One of the most obvious side-effects of cutting down my photo workload, is the fact that now I have time to blog…but I have no photos to post! So to combat that, I’ve decided to go back to where it all began: music.

Most music photographers start out through their overwhelming love of music, the photography itself is just a recording medium. With that in mind, I thought I’d start up a regular series of ‘music appreciation’ posts, with songs I love, bands I love, songs with a funny story attached, whatever. The idea (and yes, the title as well) was ripped off William Beckett’s ‘Saturday Night Music Club’, so to pay due respect, he gets to kick off the series.

Bulls In Brooklyn – The Academy Is… (Santi)

It was hard picking one Academy song, but I went with one of my favourites off ‘Santi’, Bulls in Brooklyn. I hadn’t really heard of these guys before last year, they were due to support Panic at the Disco, so I thought I’d check them out and see if they were worth turning up early for. Were they ever. I clicked immediately with their infectious pop/rock/emo/whatever style, and was looking forward to seeing them live. The Academy Is… in the flesh totally lived up to all my expectations, due in no small part to charismatic frontman William Beckett who had the crowd eating out of his hand. I walked past him backstage after my three songs for Panic, tucked against a wall in the hallway, headphones in and laptop on knees. I’d wanted to tell him how much I enjoyed the band, but once he glanced up and we made brief eye contact, I knew that avoiding an inevitably stammering conversation on my part might be the better option.

Enjoy

(PS. If anyone has dramas with the music player, let me know. It works fine for me, but I can’t test it on EVERY browser. And yeah, I know there’s no volume control, I’m still on the hunt for a ridiculously simple streaming MP3 player that doesn’t start the volume at 11)

-LYRICS UNDER THE CUT-

It might’ve been the day after Valentine’s Day, but Challenge Stadium was packed with declarations of love on signs, tshirts and skin as Fall Out Boy came to town for the second time, bringing with them All American Rejects, and Decaydance stablemates Hey Monday. I’m fairly confident that apart from the parents waiting out in the cafeteria, I was one of the oldest people there, at the grand old age of 24.

-MORE UNDER THE CUT-

The Hives, Southbound

Quick catch up post with snaps from the Southbound Festival at the start of January. Featuring Birds of Tokyo, The Hives, Gomez, Pete Murray, Tegan & Sara, The Kooks, The Cat Empire and Franz Ferdinand.

-MORE UNDER THE CUT-