Gigs of Late June and July

In June, I began my journey in becoming a live music photographer. Over the course of late June and July, I photographed at 4 different gigs and met over 30 individual musicians. Leeds, Liverpool, Saltaire and Milton Keynes were the cities that the gigs took place in and were each very enjoyable in their own way.

Wharf Chambers - 29/06/19

Leeds music collective, Gxrls Do That Too, hosted a show at the Wharf Chambers in late June. The line up included local artists, Strelka and The Palarva, and Scunthorpe based headline act, FINNO. This was my second show photographing and it was exciting to be able to catch the feeling that each act brought to the stage.

Ella Heaton of Strelka
Front woman of Strelka, Ella, presented herself as a powerful feminist by making a powerful bold fashion statement wearing a black laced top over a baby pink tee captioned with STEREOTYPE. They recently released their second single to date called Silverfish, which was perfectly executed by wonderfully talented musicians and aided by the energy that the dynamic four piece brought to the stage. A highlight of the performance for me was when guitarist, Josh, played with some drum sticks which in all my years of attending gigs, I had never seen before.

Marceline Jasek of FINNO
Headline act, FINNO, entered full of the teenage angst we all love and truly made the stage their own. I witnessed young and old come together, dancing and moshing along to many of the songs that the three piece played. During my personal favorite song 'Life In The Great Divide', guitarist and bassist, Will and Marcy, wore balaclavas and poured their heart and soul out to the audience now indulged in a mosh pit. FINNO bring a strong presence to the stage that is rare to see by their pure passion for each and every note of all their original songs, which keeps the audience hanging on their every word.

Headcharge Club @ The Craufurd Arms - 12/08/19

Headcharge Club are a community of young musicians from Northampton and Milton Keynes, who are recharging the once ranging scene that the rowdy towns once had. Hosted at the Craufurd Arms, the group of musicians organised a show to showcase each of the featured bands talent. Torus, JJ Moon, Sandbox and Flower Toy played at this packed out event. Alfie Glass, founder of the collective, is also a member of every band that performed that night. Its just the start for this group of budding musicians but it looks like there's exciting things up ahead for them.

Harry Quinn of Flower Toy
First on that night was two piece stoner doom metal band, Flower Toy. Comprised of Harry Quinn on guitar and vocals and Alfie Glass on drums. Based in Milton Keynes, the band have been going over two years but have only performed a small number of times due to commitments to other musical projects that each of the members have been involved in. Guitarist, Harry Quinn, released his debut album as a solo project called Adversity, which is available on all streaming platforms! With a strong energy and a heavy, exciting sound, it was a great way to start off the night.

Will Hendry of Sandbox
Sandbox, a mathcore trio, leaped onto the stage next to perform their original songs. Songs are written by guitarist and clean vocalist, Will Hendry and a personal favorite  is Paul Mitchell Threw My Cat In The Road. Both members of Flower Toy are also a part of this project, with Harry Quinn on bass and Alfie Glass returning again on the drums. As their set progressed the mosh pits became bigger and the sense of belonging grew stronger. Everyone there felt happy for the moments that everyone danced, moshed and did whatever just for that time. Sandbox released their latest single, Waiting Times!

Jamie Holman aka JJ Moon       
Singer-songwriter, Jamie Holman, is a jazz influenced alternative rock musician and has created his stage persona as JJ Moon. The band formed in early 2019 after Jamie decided to start teaching former band mate of Nigel's Mind, Alfie Glass, the songs that he'd be writing. Compared to the rest of the Headcharge bands, they play lighter jazz influen.ced rock but still managed to get everyone moshing and dancing to their songs. Original song 'Wolf', written by Jamie, was a stand out song for me at the show and will be released as soon as JJ Moon is happy with the recorded sound.

Torus
Torus were the finale for the night and certainly made sure they went out with a bang. With the release of their single, Valley of the Weasel, being filmed by Wise Guys at Natural Light Studios, they seem to be growing in popularity in the Milton Keynes music scene. The room was packed full of teens who moshed each and everything song that Torus played full of energy. Local gig goer, Catriona McGinn, described Torus as 'a very unique band that involved their audience in their performance'.


Saltaire Beer Factory - 18/07/19

Local lads, Fling, played a hometown show for the first time since December 2018. The boys decided to bring in other local bands, The Astrids and Railroads, to support them and celebrate the night. Fling have made a real name for themselves in recent years with the release of their debut album, FLING OR DIE, coming out earlier this year, they've played a large volume of festivals over the course of the summer.

James Rowland of Railroads
Railroads kicked the night off with their original song and latest release, Your Place Or Mine. Frontman, Sam Da Silva, tried to warm the crowd up for the upcoming acts by a playing classic tune by The Kinks called You Really Got Me, that brought the crowd both young and old together. Sadly on the 17th September, the Bradford based band announced their break up and let their fans know that their final show will be their headliner at the Underground on the 18th October 2019.


Sam Lunn of The Astrids
Next on was psychedelic rock band, The Astrids. On their rise in the Leeds music scene, this group of lads are really making a name for themselves with shows along side Allusinlove and The Mystery Lights. Last year, they released their first single 'Space Design' which was a hit with the crowd! On Halloween 2019, their debut EP will showcase and with the release of their single 'Arcadian Sound', it seems to foreshadow a very promising next couple of tracks. I think that these are certainly ones to look out for in the Leeds scene due to their unique sound.

Jack Winn of Fling
Finally, the headline acted graced the stage with their gender bending presence. The front row all joined together in song and dance as the boys played their hearts out. Charles Sorley, frontman and singer, exclaimed 'Grab your best friend' as they began to play a song yet to be released. With the release of their debut album 'FLING OR DIE' at the start of the year, fans sang along to each word and every word.



EBGBS - 27/08/19

 The last gig I photographed at in July was for Charity Shop Pop and a few other acts in EBGBS, Liverpool. As a fan of Charity prior to this event, I was very excited to have the opportunity to photograph for this up and coming artist. This was also my first time photographing  in Liverpool!

Michael Aldag
Michael Aldag performed some original songs on his acoustic guitar. His latest tune, Entitled, is now available on Spotify. In 2018, he joined the Levi's Music Project in Liverpool and has been described as a 'rising star' in the Liverpool music scene. Michael even got to play on the main stage of Sound City 2019 with the Project. He's certainly one to watch out for as even with the small crowd gathered at EBGBS, they were all entranced by his voice and his stage presence. Michael just released his single, Entitled, and I'd recommend giving it a listen!

Charity Shop Pop
Charity Shop Pop is a solo artist from Ormskirk, who also played Sound City 2019. Currently studying music at Edge Hill University, he's perusing his dream of being a musician. With many released songs and imaginative music videos, he incorporates this into his performance with his friend dancing dressed as one of the characters from the Dreaming (It's A Nightmare) music video. Charity's stage performance is fun and makes people dance along with those around them. This is one of my favourite indie artists in the rising Liverpool music scene.

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