Sunday 25 September 2022

The Sheepdogs At MTelus

Sometimes, it feels good to get a chance to redo something the right way.  The Sheepdogs were at the MTelus in Montreal this past Thursday and I was very happy to get the chance to photograph them.  Way back in the early days of 2019, The Sheepdogs were the second concert that I officially had the chance to photograph.  And, it was a bit of a disaster.  During the opening set by Montreal's own The Damn Truth, my camera had a technical meltdown to the point where after about every third or fourth photograph, I had to turn off the camera, remove the battery grip and then reinstall it.  Three songs go by real fast to begin with, now imagine losing about 20 seconds of shooting time every few minutes.  So, I was very happy to hear that they would be returning to Montreal, and even more happy when I got my pass to shoot the show as I would finally have a chance to redeem myself.  The Sheepdogs have been pretty busy since last I saw them.  They were nominated for two Juno Awards for Rock Album of the Year and Group of the year back in 2019 and they also released an EP, No Simple Thing in May of 2021.  This past June saw the release of their most recent album, Outta Sight, for which they are currently on tour for.  Thankfully the old camera has since been replaced and there were no technical issues this time.  I like the photographs much more this time too.  The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 1600 at 42mm and the second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm.  Here are several more photographs of their performance.

f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 1600 at 35mm
f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 1600 at 47mm
f/3.2, 1/1600sec, ISO 1600 at 59mm
f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 42mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 3200 at 39mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 1600 at 42mm
f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 1600 at 55mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 3200 at 33mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 1600 at 35mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 1600 at 38mm
f/3.2, 1/4000sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 1600 at 50mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 1600 at 33mm
f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 35mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 3200 at 57mm

If you'd like to find out more about The Sheepdogs and their music, you can do so by visiting their website by following the link.  A special thanks to Ryan Gullen of Velvet Antler Management, and bassist in the band, for getting me a pass to shoot the show.  If you'd like to see the photographs of Kris Ulrich and Boy Golden, who opened the show, you can do so by following the respective links.  The Sheepdogs have described their style as pure, simple good time music.  That's exactly what was delivered on Thursday night.  A pure, simple good time.  Who could ask for anything else.  Go check them out when they play near you.

Boy Golden At MTelus

I like to do a little bit of research into artists that I will be photographing.  Especially if it is someone I don't know.  A quick search for Boy Golden, who was playing at MTelus this past Thursday, led to these words.  "Boy Golden has a purpose: enjoy each day and make good music. Founder and minister of The Church of Better Daze, he wants to help people seeking to improve on yesterday’s themes. His songs, like hymns, are hopeful, fresh and upbeat."  I don't know about you, but I was immediately intrigued and wanted to learn more.  Musically, there's a blues and country mix to his songs, but it's their upbeat messages about life that make him stand out.  His most recent album, The Church of Better Daze, was released last year and this tour is in support of it.  The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm.  Here are several more photographs of his performance.

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 63mm
f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 39mm
f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 at 42mm
f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 33mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 3200 at 65mm
f/3.2, 1/60sec, ISO 3200 at 41mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 44mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 59mm
f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 3200 at 41mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm
f.3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 300 at 31mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 41mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 33mm
f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 3200 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 3200 at 63mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 28mm

If you'd like to find out more about Boy Golden and his music, you can do so by following the link.  If you'd like to see the photographs that I took of Kris Ulrich and The Sheepdogs, you can do so by following the links.  Sometimes in music, you come across some acts that are all show and no substance.  While I had originally thought that would be the case here, I was more than happy to be proven wrong.  Save me a pew at the Church of Better Daze as I am ready to convert.  Check them out if they're in your town.

Kris Ulrich At MTelus

This was a little bit of an unexpected performance.  I was down at the MTelus this past Thursday for a show by The Sheepdogs.  I was chatting away on the phone when suddenly the lights went down a little earlier than I had anticipated.  One of the guitarists for Boy Golden, Kris Ulrich, had hit the stage for a quick set.  Luckily, my camera is already prepared so I jumped into the pit and got to shooting.  There's a comforting simplicity to just an artist and his guitar.  Everything just felt smooth while he was up on stage for the short amount of time he was there.  After serving others as a touring musician, he released a solo album of his own, Braemar Avenue, January 2021, back in June of last year.  The songs were nice, and he was full of gracious things to say about the city and its fans.  That warmed the audience to him and he then earned their attention with some great songs.  The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 3200 ay 39mm.  Here are a few more photographs of his performance.

f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm
f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 3200 at 53mm
f/3.2, 1/60sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 3200 at 42mm
f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 3200 at 70mm

If you'd like to find out more about Kris Ulrich and his music, you can do so by following the link to his website.  If you'd like to see the photographs that I took of Boy Golden and The Sheepdogs, you can do so by following the links.  It was great to discover your solo work, Kris.  Hope to hear see you in action again.

Monday 19 September 2022

Airbourne At Théâtre Corona

We don't usually begin to celebrate Rock-tober for another couple of weeks, but the dates on the calendar no longer matter if Airbourne happens to be in town.  There are but a few things that you can be sure of in this life, and one of them is that no matter where they happen to be playing, in this case the famed Théâtre Corona in Montreal, you can be sure that they will blow the roof off of the building with their high energy rock and roll.  This was my fifth time seeing them, but it was made all the more special by the fact that I actually had a pass to photograph the show.  During their two previous visits I had walked away with some photographs as well, but they were taken from the crowd and using inferior equipment due to the fact that, well, I wasn't really allowed to be photographing the show.  There are a couple of bands that I shot guerrilla style for The Old Blog, so when they come around and I end up getting permission to shoot them from the photo pit at the front of the stage, it shows me that all of the work I've been doing with this place of the years is actually paying off.  As Elton John said, Saturday night may be alright for fighting, but for me there's no better Saturday night activity than being at the front of the stage while Airbourne melts the faces of a sold out venue.  Flying beverages, climbing singers, fans jumping on the stage to dive in to the crowd (please don't do that folks), this show had it all.  Airbourne were touring in support of their most recent album, Boneshaker, which was released back in October of 2019, and this tour is one of many that ended up getting delayed due to 'The Plague'.  This first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 800 at 24mm and the second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/1250sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm.  Here are several more photographs of their performance.

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 47mm
f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 800 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/2000sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 1600 at 41mm
f/3.2, 1/640sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/1600sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/1250sec, ISO 1600 at 28mm
f/3.2, 1/1600sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 1600 at 24mm
f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 800 at 55mm
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 800 at 50mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 800 at 33mm
f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 800 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 1600 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 800 at 24mm

If you'd like to find out more about Airbourne and their music, you can visit their website by following the link.  The Native Howl performed earlier in the evening and if you'd like to see the photographs I took of them, you can do so by following this link.  A very big thank you goes out to Mr. Gregg Donovan of Wonderlick Management for getting me a pass to shoot the show.  As always, that is very much appreciated.  What a great evening of music it was.  Can't wait for them to return so we can hopefully do it all over again.