Thursday 21 July 2011

“We’re Not about to do a free-form jazz exploration in front of a festival crowd”

WFK @ M2WFK @ M2WFK @ M2WFK @ M2WFK @ M2WFK @ M2
WFK @ M2WFK @ M2WFK @ M2WFK @ M2WFK @ M2WFK @ M2
WFK @ M2WFK @ M2WFK @ M2WFK @ M2WFK @ M2WFK @ M2
WFK @ M2WFK @ M2WFK @ M2WFK @ M2WFK @ M2Waiting For Katherine @ M2 Festival



We recently went to the M2 festival in Marlborough School in St. Albans. We could only stay for one band, but we had a great time. This was the first outdoor band I have shot, not counting the couple of snaps of brass bands that have crept into my flickr gallery. It was quite a novelty to have lots of available light, as opposed to the rather weak LED Cans I normally contend with. It made quite a nice change to have to crank the ISO down!!

The band featured here are Waiting for Katherine. I know them quite well, and are always fun to shoot. They are always full of energy, and never stand still. Their website is http://www.waitingforkatherine.com

I wrote a short review for them, which follows.


In true festival style, the M2 festival in St. Albans set the scene with a stage fashioned on the trailer of a rather large articulated lorry. However nothing dodgy was falling on the back of this one as the juggernaut that is Waiting for Katherine stormed the stage and ripped into some of their best numbers. If you have not experience WFK yet, I suggest you catch them as soon as you can. If you could wire them up to the national grid, their sheer energy could power a small city! This was WFK’s first outdoor festival slot, and they grasped the opportunity with both hands. Playing to an audience with a wide age group, they made the day their own. Firm favorites’ like “Knockback”, and “Lying about my age” went down well with the loyal WFK army, and the accessibility of these well crafted songs grabbed those new to the band. Fans were treated to a new song in the form of the fabulous “Panic Attack”, whilst a few well chosen covers poked tongue in cheek fun at singer Andy Woolford’s taste for 80’s pop. Proving their ability to play to any audience the band upped the entertainment by engaging the crowd in their performance, playing football mid song, having an impromptu pop quiz, and finally filling the stage with new fans to provide backing for punkpop anthem “My Mate”.
WFK defy being shoehorned into a single genre. Their music is hard and fast, but never overbearing or offensive, the songs cover elements of the human condition we can all relate to, and above all else this band is bloody good fun to be in front of. Festivals will never be the same again!

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