Rae Kelly at Music City Unsigned 1

Rae Kelly, a set on Flickr.

Tranquil Fury at Music City Unsigned 1

Tranquil Fury, a set on Flickr.

Waiting For Katherine @ Music City Unsigned 1

Waiting For Katherine @ MCU1, a set on Flickr.

St. Patricks day, May 17th 2012 and I have been asked to shoot "Waiting for Katherine"or WFK at Music City Unsigned. This is a local Arts innitiative to launch a week of cultural

activities in St. Albans. WFK had with two other bands won an internet poll for the chance to play at the city's Alban Arena. Exciting for the bands yes, but also good for me as I

have not had the chance to shoot in a largish venue like this before. I arrived late afternoon just as the bands were arriving with their gear, and set about exploring the back stage areas. Despite having long since relinquised my dreams to be a rock musician, I had a sense of adolesent excitment at being part of the days proceedings.
WKF were to sound check first. This was perfect as the theatre production crew used it as an opportunity to test all the lighting, effects, backdrops etc. This meant I could get a heads up on getting the exposure right on my kit ahead of the evenings real show. Usually the first few shots are wasted in a gig for me getting it close to right, so having a chance to do my own soundcheck, or perhaps more accurately lightcheck, was great. The band had also asked a videographer to come along who was using a Canon 60D to capture the event. I have to admit a small amount of camera envy leading to crave a new camera, more of that in another entry I suspect. Sound check over and half a card of images, the band headed off to sort out their merchendising, before heading off for a bite.

First band up in the show are a local rock outfit Tranquil Fury. Very energetic so a lot of blurred shots. I prefer to call these motion shots, but thats just my way of covering up the fact that I didn't get them sharp. The band had a winged logo, and it was fun trying to capture the band members with the wings sprouting from their backs.

Next up was Rae Kelly, a singer songwriter. Sat at a keyboard with a bass player and drummer there was none of the frenetic jumping about of the previous band. The challenge here would be to get a variety of images from a more static act. Again the backdrop provided some shots. Another challenge was the usual one of stage furniture. Usually with singers, of guitarist/singers they move aroung a little, so you can get a face shot without a microphone obscuring them, however with a pianist the opportunities are scarcer.

Headlining the evening are WFK. Similar challenges to the first band, with the addition of the videographer to negotiate around, and the mad antics of Andy the singer. I hope I got some shots they can use. I'm pleased with the results, and my hit rate was better than usual. I put this down to the pressure of being asked to to the shoot, and having better lighting conditions than I am used to at the smaller venues.