The Datsuns + Black Diamond Heavies @ The Zoo

 

The law of diminishing returns in the music industry shows, especially in more recent years when the record companies have demanded immediate success and have been less likely to allow a band to develop over a number of albums, that however well your debut album is received, the follow up is unlikely to match the sales and positive reviews of your debut, with column inches for further releases decreasing, no matter how good the album might be, until reviews are largely token 200 word efforts, with an obligatory 3-star rating, and you’re only really playing to the already converted. Now onto their fourth album, ‘HeadStunts‘, The Datsuns seem to be well entrenched in this territory, with a quarter full Zoo showing a notable reduction in numbers from their last show at the venue back in 2006. It’s a real shame as they remain a really great, little live band, playing a style of garage rock that never quite goes out of fashion, but just gets done by younger bands who hog the attentions of the music press for their turn of 15 minutes in the limelight.

This was the third time I’ve photographed the band.  The November 2006 show at The Zoo resulted in this not particularly good photo ending up as my first photo published in Rave.

 

And their Camden Buzzard show back in London in June 2005, when I was still photographing with film, resulted in one of my own personal favourite photos from the year.

In keeping with recent experience at The Zoo the lighting was particularly poor, with none of the cans at the front of the stage being turned on during their set and all the lighting coming from the back and side, so it was another disappointing and frustrating photographic experience at the venue.

Black Diamond Heavies, another blues-rock two-piece but with drums and keys, supported but although they played with a lot of passion it was a largely unremarkable set and the band just aren’t in the same league as other similar two pieces that are around, such as The Black Keys, who still remain the leading proponents of the whole drums+guitar genre, and The Mess Hall.

Some more photos on flickr.

The Datsuns

 

Black Diamond Heavies

One Response to “The Datsuns + Black Diamond Heavies @ The Zoo”

  1. James Leg says:

    Hello
    This is James Leg from the Black Diamond Heavies.
    I’d like to use a couple of these photos for my new record.
    Could you contact me please?
    Cheers

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