News / Blog - Gigs & Bands News

I only ask the question 'Do you have the Jersey Live 2013 T-Shirt yet?' as it has one of my pictures is on it :-)

Once again I am just off to our sister island to shoot all the bands for the Festival. It is an incredibly tiring weekend... but what fun! Last weekends Vale Earth Fair was a really good warm-up and I'm lucky that I get to call this work! CHECK-OUT MY PREVIOUS JERSEY LIVE PICTURE GALLERIES HERE

What this means though is that the massive updates from the last weeks assignments are going to be delayed on arriving in the picture galleries. Sorry, but I just don't have available time until I'm back from Jersey Live 2013.

However I can promise lots to come. The pictures waiting to be processed include:

Guernsey Kart & Motor Club 2-Day Motocross
Guernsey Powerboat Association racing (Two races)
Vale Earth Fair 2013 (A huge Gallery will follow)
Guernsey Motorcycle & Car Club Hill Climb

This list amounts to several hundred shots that will take a while to develop... and then I will have the Jersey Live pics to follow.
I've a feeling that time for sleep will be hard to find. But then, who wants to sleep when you can party through the night with the security crew at Jersey Live. I love my job :-)

Keep a look-out on this News page for updates when the new Galleries are on-line.

Bye for now 'cause I've got some serious partying to do....

It's official, Guernsey now has another established Biker Festival.

This weekend has seen the return of Smaaashfest (the Third) and the Sarnians Motor Cycle Club did a great job with the organisation. The Smaaashfest is a much smaller and low-key festival when compared to the Greenman Chaos but the essential elements are all there.

Firstly the setting takes advantage of the beautiful views over Guernsey's west coast. That's the first box ticked!

Then we have the friendly atmosphere and the beer... two more ticks!

Of course there are the bikes, well it is a Bike Club festival!

And then we had a great line-up of bands all under the watchful eye of Mark Guillou and his crew. That makes a tick in every box!

I popped in on two of the nights and took pics of the bands. I have only uploaded the first Gallery so far featuring Stone Em All.

I uploaded the pics early this afternoon just before going out to my daughter-in-laws birthday barbecue. This was all done in a bit of a rush and I didn't post any form of link or Facebook comment. So I have been surprised and a bit amazed to note that the Gallery has already had over 1,600 views :-)

Other bands will follow but if you want to take a look at the first pics click here:
VIEW PICS OF STONE EM ALL AT SMAAASHFEST

Last of the Light Brigade are a Band that love to play live and hardly need encouragement.

However last weekend they were on stage at The Fermain Tavern with an important cause to support. Tracey Sinclair has been recommended to take a course of expensive cancer drugs and her Guernsey friends have been pulling together to help raise the funds.

So the night at the 'Tav' and the raffle that was held was a good reason to enjoy great live music and I know that a goodly sum was raised.

Support for LOTLB came from China Aster and Ollie Goddard - who hadn't graced the stage at the 'Tav' for (I think he said) twenty-two years!

I have uploaded pics from the night:
VIEW PICS OF LAST OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE
VIEW PICS OF CHINA ASTER
VIEW PICS OF OLLIE GODDARD

Come on Floyd fans, this one is for you.... take the challenge!

The occasion was 'The Great Gig in the Sky'..... OK, it was actually only at the top of Le Val des Terres!

Guernsey's masters of all things Pink Floyd recently played In the Flesh at The Fermain Tavern covering some of Pink Floyd's finest songs.

In fact this was several weeks ago now - but I had forgotten to edit my pictures. I must be suffering from Brain Damage :-)

There are always High Hopes at any Elysium gig. It isn't so much Young Lust but more Wish You Were Here. Each of their gigs has Echoes of The Happiest Days of our Life.

Elysium have a band of dedicated followers who, by now, might have now spotted A Saucerful of Secrets? Before each Elysium gig their fans Keep Talking about the latest Prelude and whether it will Eclipse the last.

So with The Hero's Return to the Tavern we were certain that the music wouldn't be Obscured by Clouds. When I arrived there were Signs of Life just Outside the Wall but I didn't see anyone Have a Cigar. Inside, having paid my Money I heard Vera say to Arnold Lane that it was Time and The Show Must Go On.

Outside, the gig-goers were Coming Back to Life after being Marooned with their roll-ups. I heard Seamus shout Not Now John I must Breathe in and Run Like Hell if I want those Empty Spaces at the front. Seamus went into Interstellar Drive, he didn't want to Remember a Day filled with Sorrow when he had to go Round and Round looking for The Narrow Way to the front. No more Biding My Time he thought to himself.

