Sleigh Bells and Doldrums

I had the pleasure of photographing Sleigh Bells' latest Chicago show at the Metro a couple weeks ago. I've seen them a handful of times and absolutely love their live act - it's loud, energetic, fun, sexy and interactive. Singer Alexis Krauss is a natural entertainer - her nonstop dancing keeps the crowd captivated - while Derek Miller handles their trademark screeching, soaring guitar riffs. The addition of a drummer and another guitarist have further amped up and rounded out Sleigh Bells' sound in concert. Doldrums kicked off the night and they appear to have gone through some personnel changes since the last time I photographed them (at Schubas in April). However, the changes seem to be working for them because they played a nice opening set. More of my photos from the evening can be found over at the Metro's facebook page.

Doldrums 

 Sleigh Bells (Alexis Krauss)

Derek Miller 

Derek stage diving 

Charli XCX

English sensation Charli XCX brought her darkwave synthpop to Schubas Tavern a couple weeks ago for two sold out shows. Check out my photos of the early show below. For more images, head over to Schubas' Tumblr by clicking here.

of Montreal and La Luz

On Halloween Eve one of my favorite live bands, of Montreal, played Lincoln Hall with Seattle's La Luz. As usual, the show was fantastic; one of the best I've seen in quite some time. But this is no surprise because of Montreal has an uncanny ability to visually reflect their expansive catalogue of songs in a live setting. There are costumes; there are psychedelic lights; there are props and theatrical antics. It all works. Since their inception, Kevin Barnes (the genius behind the band) has written albums that have spanned enough genres that there is no one genre that can claim of Montreal. This is one of the reasons why they're such an exciting band to see. For more photos, click here.

La Luz 

of Montreal