots from two different pic sets.

Beams & Tracks, aka my random awesome photoshoot with Ashley Cass, lady-about-town.

And now some from a set I called Victoria, TX, because who better for hapless photog subjects than my family, who can’t really turn me down? And despite the cranky faces at times, I promise no kids were annoyed in the making of these pics.

I’m looking to do more photoshoot-type things, so if anyone knows someone who’s looking, feel free to point ‘em my way. I’m kinda diggin’; this sunlight thing.

]]> http://shutter-noise.com/editorial-type-pics/feed/ 0 http://shutter-noise.com/zeale-ume-the-black-white-years-at-do512-lounge/ http://shutter-noise.com/zeale-ume-the-black-white-years-at-do512-lounge/#comments Fri, 11 Mar 2011 04:20:34 +0000 admin http://shutter-noise.com/?p=296 The Do512 Lounge Sessions are like any amazingly good new spot you found: you want to rave to everyone about just how awesome and cool and fun it is, but there’s a nagging worry that if you do then it’ll get all crowded and difficult to get in.

But they are just so good. The lighting, the sound, the quality of bands, the free booze, the people. You get to see kickass, intimate sets from bands that normally draw huge crowds downtown, then hang out with them afterward. It is pretty much the coolest thing ever.

(Also, I bought a new lens for my birthday, and this was a good reason to see what it could do.)

The Black and White Years

(Sorry, Scott, I couldn’t resist posting this one.)

Ume

Zeale
(By this time in the evening, the free booze was in full effect, so I didn’t get as many pics of Zeale as I’d’ve liked.)

Here’s the entire set of pics if you wanna see more.

Let’s go from most recent to oldest… I saw Baths on Saturday at the Mohawk, and Will Wiesenfeld DESTROYED me with awesomeness. You may be thinking ‘oh, electronic pop music, he probably presses play and then bobs his head on-stage,’ but you couldn’t be more wrong. He wails into his mic, feverishly twists knobs, pushes buttons, slides toggles, and with precise and crazy-fast hand movements builds up gorgeous sonic palettes right in front of you. It is inspiring, intimidating, and incredibly danceable.

He is coming back for SXSW, so do yourself a huge favor and take the time to see him live, maybe even a few times. I certainly will.

Baths

OK, confession time: I went to the Tokyo Police Club show mainly to see their tourmates, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. What can I say, I adore SSLYBY’s incredibly catchy and fun hooks, and have been a fan since seeing them at the Mohawk in 2008. And TPC? Never really grabbed my attention, despite knowing that they have a legion of rabid fans who must see something great in them.

SSLYBY, though… they really impressed me this time. Both other times I’ve seen them, they played inside at the Mohawk. Tiny, tiny space, y’all. And yet, last week they completely owned La Zona Rosa’s huge stage, and made me even more of a fangirl with their dynamic stage presence and expanded sound. I practically had ridiculous cartoon hearts in my eyes by the end of their set.

SSLYBY

Tokyo Police Club

If you’re an Austinite, I’m sure you’ve heard of Do512… you know, the website that makes planning your concert calendar not only possible but easy? Well, they have branched out into live music, and are about to kick Austin’s ass. With the brand-new Do512 Lounge, they will be hosting incredibly exclusive private concerts. I’m talking 50 people per session, maybe. I was lucky enough to get in on one of their first, with the Black Angels. Kickass sound, ditto for lighting, in hands-reach of the band, and the booze was free… what more could you want?

The Black Angels

After that, I headed to the Parish for the sold-out Little Dragon show. I was diggin’ it, but I think all the free booze on a Sunday evening was getting the better of me, so I sadly booked it after only half of their set. Would see again, though.

Little Dragon

As usual, I’ve been posting a ton of pics to Flickr, not as much here… That means it’s time for a photo-dump! Click the pics if you wanna see more there. In this post: Eisley, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Lonely Forest, Black Mountain, the Black Angels, Junip, Sharon Van Etten, the Pomogranates, Oh No Oh My.

Damn.

Eisley has the most gorgeous harmonies. I went digging through Hype Machine for stuff to link, and almost got sucked into a who-knows-how-long binge of Neutral Milk Hotel covers, instigated by Eisley’s lovely cover of In An Aeroplane Over the Sea. But yes, Eisley. They can be a bit twee at times, but sometimes you just need a sugar binge. They are worth seeing live, if only so you can sink into their lovely, perfectly combined voices. They’re gonna be back on tour in the spring, so you’ll get the chance soon.

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin has an almost unbearably indie name, but also really catchy hooks, so as long as you don’t have to bring them up in a conversation you’re ok. And yes, that is a life-sized cutout of Harrison Ford on stage with them.

Lonely Forest opened for SSLYBY. I dug them; they were FUN!

Pomegranates

Oh No Oh My are an Austin band with a new album coming out next year, their first since 2006. They switch instruments quite a bit live, and are good in an indie-pop-rock kinda way.

Junip, aka ‘that band with Jose Gonzalez’. They actually had the entire, packed venue totally in the palms of their hands… it was a completely intense and entrancing show. <3

But I was excited about the show wayyy before I knew Junip was playing; it was all because of my musical obsession with their tourmate, Sharon Van Etten. The Antlers mentioned her on Twitter, then NPR streamed her album a few months back, and I was HOOKED. Her voice could make anything sound amazing, and when you add her heart-wrenching lyrics you get an album that causes such a lovely ache, you have to listen again and again. One of my favorites of the year.

Black Mountain

So, the Black Angels are local. If they’re not touring, you might even run into them hanging out at the Mohawk; if so say hi, they’re nice guys, I promise. All of this makes it a bit awkward for me every time I see them play, because GODDAMN do they rock out. No, really, they are rock stars on stage. It’s kinda ridiculous how face-meltingly kickass they are live… When you see them play, don’t bother with taking psychedelics beforehand; their live show makes you feel like you’re tripping on something really intensely good.

Also in this post: Best Coast, Kaki King, Mariachi El Bronx, Yelle, and more.

Off!

skateboarding ramp hell yes

Kylesa

Mariachi El Bronx! I had never heard anything by them before, but walked away a complete fan. I want to see them somewhere a bit more intimate, with a big group of friends I can dance with.

Toro y Moi

Kaki King (I love youuuuuu! Also, you kinda rocked out way more than I was expecting! <3!)

Photo shoot with the founders themselves, Moody and Graham.

And then Graham, riding away. Not the worst way to get around backstage.

Cults, who I’ve loved ever since seeing them open up for Maps & Atlases months ago. They are so much fun live!

Also, it was totally her birthday, so Bethany from Best Coast came onstage with a cake for her! It was adorable.

Best Coast

Washed Out, who I totally shot because I couldn’t get in the photo pit for Deerhunter because there were too many people in there with point-and-click cameras. Sadface.

This was as close as I got to Deerhunter.

Yelle! I want them to come back to town immediately! I want another kickass French electro-indie-dance-pop dance party RIGHT NOW.

The Descendents
OH MY GOD. No, really, I still can’t believe I got to shoot them. It was without a doubt the craziest photo pit I have ever been in, and I had a blast.

A-Trak (I grabbed this on my way out of the park)

All of my Day 3 pics are here.

I cannot wait until FFF next year.