Lucifer Sam was looking like a Scarecrow and was Comfortably Numb. He had been in the Ibiza Bar and had only eaten Candy and a Current Bun since breakfast. He hadn't had a Proper Education and both his Mother and The Doctor had warned him that it was Absolutely Curtains for him if he didn't cut the Party Sequence from his life. The Doctor's Main Theme was that he should be eating more Apples and Oranges or he would really be Up the Khyber.

But for now Lucifer didn't want to hear that Crying Song. He didn't want any more Blues. The voice in his head was saying Come on you Crazy Diamond, park your Bike up against The Wall, forget Your Possible Past. Stop looking at the world through Paranoid Eyes and give up the idea of Learning to Fly under The Fat Old Sun... this was a desire he had got from Yet Another Movie.

Meanwhile I had spent the time waiting for the band by Calling Home. My wife had asked me if I wanted Octopus for dinner. Then the lights dimmed and Hey You, Is There Anybody Out There? I'm sure I can see Signs of Life came over the speakers. I think you could have heard the roar from The Dark Side of the Moon.

Elysium were playing The Greatest Gig in the Sky. It was Us and Them immersed in Floyd's finest. We were as happy as Pigs on the Wing. I absorbed the moment and thought Don't Leave me Now. I was having another One of my Turns. I cried out Let There be More Light.... the answer came from Mark Guillou, have Any Colour You Like. I shouted back Green is the Colour. I was in the best place ever. You can keep St Tropez and Grantchester Meadows, an Elysium gig of Pink Floyd's music does it for me!

All too soon The Great Gig in the Sky was over. It had been the greatest gig since The Grand Vizier's Garden Party and it had been wonderful to See Emily Play.

One of These Days Elysium will play another gig... but never two On the Run so I encourage you to make sure you make it to their next one.

.......... as you can tell I haven't been Lost for Words. But then I have been helped by the great PINK FLOYD :-)

On my way home driving down Le Val des Terres I was still Raving and Drooling about the gig to Corporal Clegg who had hitched a lift and I was just thinking to myself The Gold It's in the.... when I was interupted by the amazing sight of Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict.

Ha, ha.... couldn't resist it ;-)
How many Pink Floyd song titles did you spot?
VIEW THE GREATEST GIG IN THE SKY

Where did those 50 years go...?

I think that was the question on more than a few lips at Beau Sejour yesterday evening.

The occasion was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 'real' Beatles playing in Guernsey (for first and only time) at Candie Gardens.

That original venue is long gone and the site is now occupied by a museum, and it made a bit of history when The 'Bootleg' Beatles re-created that Beatles gig... but this time it was at Beau Sejour, which is just around the corner.

I was asked at the last minute if I would pop along to take a few pics of the gig. I have to admit that I was in the 'other camp' when it came to following The Beatles - can't explain why, but I think you were either a mad fan or not...

So I looked at the job as just that... a job to be done.

But I have to concede that I found myself tapping along and singing most of the lyrics - and it I can't be argued that The Beatles wrote a LOT of great songs.

The age group of the audience for the Bootleg Beatles was 'as predicted', surprise, surprise! There were a few youngsters, maybe a hand-full, but you were in a select group if you were under 40!

The mature nature of the audience didn't stop the sing-along, however it seemed that the girls had out-grown the screaming phase! But the overall response to the band was one of a warm glow of nostalgia.

That's a nice place to be and it was enjoyed by many. Why not, eh? The kids can't be left to have all the fun :-)

I have added a gallery of pics featuring the Bootleg Beatles historic gig...
VIEW PICS OF THE BOOTLEG BEATLES HISTORIC GIG IN GUERNSEY

I've just had a really good month when judged by the number of my pictures published in National Magazines.

It is always a nice accolade to have a major publication accept your work for print. It is also an encouragement when the genre of the pics are so varied. So last months distributions will keep me happy for a little while :-)

My National Hill Climb racing pics were reproduced in two of the leading Motor sport mags, Motor Sport News and also Autosport.

Then it was Powerboat & Rib Magazine that featured a double page spread of the Guernsey Powerboat Associations racing.

Evo Magazine also featured a pic of John Dunne racing at the Guernsey Hill Climb.

And to keep things nicely varied my Commercial photography featured in Country Life Magazine.

To add to that mix I have had numerous pictures published in the Channel Island Newspapers, Magazines and Business publications. My pics have also been used by a number of Bands both local and as far afield as New York... today Guernsey, tomorrow the world, ha,ha?

