Papa Roach - That Kiss - Brixton

I've had literally FOUR emails asking if I managed to snap a shot of the "embrace" between Papa Roach front man, Jacoby Shaddix and guitar god Jerry Horton.. The guys have been playing together for years, so hell, why not have some man love on stage. Here's that shot for all you people that just can't get enough, or, wanted to be either one of Jerry or Jacoby for that moment...

A blisteringly good performance by the guys, Papa Roach has been making ear drums bleed since they decided to enter a school talent competition with a version of Jimi Hendrix' Fire... They didn't win... Later that year, Trombone became guitar (Jerry) and Jacoby met his wife, then girlfriend and fan.

You can find more stills on my Songkick or in my flickr

Alice Russell // KOKO

A brief visit to the (I won't say how many images I have!) photos from the amazing Alice Russell gig at KOKO. Here are just a couple that I'll share... Please find out more about Alice >>> HERE <<<

Rock Star, I think so...

I wrote recently that Martina McBride, or at least her entourage, were quite ...what's the word ...petty? Some musicians are great to photograph, some really worry how they look and want to protect their image and some just flat out won't let you near them because they've got bigger jowls than a Christmas turkey... (names, anyone - huge band, come on... Jenny was a friend?) anyway, yes... Last night I had the absolute pleasure of photographing Alice Russell.. The venue was KOKO (My current fave) in Camden and let me tell you - what a performance... Anyway, that's not the point - my point is that I shot for the whole set, encore, the lot... I went through three cards - two 4gb cards and a 16gb (half full) and I had an absolute blast doing it! - I was considerate to the fans, though, that had paid to stand behind me. I moved, I weaved, I ducked!.. I was a musical Mike "the ear biter" Tyson... You know, I'd love to show you a photo or two from that gig, but as I'm penning this whilst at work (The clock has since gone 6, oh reading boss man) and some lowlife scum dog has swiped my CF reader - I have ALL the photos, but they're enclosed in plastic and metal with a SanDisk Extreme IV label. So, instead, I thought I'd pop you up a photo of a real rocker - Formed in Melbourne so long ago, Bjorn Again - This photo was taken in England at Sonisphere 2009... This is one song before they performed ENTER SANDMAN - It was a cracking version, too.

On that note, I'm off home to get me some Alice Russell image goodness and, at that point, share it with you oh faithful tripe reader...

And if the stereo guy is reading (hi!) I am going to be listening to Alice in chains again, through my 7 channel amplified, but I'll turn five of them off - ok - just for you!... (Comment and tell me more about your course)

Sime

Gang of Four - Kentish Town Forum

Gang of Four, are an English post-punk group from Leeds. Original personnel were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. They were fully active from 1977 to 1984, and then re-emerged twice in the 1990s with King and Gill. In 2004, the original line-up reunited but in 2006 Allen was replaced on bass by Thomas Mcneice and later Burnham on drums by Mark Heaney.

They play a stripped-down mix of punk rock, with strong elements of funk music, minimalism and dub reggae and an emphasis on the social and political ills in society. Gang of Four are widely considered as one of the leading bands of the late 1970s/early 1980s post-punk movement. Their later albums (Songs of the Free and Hard) found them softening some of their more jarring qualities, and drifting towards dance-punk and disco. Their debut album, Entertainment!, ranked at #490 in Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. David Fricke in Rolling Stone said "Gang of Four are probably the best politically motivated dance band in rock & roll."

Gill and King, the creative forces in the band, brought together an eclectic array of influences, ranging from the neo-Marxist Frankfurt School of social criticism to the increasingly clear trans-Atlantic punk consensus. Gang of Four was named by a member of the Mekons when while driving around with Gill and King he came upon a newspaper article on the intra-Party coup against China's "Gang of Four".

According to critic Paul Morley, "The Gang spliced the ferocious precision of Dr. Feelgood's working-class blues with the testing avant-garde intrigue of Henry Cow. Wilfully avoiding structural obviousness, melodic prettiness and harmonic corniness, the Gang's music was studded with awkward holes and sharp corners."[citation needed] At the time, the band was recognised as doing something very different to other white guitar acts. Ken Tucker, in Rolling Stone, 1980, wrote: "...rarely have the radical edges of black and white music come closer to overlapping... the Gang of Four utilize their bass guitar every bit as prominently and starkly as the curt bass figures that prod the spoken verses in [Kurtis Blow's "culture defining" huge summer hit] “The Breaks.”

Hope you enjoyed my little wander into "politically positioned post punkism"

Sime

Black gives way to blue | Alice in Chains

A mate mentioned that he was listening to the new Alice in Chains stuff and said that, incredulously, it's "the best they've ever done" Now, while I'm very musically fair and will give anything a couple of listens before I bin it, I thought "how can that be?!" - What about Grind and ... well, everything else A.I.C have ever done?!

Unlike most office workers, I have a "Logitech Z-5500 THX-Certified 505-Watt 5.1 Digital Surround Sound Speaker System" attached to my pc, and yes, that is a 10" sub woofer attached and under my desk, I'm not even close to pleased to see you... I like my music and listen to it all day - I've actually never considered that people don't like my taste (I do have two different pairs of Sennheiser headphones just in-case the tension is running high!)

Well - I have had (This review copy) of Black Gives Way To Blue on for most of the day and I have to say - Alice in Chains have amazed me. The recreation with new front man WILLIAM DUVALL has been a success - There was much talk in the camp "will he fill Layne's boots" ...I don't think it was a case of filling them, nobody ever could really.. But the guy is magic, he's awesome on stage, sounds brilliant... I'm 2:05 into Acid Bubble and loving it - some differences, but hell, he's not Layne. I've photographed the "new" AIC twice now, once at Sonisphere and once at Scala in London (Where I managed a mention on the AIC blog - see if you can work out where!)

They are amazing. The recreation is superb. Click this link and buy the album - don't think, just do it. Black Gives Way To Blue | Alice in Chains

This album doesn't get stars - it gets listened to, over and over again and gets bought by me on Vinyl and CD - Jerry's guitar solo from 2:10 in "Private Hell [Explicit]" ....so so good

Sime