We're a little bit backed up on getting my concert photographs up here
on The Old Blog. I suppose we will catch up at some point, but this
would be a good time to remind you that my concert photographs can be
seen in a much more timely manner by visiting V13Media, which you can do
by following the link. If you'd like an even more direct route to my
photographs, you can visit my personal page over there but using the
following link. There’s a
reason why I take photographs of musical acts rather than being a critic. Had I been a critic, I would have written
Katy Perry off as a one-hit wonder in the making 17 years ago when her song “I
Kissed A Girl” seemed like it was on every radio station and video
program. I would have
obviously been
wrong, because here we are in 2025 and Katy Perry has had a remarkable
career. The Centre Bell in Montreal was
sold out and every one of the fans in attendance couldn’t wait for their
favourite hits to be played. KatyPerry’s gigantic The Lifetimes Tour began April and her appearance in Montreal
began with Katy rising from a hole in the stage up to the ceiling. For this portion of the show he was dressed as
a kind of cyborg/Iron Man, the first of many different outfits. The show would go on to have four other
‘acts’, featuring a very generous 25 songs that covered all of her albums. At this point of the evening, we were only a
few songs in to the set, but the crowd was already on fire. One of the
things that endears Katy Perry to her fans is that she doesn’t come across as a
diva. She was up on stage, 
surrounded by
dancers, musicians and a gigantic video wall, but still cracking jokes and
chatting with the audience. It was full blown spectacle, given by someone
who would probably be just as comfy chatting on the couch, or having a friendly
dinner with a former Prime Minister. The
only difference being, that on this night, most of her lounging was done in the
arms of her many dancers or while being several feet in the air while hanging
from the rafters. For someone who might have been considered to
be a one-hit wonder once upon a time, Katy Perry has proven to everyone who may
have thought that, that they were wrong.
Her seventh album, 143, was released last year and in an industry that
seems to churn out new pop
princesses on what seems like a daily basis, Katy Perry has seen many contenders come and go.
Through it all, she remains at the top of the mountain. All of the theatrics, lights, dancers and
special effects make for an incredible presentation. But, it’s the songs that brought everyone
out the Centre Bell. Katy Perry and her
songs have been doing that in arenas and stadiums around the world as well for almost twenty years now. She is likely to continue doing so as it is a safe bet that everyone in attendance would be more than happy to repeat the experience again. All of the photographs were taken at f/3.2 while using various different shutter speeds, ISO settings and focal lengths. Here are the rest of the photographs that I took of Katy Perry while she performed on the Centre Bell stage.
If you would like to find out more about Katy Perry and her music, you can do so you can do so by following the link to her website. If you would like to see the photographs that I took of Rebecca Black, who performed earlier that evening, you can do so by following the link. Much thanks to Katy Perry's management team at Direct Management Group, Evenko and Christopher Gonda of V13Media for getting me a pass to shoot the show, it is very much appreciated. Katy Perry’s The Lifetimes Tour continues to the end of the year. Be sure
to check out Katy Perry when she plays in a town near you.
Writing, writing, writing. Montreal's MTelus was the home of some Punk Rock Royalty this past week as one of the corner stones of the genre were on stage. Direct from the UK, The Buzzcocks had come to remind everyone of another time and that that music was still as powerful and alive as it was back in the 1970's. Much like many bands of the period, time has thinned out the ranks of the band. Singer Steve Diggle, originally a guitarist before he took up the lead vocal duties after the death of Pete Shelley back in 2018, is
the only remaining Buzzcock from their heyday, but the man is a legend and one
that I feel incredible honoured to be able to see before my camera. The man at 70 has more energy than I did at
20 and was an inspiration to see on
the stage. The Buzzcocks hit the stage and opened with their big hit 'What Do I Get' and every “1, 2, 3, 4” was met with a louder and louder reaction at the beginning of every
song. All of their hit singles were
played before a crowd that featured several different generations. There’s something cool about seeing what
appeared to be a grandfather with three different hair colours rocking out with
what I took to be his grandson. It was a
little bit life affirming, the power of The Buzzcocks bringing the generations
together. Their most recent album, Sonics In The Soul, was released in 2022, but their classic material from the late 70's will likely stand the test of time and it was great to hear them performed live. All of the photographs were taken at f/3.2 while using various different shutter speeds, ISO settings and focal lengths. Here are the rest of the photographs that I took of The Buzzcocks as they performed on the MTelus stage.
