I photographed Arctic Monkeys last night at The Arena. I’d been looking forward to it but it, especially as The Grates were supporting. But then I got told that had to be there at 9pm to be escorted in, and then be escorted out after the first three songs. So no Grates photos. And had to sign contract saying that for 3 months the photos could only be on the publication that was doing it for. So if you want to see them they’re here:

Artic Monkeys Photos

Whilst it’s nice to take your time, I don’t have a problem with the three song rule generally. However, it’s annoying (and seemingly typical) when the first song is played in the dark, the second is loads of strobe backlighting, and the third is mostly red lighting. Having said that I was pretty pleased with a few of the shots I got. There’s a nice one of the drummer that I really like, where there’s a tiny bit of light but it’s on his eye. Even though only saw three songs they were sounding really good.

And to make up for no Grates shots, here’s one from the unseen archives of the lovely Alana playing at Falls Festival last December.