Anna Of The North At Studio TD

I originally found my way to concert photography because I wanted to have photographs of the bands that I like.  I always have my eyes open for concert listing, looking for band that I listen to, wanting to know when they will be coming to town.  However, sometimes a little something else seems to cause  my Spidey Sense to tingle and draws in my attention.  Such was the case with Anna of the North.  Maybe it was all of those years watching The Wizard of Oz that taught we that good things come from the North, but I was drawn to her concert.  There weren't any ruby slippers on display, but Anna of the North spun her musical spell over the crowd at Le Studio TD on Thursday night.  Coming to us from her native Norway, Anna of the North's music has been described as soft, soul-barring techno-pop and has three albums to her name, the latest being Crazy Life, which was released in November of last year, but also has a Deluxe version set to be released in April.  A small techincal snafu led to a little hitch at the beginning of the show, but being a season veteran of the stage, she took it in stride, giving the fans a more stripped down acoustic version of her hit song Lovers before the sound issues could be taken care of.  Nobody was left disappointed and the show rolled on as they crowd danced and sang along with Anna of the North as everyone made their way down a Yellow Brick Road of musical goodness.  The first two photographs were taken at f/3.2, 1/60sec, ISO 10000 at 24mm.  Here are several more photographs that I took of her performance.

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 12800 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 12800 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 12800 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 12800 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 12800 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 12800 at 47mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 12800 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 12800 at 28mm

f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 12800 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 12800 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 12800 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 12800 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 8000 at 38mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 12800 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 12800 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 8000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 8000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 12800 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 12800 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 8000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 12800 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 12800 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 12800 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 12800 at 24mm

 

If you'd like to find out more about Anna of the North and her music, you can do so  by following the link to her website.  If you'd like to see the photographs that I took of RebMoe and Maris, you can do so by following the provided links.  A big thank you goes out to Björn Barnekow of Bad Taste Empire Management and tour manager Hans Indhal for getting me a pass to shoot the show.  All Wizard of Oz reference aside, Anna of the North has some great music and puts on a wonderful show.  All without the aide of any witchcraft of any kind.  Head out and see her when she visits a town near you.

Maris At Studio TD

It's the times where you aren't really expecting something that you end up making a discovery that really makes your day.  Before Thursday night, the only Maris on my radar was used to play for the New York Yankees and held the single season record for home runs in a season.  Move over Roger, because you've got some company.  This Maris was discovered on the stage of Le Studio TD on Thursday night, making her way to us by way of Montana.  Her website describes her music as a reflection of her liveliness, and she is definitely full of life.  The stage at Le Studio TD could barely contain her energy as we were treated to dance number and an air guitar competition with her partner in music, Jessica, and lots of running around.  All of the energy expended was enough to wind an old timer like me, but with energy to spare, she lifted the crowd and invited them to share her universe with her.  We haven't even mentioned the music yet, and Maris was great.  The kind of opening act that quickly made their way onto me list of terrific openers as he mix of pop and rock was enough to keep the entire crown on their toes through the entire set.  There are no albums from her yet, but Maris has several singles that can be found as well as an EP, Gravity, which is due to be released in April of this year.  The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 10000 at 35mm and the second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 10000 at 24mm.  Here are several more photographs that I took of her performance.

f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 10000 at 35mm

f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 10000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 10000 at 57mm

f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 10000 at 35mm

f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 10000 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 10000 at 50mm

f/3.2, 1/50sec, ISO 10000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 10000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 10000 at 57mm

f/2.8, 1/100sec, ISO 10000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/60sec, ISO 10000 at 55mm

f/3.2, 1/60sec, ISO 10000 at 33mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 10000 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 10000 at 42mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 10000 at 42mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 10000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 10000 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 10000 at 39mm

If you'd like to find out more about Maris and her music, you can do so by following the link to her website.  You can also see the photographs that I took that night of RebMoe and Anna of the North by following the respective links.  It's appropriate that the name of Maris' forthcoming EP is Gravity, as I think it is probably the only force strong enough to hold her and her music down.  She is currently touring with Anna of the North and is worth the price of admission on her own.  Hope to see her in these parts again some day.

RebMoe At Studio TD

We had an added bonus performer hit the stage on Thursday night at Le Studio TD in Montreal.  RebMoe, a friend of our headliner, hit the stage as an unannounced opening act and quickly warmed the room her a few french words and her Norwegian style.  'Odd' and 'quirky' were two of the most used words I ended up seeing while trying to find out a little bit about out artist.  While those words might not usually be seen as very complimentary, they do seem to fit RebMoe's style and not in a bad way.  I'm not real up on the EDM or Beats scene, but our quirky Norwegian friend is real popular in that corner of the musical world.  I can certainly see why.  The first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 6400 at 63mm.  Here are a few more photographs that I took of her performance.

f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 12800 at 24mm

f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 6400 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 12800 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 12800 at 47mm

f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 12800 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 12800 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/80sec, ISO 12800 at 38mm

f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 12800 at 35mm

f/3.2, 1/100sec, ISO 12800 at 70mm

f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 12800 at 70mm

If you'd like to find out more about RebMoe and her music, you can do so by following the link to her Facebook page.  If you'd like to see the photographs I took later that night of Maris and then Anna of the North, you can do so by following the respective links.  The music may not be my thing, but her songs were certainly very catchy and fun.  Isn't that what we all want from our tunes?  It's certainly what the folks in Le Studio TD were looking for as they quickly began to grove along to the music and have a great time.  No need to ask for anything more.