Xiu Xiu, Dirty Beaches, and Father Murphy

Well, I've been wanting to talk about this show for awhile but I waited to ensure confirmation before I announced that I am now officially a house photographer for Lincoln Hall and Schubas! Needless to say, I am BEYOND excited for this opportunity. I'm one step closer to my dream career and I couldn't be more grateful. Lincoln Hall granted me a trial opportunity for the Xiu Xiu, Dirty Beaches, and Father Murphy concert in May. I was simultaneously nervous to prove myself and ecstatic to see the bands live. Here are some of the photos from the night. For more of my photos from the show, please click here. From there, you can access the photos through Lincoln Hall's facebook page.

Father Murphy opened the show. They are an Italian band and have an avant-garde sound. Some of their songs reminded me of Joy Division, while others were more like Collections of Colonies of Bees (though perhaps not as minimalist and with a more metal edge).

Father Murphy 

Father Murphy members were really nice and let me photograph them eating some grub after their set.

Next up was Dirty Beaches. I am actually a huge fan (check out Badlands if you haven't already), so it was cool to photograph him on my first night shooting for Lincoln Hall. 

Just captivating live.

Dirty Beaches' Alex Zhang Hungtai drinking kombucha and his touring guitarist drinking Jameson backstage. I love it.

Headlining the night was Xiu Xiu - an experimental/punk/art rock band that shockingly few have heard of, so I refer to them as an iconic cult band. Xiu Xiu is the brainchild of Jamie Stewart (pictured above) and they are one of the most interesting live acts I've ever seen. It's clear, not just from his music but also from meeting him, that Stewart is an introspective, deep thinker. He was somber, quiet, and contemplative backstage, and utterly explosive on stage. Earlier in the night, as I was walking into Lincoln Hall, I noticed Stewart across the street in a small, corner park. He was standing perfectly still, staring up at a tree, and (I can only assume) listening to birds chirping to one another. I couldn't help but feel as if I'd stumbled upon this magical, illuminating window into his creative process. It was very cool. Here is a fantastic and accurate review of their set.

Jamie Stewart and Angela Seo

Angela Seo pounding the cymbals.

I was fortunate to get a few photos of Xiu Xiu backstage just minutes before they went on stage. 

Around Town

Well, I've failed at blogging lately but it's not because I haven't been wanting to - I've just been really busy! Lots of posts to come but I'll leave you for now with some recent photos of Chicago. I hope everyone has a great weekend! 

View north from The Signature Room

View east from The Signature Room

Inside the Harold Washington Library Center

The old parking meters are still relevant: they are now ashtrays.

 View from the Dana Hotel's Vertigo Sky Lounge

Enjoy the weather!

Spiritualized

The man behind it all: J. Spaceman (Jason Pierce)

You've got to have some big balls to name your band Spiritualized. I mean, it's a lot to live up to - to name yourself after such an ethereal word ("spiritual") and more so to claim to forever be in the state of ("-ized"). However, since I heard their epic 1997 album, Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space, I knew that the band not only lived up to the name - but they deserved it. (Sidenote: For more info on my discovery of that album, please refer to my second blog post ever.) They do not tour that often, so when I heard they were playing at the Metro, I got my tickets the second they went on sale. Now, Spiritualized's music has always had the ability to take me to distant, dreamy landscapes in my head, but what I didn't expect was to be driven even further into those spaces simply via live performance. The "transportation" (we'll call it) started about halfway through the show when they began playing their trippy, all-instrumental 1995 track, "Electric Mainline," and carried on until the end of the show. It didn't hurt that the setlist just kept getting better and better - "Oh Baby," "Ladies and Gentlemen," and "Stay with Me" being the highlights for me. This is just one of those bands that I'd encourage everyone to see. 

I went to 3 Blackhawks Playoff games and they lost all of them because I'm from Cleveland.

Well, the Chicago Blackhawks are the only team I love that ever makes it to the playoffs. Literally. So this year, excessive excitement encouraged me to attend every Round One home game. And while the series (against the Phoenix Coyotes) was close, the Blackhawks managed to lose every single home game, which is practically unheard of given that the Madhouse on Madison is one of the toughest arenas for visiting teams. Hopefully I have not brought the Cleveland curse to my beloved Blackhawks. Despite the losses, Blackhawks games are always fun to attend - the atmosphere is unmatched. Below are photos that I took throughout the course of my three-game residency at the United Center. Next year, fellas...next year.

Many Blackhawks fans begin their night by grabbing a "cheezborger" at the Billy Goat Tavern (made famous through a John Belushi "Saturday Night Live" skit). 

One of traditions that makes home Blackhawks games so unique is Jim Cornelison's singing of the "The Star-Spangled Banner." The crowd cheers throughout it and seeing it live is really moving.

We were hoping to get another one of these this year...

Instead we got a lot of this: bad calls (and non-calls) by the refs and, consequently, completely exasperated fans and players.

So I drank a lot of these.

And the players did a lot of this.

And the cameramen took naps during the breaks. 

Bonus highlight: Regina Taylor shooting the puck for the Ovarian Cancer Symptom Awareness Organization! Regina is OCSA's national spokesperson and I'm their official photographer (and also do social media and event planning for them), so it was an awesome surprise to see her representing the organization at Game 4.

At least we got some goals. 

The coolest cat in the building.

Until next year...

SBTRKT and Willis Earl Beal

I can't explain how excited I was to see SBTRKT live. I spent my winter looking forward to the show in April at the House of Blues Chicago. His self-titled debut album has been on my iTunes "Top Played" list ever since its June 2011 release. The day of the concert finally arrived, and I'm pleased to report that SBTRKT did not disappoint - at all. In fact, I'd see him live again in a heartbeat. He was accompanied by Sampha, who does the majority of the vocals for SBTRKT, and he sounded just as good live as he does on the album. Near the end of their set, they surprised the audience by bringing out local rapper, Rockie Fresh, for a song. Chicago's own Willis Earl Beal opened the show. He put on a powerful, minimalist show - just his voice, some backup recordings, and his odd stage antics. Boy does he have a voice - but the young, drunken crowd was ready to dance so unfortunately I don't think they appreciated Beal's unique, soulful performance as much as I did. 

Willis Earl Beal 

SBTRKT 

Neon Indian and Friends

I have seen Neon Indian live more than a few times and they always know how to bring the party. Last weekend was no exception. Their music is psychedelic and upbeat. It makes me want to dance. It also makes me long for summer, when you can drive with the windows down blasting dance music. So naturally, Neon Indian is a great band to see in the spring because the anticipation of summer is only heightened. Bring on the season of sunshine and outdoor music festivals! It's gonna be a good one too. Friends, a Brooklyn band, opened for Neon Indian at the Metro. Between their vixen lead singer's captivating stage presence and their awesome cover of INOJ's "Love You Down," I was sold. 

 Friends. See what I mean? Vixen.

 Friends

Neon Indian

 Neon Indian himself: Alan Palomo.

Last time I saw Leanne Macomber (Neon Indian keyboardist), she was not attempting to copy her look from Alice Glass of Crystal Castles.