Wine Lips At MTelus

The job of a good opening band is to get the crowd going.  Wake them up, if you will.  Heading in to the MTelus on a Tuesday night after having already shot another concert a few days before (check out my photographs of Armored Saint and Queensryche by following the respective links), dealing with the early alarm of my 'Day Job' and the seemingly endless energy of the next generation at home, I was certainly in need of a good wake up. Luckily, Wine Lips were on hand to make sure that any cobwebs that may have been floating around my head were promptly swept away by their music.  WineLips, a hot band from Ontario, opened the night with a bolt of energy that might not have been expected.  From their website, I read that they are described as a garage/ punk/ psychedelic band whose music feels like a shot of adrenaline to the heart.  This was my first Wine Lips experience and I found those words to be very accurate.  The band only had a small amount of space to work with, but made the most of it and left the Montreal crowd grasping their chests and trying to catch their breath.  This crowd may have already been pumped to see the headliners, but Wine Lips managed to get them even more amped up with their non-stop, fuzzy garage rock musical goodness.  The cheers we could here from the pit were undeniable, nor was the wild applause at the end of their set or the buzz in the crowd as we made our way back in.  Mission accomplished, this crowd was awake. The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 5000 at 55mm and the second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 5000 at 24mm.  Here are several more photographs that I took of Wine Lips while they were performing up on the stage.

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 5000 at 63mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 5000 at 55mm

f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 5000 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 5000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 5000 at 45mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 5000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 5000 at 41mm

f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 5000 at 53mm

f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 5000 at 53mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 5000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/2000sec, ISO 5000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 5000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 5000 at 47mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 5000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 5000 at 55mm

f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 5000 at 41mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 5000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 5000 at 24mm

If you'd like to find out more about Wine Lips and their music, you can do so by following the link to their Facebook page.  If you'd like to see the photographs that I took of The Black Crowes, who headlined the show, you can do so by following the link.  Wine Lips, as my Dad would say, were like a swift musical kick in the behind.  The barrage of guitars and drum begin loud and heavy and do not relent the band does not relent in their auditory assault until the final note has been played.  Check them out if Wine Lips has a concert coming up near you.