A very good night was had last night by myself and my good friend Joe at Liverpool Barfly attending a concert by the mighty Luke Haines. As anyone with any taste knows, Haines is the brains behind The Auteurs, Black Box Recorder and a number of solo projects. This was Luke's second tour in support of his excellent new solo album.
The night kicked off with Ben Parker, a London-based singer songwriter. Ben did a 30-minute set of songs which were very good indeed, if a little samey. I admire anyone who plays a support slot in front of a sparse crowd, and Ben acquitted himself very well. I look forward to hearing more of his work.
Second on the bill was a guy from Brooklyn by the name of David Berkeley. David walked onstage and introduced himself as Luke Haines, which amused everyone in the audience except for one guy who told him to 'f**k off'. David was not fazed by this and played his first song. After more abuse from the solitary dickhead in the crowd, David said 'well I'm here for 30 minutes and I'm going to play my songs' which drew clapping from those of us who were enjoying his music. David built up a rapport with the audience throughout his set and was clearly having fun, especially when his abuser got kicked out of the venue! I like performers who interact with their audience - I felt that the audience really warmed to this guy and I could tell he enjoyed the banter he was having with us! I've since discovered that David has several albums available, and I plan to invest in them as soon as possible!
After a short break, Mr Haines walked onstage to raptorous applause. He's had the same fans since he started and his fanbase has neither increased or decreased. A well-kept secret, especially since Hut Records have stopped giving him loads of money to record his critically acclaimed (but commercially disastrous!) records. Luke played a set that encompassed all facets of his career and, as per usual, had a great stage presence, enjoying a bit of banter with the crowd between, and during, songs. Although I get the impression that his current habit of doing solo acoustic shows is born mainly out of financial constraints, the format suits him well and it says a lot that songs originally recorded with groups of talented musicians can sound so good played acoustically. An excellent night!
Last night was also the first outing for my new camera, and although I struggled with the settings I managed to get a few shots that came out OK. I was working in black and white with no flash. I plan to ask some of my more knowledgeable friends their advice on gig photography, but these weren't bad for my first attempt:
Ben Parker:
David Berkeley:
Luke Haines:
The night kicked off with Ben Parker, a London-based singer songwriter. Ben did a 30-minute set of songs which were very good indeed, if a little samey. I admire anyone who plays a support slot in front of a sparse crowd, and Ben acquitted himself very well. I look forward to hearing more of his work.
Second on the bill was a guy from Brooklyn by the name of David Berkeley. David walked onstage and introduced himself as Luke Haines, which amused everyone in the audience except for one guy who told him to 'f**k off'. David was not fazed by this and played his first song. After more abuse from the solitary dickhead in the crowd, David said 'well I'm here for 30 minutes and I'm going to play my songs' which drew clapping from those of us who were enjoying his music. David built up a rapport with the audience throughout his set and was clearly having fun, especially when his abuser got kicked out of the venue! I like performers who interact with their audience - I felt that the audience really warmed to this guy and I could tell he enjoyed the banter he was having with us! I've since discovered that David has several albums available, and I plan to invest in them as soon as possible!
After a short break, Mr Haines walked onstage to raptorous applause. He's had the same fans since he started and his fanbase has neither increased or decreased. A well-kept secret, especially since Hut Records have stopped giving him loads of money to record his critically acclaimed (but commercially disastrous!) records. Luke played a set that encompassed all facets of his career and, as per usual, had a great stage presence, enjoying a bit of banter with the crowd between, and during, songs. Although I get the impression that his current habit of doing solo acoustic shows is born mainly out of financial constraints, the format suits him well and it says a lot that songs originally recorded with groups of talented musicians can sound so good played acoustically. An excellent night!
Last night was also the first outing for my new camera, and although I struggled with the settings I managed to get a few shots that came out OK. I was working in black and white with no flash. I plan to ask some of my more knowledgeable friends their advice on gig photography, but these weren't bad for my first attempt:
Ben Parker:
David Berkeley:
Luke Haines:
VIEW 3 of 3 COMMENTS
mizzinky:
Thank you for the nice PSW set comment!
productiondiva:
hello hotness. missed ya lately. how is the life of my little office nazi? sounds like you had a good time the other night and the pics are class!
