Pains Of Being Pure At Heart @ The Zoo 20-02-10
Apparently this was a really good gig; it just completely passed me by as I was still in Soundwave euphoria and having already photographed 23 bands that day, by Number 24 I was very much in autopilot mode. It sounded nice enough; very old school 1980’s twee British indie but I was too busy rehydrating […]
Camera Obscura @ The Zoo
It isn’t often that you get a “three songs, no flash” instruction at The Zoo, the only ones I can remember were for Amanda Palmer and We Are Scientists. It didn’t really make much difference for WAS but was very annoying for Amanda Palmer, considering all the amazing theatrics throughout the show. I think I […]
Brisbane Sounds 2010 Media Launch @ The Zoo
One gig that has always been scribbled in my diary for the last couple of years has been the annual Brisbane Sounds gig at The Zoo. The night is a showcase of local bands used as a fundraiser to raise money for a promotional CD sampler of Brisbane bands. You can read more about it […]
X + Sixfthick @ The Zoo
Every time I see Sixfthick I make a conscious decision that I’m not going to photograph Gentle Ben as I’ve got a ridiculous amount of photos of him and would say he’s my most photographed person by a long, long way. By comparison I have hardly any photos of Dan, and even less of Tony […]
I Heart Hiroshima + DZ @ The Zoo
Another chance to catch up with DZ, this time away from the small stage of The Troubadour, supporting I Heart Hiroshima at The Zoo. I had hoped that the larger venue, larger stage and better lighting might make it an improved photographic experience but it ends up being almost the opposite, with the band being […]
+1 Records Showcase @ The Zoo
The +1 Records showcase at The Zoo provided a chance to catch up some local bands that I hadn’t seen for a while. Having said that, Black Mustang were one of those bands that I had never gotten around to seeing, although they had one of the best songs on the Brisbane Sounds 2009 compilation, ‘Between The Devil […]
Incremental Records Launch @ The Zoo
I made a comment in a recent blog about how easy it it to lose touch with the local music scene. When you start of photographing the usual route is to start with the local scene, build up a portfolio and  hope that it leads to bigger and higher profile opportunities but when that happens those […]
Deerhunter + The Rational Academy @ The Zoo
I will admit to be an occasional Pitchfork reader. I still hate the layout and the font size is still far too small and the wrong colour, but maybe once a week I’ll remember to go and have a look and read a few reviews.  If the physical act of reading reviews on their site wasn’t […]
Wolf & Cub @ The Zoo
Tonight is a lesson in how not to photograph a gig. As it’s a Friday, a Thursday night decision is made to take my camera gear to work and go straight out, first to the Bleeding Heart Gallery‘s Knock-Off Drinks before heading onto The Zoo. However, forgetting to take my 28-70mm and only realising at 5pm that all […]
Violent Soho on Film 28-05-09
 Having seen and photographed Violent Soho plenty of times over the last few years and having photographed them recently in The Zoo car park, I took the opportunity to relax from needing to get editorial photos for publication and take a roll of film instead when they supported …And You Will Know Us By The […]
…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of The Dead + Violent Soho @ The Zoo
When it comes to live music, I’m usually a ‘stay ’til the bitter end’ type of gig-goer. For the most part I can never fathom why people would purposely walk out of a gig after only a few songs; maybe it’s just the optimist in me that hopes however bad it is it will get […]
Brisbane Sounds 2009 on Film
As well as taking the usual digital photos at Brisbane Sounds 2009, as previously posted here, I also took a couple rolls of Ilford HP5, rating the ISO400 film at ISO1600 and then developing them for 14 minutes in ID-11 developer. The results are very grainy, as was expected, although slightly less than the photos […]
Brisbane Sounds 2009 @ The Zoo
It was only when I started processing these photos that the significance struck home; as a photographer you wait years, a lifetime perhaps, for that one perfect split second moment to create an icon, construct the legend or fuel the myth. I know that every few blog posts I end up including a link to this […]
Violent Soho + Boondall Boys @ The Zoo Carpark
Australia music seems to be intrinsically linked to a notion that the best Australian bands have to play to tiny audiences in tiny venues, get little attention in their own city, let alone the rest of the country, due to the parochial tendencies of each major city/state and the unhealthy competiveness that goes along with […]
School of Seven Bells @ The Zoo
School of Seven Bells‘ debut album, ‘Alpinisms‘, has been on high rotation round these parts in recent weeks; it’s a pretty good modern shoegaze album, although being the modern age it’s way too long, especially so for a debut album, and would have benefitted by losing a 3 or 4 songs, possibly the ones where they sound too […]
Easy Star All-Stars @ The Zoo
Although it’s mid-week, there’s a more than healthy crowd at The Zoo for the Easy Star All-Stars and it’s been a while since it’s been one of those really hot and sweaty nights that you often get there.  Getting there just before the band start there’s the initial semi-circle of fear that arcs around the front of […]
Evan Dando @ The Zoo
The live experience car-crash reputation is something that Evan Dando seems unable to shake off, to the point where it feels like it’s almost compulsory to see him more than once on any tour to ensure that you get the full repertoire of one performance to remember for all the right reasons and one for […]
The Kills + Louis XIV @ The Zoo
A seemingly rare night of festival sideshow action in Brisbane… Louis XIV start much later than advertised, possibly because The Zoo was rather empty at the time they were supposed to start, although it gradually fills up in the interim.  Having seen them the last time they played at The Zoo in 2006, they don’t […]
The Duke Spirit + Jack Ladder @ The Zoo
Jack Ladder, recent Australian Music Prize runner-up and recipient of the Red Bull Prize of $15,000 “in recognition of outstanding potential”, is an unlikely support act for 60’s R&B influenced The Duke Spirit. Playing solo without his normal band and with just an acoustic guitar he possesses a deep, rich voice that evokes Bob Dylan and […]
Summer Tones @ The Zoo
After a seemingly quiet few weeks, the Summer Tones mini-festival finds itself at The Zoo on a balmy Friday night when Brisbane is enjoying an embarrassment of gig-riches; the Fire & Flood benefit at The Tivoli, featuring Powderfinger, The Grates, Robert Forster, The John Steel Singers, The Boat People and Dan Parsons, Violent Soho’s farewell […]
Stars + Firekites @ The Zoo
There is a new (although temporary-looking) sign next to The Zoo’s door tonight, repeated up the stairs to the front desk and also in the venue itself; ‘No Flash Photography’. Restrictions at The Zoo used to be fairly non-existent, although that’s all changed thanks to Perth band Birds Of Tokyo getting precious enough about it […]
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 […]
Saul Williams + The Red Paintings @ The Zoo
Is there anything to be said about The Red Paintings that hasn’t already been said? Or are we left to once again muse over same old questions as how they’ve managed to get the high profile supports that they have and somehow managed to persuade people to give them $40,000 (supposedly) to record their album? […]
Pivot + My Disco @ The Zoo
I have never been impressed with Bloc Party: they have a good drummer but the best thing about their songs always seems to be the intros – as soon as those awful vocals and the terrible lyrics start I’m over it. I saw them once, maybe at Glastonbury, and they weren’t very good then either. So […]
