RE:ACTION pt.1

September 21st, 2009

I was thrilled to recently learn that I’ve been accepted to show some of my work at this year’s Hard Working Class Heroes festival in Dublin.  The HWCH is an annual, independent showcase of Irish bands & musicians, with a hundred acts performing over a long weekend in October.  The fest also has a photography exhibition, and fortunately for me, they opened up the competition to photographers beyond the Emerald Isle.  So for this week, I thought I’d post the five photos I’m submitting to the exhibit.

The theme we’ve been given for this year’s exhibition is RE:ACTION – ie. our reaction to music, others reactions to music, crowds reactions to musicians and/or musicians reactions to crowds.  And one of my favorite “reaction” shots is the above sequence that I took of Duke Special last summer at the Splendour Festival in Nottingham.  I was following Duke for over a month, filming the documentary of the making-of his latest record, and in the midst of his recording sessions in London, he took some time to play a few gigs in England.

For anyone who’s ever had the privillege of seeing Duke Special play live, you know that he puts on special show indeed.  Regardless of the venue or the size of the crowd, the guy really gives it his all, and the above concert was no exception.  Having a backstage pass and being able to literally be on the stage while Duke and co. performed, certainly offered me the opportunity to get some angles not often afforded to concert photographers.  So when the band finished their set in an absolute frenzy, I was able to quickly snap off these shots of Duke flipping over his piano and then crashing down upon it.

Entry Filed under: Bands, Duke Special, Europe, HWCH, Pic of the Day