April got real busy, real fast. But you won’t catch me complaining! Kicking off the month properly with Blackberry Smoke was a total treat. I had bought tickets for this show back when it was announced in early 2020, but thanks to the pandemic, it was rescheduled 2 times before finally being able to happen. It was well worth the wait, though! Midway hosted the show, and everything just sounded top notch. Aside from being a wicked-good shoot, Blackberry Smoke nailed every song they played, along with their “Cripple Creek” cover, which put a cherry on top of the evening.
Filming music videos is totally new territory for me, but I was thrilled to film one for Tessitura. Despite the drummer being my partner, and although that sometimes leads to us butting heads when discussing creative things, Gord and I sat on this particular dark, chaotic, strobey concept for some time. So, at last we decided to put our boots to the floor and spent a few days building a shoot-space for the video, and really rounding out the concept. The band is due to release a new album in June, so to unveil the first track off of the album, we applied our concept to the song “Gallows”, and I think it compliments the aggressive mood and overall in-your-face nature of the tune. We’ve got more video things in the bag for Tessitura, but I’m not spilling the beans on those just yet.
I always love shooting local talent. I cut my teeth on these local bands, and I’ll never not answer the call to photograph them when they need. It’s such a mutual benefit, plus there’s SO much hidden talent right here under our noses, and it’s a shame that more people aren’t aware of it. So naturally, when Skepsis asked me to photograph their album release show, I accepted. I’m glad I did, despite the show being a fuckin’ banger, I really needed an evening out. Upon receiving news of there being a death in my family, an evening surrounded by good friends and of course, seeing Skepsis melt faces at Shaker’s Roadhouse was just what my soul needed. I’m so proud of these guys for putting out this banger EP, and it was truly a pleasure to have them in front of my lens.
Watch me throw you a content-curve ball here. In case you didn’t get that joke, the curve ball is photos of a pop artist amongst these images of heavy metal performers. I was able to walk the halls of Rogers Place again this month, and it sure felt good. Imagine Dragons was a great first for getting back into the swing of things with arena-scale shows. This was my second time shooting them, and it was just as exciting as the first. Despite their music not really being my cup of tea, they put on a damn good show, and are hella entertaining to watch. They also won some brownie points among photographers on this tour cycle (I think). If by some wild chance one of them reads this shit blog, thanks for having confetti blasts during your first three songs, dudes!
Now this is the real deal right here. And by this, I mean Slipknot. It was almost poetic in a way — Back in 2015, Slipknot was my first arena show, ever. Now that the pandemic is pretending to be over, fast forward 7 years later, Slipknot is my first arena metal show after 2 years of nothing. It was like it was meant to be in a way. Or so I tell myself that. This set was composed of their crowd pleaser tunes, and people at Rogers Place just ate it up. It’s been a minute since I’ve seen people fly over the barricade that aggressively, and whether it’s because this is the first large-scale metal show to hit Edmonton in 2 years, or if it’s because, well, it’s fucking Slipknot, I’m not sure. Either way, I was anticipating this show for a very long time, and it was a total thrill to shoot Slipknot once again, and it felt even better to be warmly welcomed back into the environment.
Returning to the Starlite Room to shoot European powerhouses in Beast In Black was simply magical. The energy that this band produces and connects to their audience with is something that you don’t see very often, but it was really something to behold. Especially so, considering that this is Beast In Black’s first North American tour. Needless to say, I think their impression of Canada (at least) has been great, which is promising for future tours. Leading the pack with fellow power metallers in Seven Kingdoms, and of course Edmonton’s hometown heroes in Striker all shared the bill with Beast In Black. People went absolutely ape-shit for this show, and it was something that really filled my cup this month.
Rounding out the month of April with some homies is always the cherry on top of my monthly round up of photos. Have I mentioned how much I love working with local talent? I don’t really care if I sound like a broken record with this matter, ‘cause I’m saying it again! (deal with it). I had a wonderful time reconnecting with some old friends in Purple City DIsco as they opened up the Starlite Room for Electric Six on the 30th. Something about local groovy funk bands just gets me, and Purple City Disco is where it’s at.
Thank YOU for taking a hot minute (or two) to read my April recap blog! Got questions regarding what I shot throughout the month of April? Send me an email HERE with your concert photo questions, let’s nerd-out! But until then, stick around to get the scoop on May’s recap!