I am often pondering whether my chosen profession is a sensible one... at least as a means of making a decent living. It seems that every week there is a 'new kid on the block' who has bought a digital camera, created a web site (or simply a Facebook page) and decided to to call themselves a 'Pro' photographer... wedding day bookings made at your own risk ;-)
This new competition often has a 'proper' day job and can afford to play at fulfilling their ambitions to be a photog. Don't misunderstand me, I accept it is everyone's free choice to do this.

But what this does do is add pressure on to those of us who only have our photography as a means of buying the real ale (oh yes, and the food)! So when National publications consider your work as being worthy of printing you get a little boost and encouragement to keep the nose to the grindstone... or should that be the back of the camera?

The long hot summer of '13 is proving to be a successful one for me so far. This web site might even break the 3,000,000 views during this twelve months, so maybe I'll keep this up for a bit longer yet?

As I say, 'it definitely beats a proper job, eh'.
VIEW MY PICTURE GALLERIES

MASSIVE isn't a big enough word to describe the size of my Greenman Chaos Festival 2013 picture Galleries!!

Never before, and probably never again, have I posted such a large gallery of pictures for one event.

So was it worth it? Well maybe I'll know if you post a comment or two.

But, as far as I'm concerned I found this years Chaos Festival topped all previous ones. There was a great line-up of Bands in the main tent and also the popular Peace tent.

The main stage was bigger and better than before with a fantastic light-show... always a good way to get a photographer on your side ;-)

The edit of three days shooting has taken a serious amount of time but has the benefit of allowing me to 're-live' the Festival. In fact the odd thing is that quite often I will look at a pic and 'see' it for the first time, even though it was me who pressed the shutter! I guess that when taking pics you are in a kind of 'zone' with all the senses focused on the work.

If you were one of the hundreds who visited the Greenman Chaos you can also re-live the days by checking my Galleries...

If you were in a Band and like a few of the pics maybe you will think about buying a few :-)

I know it is a bit bad making a shameless plug to sell pics but it has taken MANY days of work to bring the pics to my web site... and selling a few pics is how I make a living (exaggeration)!

Full coverage of the Greenman Chaos Festival is here:
VIEW A MASSIVE PICTURE GALLERY OF THE GREENMAN CHAOS FESTIVAL 2013

If you visited the Greenman Chaos Music & Bike Festival last weekend and didn't pace yourself I'll call that a big FAIL :-)

Why? I hear you ask.

Well if you enjoyed a few too many beers and a few too many of the sun's rays and if you took the early bus home you are sure to regret it when you hear what you missed! The 'hard-core' festival go-ers were rewarded and left drained and exhausted by Sunday's head-liners, Spunge.

The party/festival really kicked-off when Spunge returned to the Chaos stage for 2013 and by the end of their set the party had hit the stage itself after the audience joined the band in a massive send-off to the 2013 Chaos.

Words can't describe the atmosphere. My pictures might help you to see what you missed... but in the end you really had to be there!

Those of us who had the stamina got the prize... happy days!

I have just added a small picture Gallery giving a taster of what will follow, eventually. But for now I need to catch up with some sleep...
GREENMAN 2013... VIEW A LITTLE TASTER GALLERY

Sorry, no time to stop and chat....

I'm on the way to Guernsey's only three day Bike & Music Festival!

The 2013 Greenman Chaos Festival is promising to be the best ever. There is a fantastic line-up of Bands .... and all this takes place in one of the most spectacular settings on the cliffs at Pleinmont, Guernsey.

See you there...
VIEW PICS OF PREVIOUS CHAOS FESTIVALS

Is it a good sign when you can't really find the words to describe something?

Well I guess it must be as I have been left a bit lacking in the literary department when it comes to reporting on last weekends gig at the Fermain Tavern. Head-liners were a re-formed Sacred Hearts (maybe just for this 'one-off') with support coming from Party in Paris.

I arrived at 'the Tav' nearly at the end of Party in Paris's set. Just enough time for a few quick pics.

As I slipped through the crowd to the front I was welcomed by a chant of 'Andy, Andy, Andy'.... so much for trying to stay incognito! Thanks a lot Martin Mackintosh!

'PiP' have built up quite a good following and I look forward to watching their progress.

But it was the headlining Sacred Hearts that left me short of words as I consider their set as one of the best I have seen for quite some time. The musical talent is well shared amongst all the band and they were really up for it.

Mark Le Gallez was as energetic as ever, if not more so! Colin Leach led the psychedelic sounds with Colleen Irven taking the lead on some songs. Mark Guppy, Matt Hutchinson and Chris Denton all made vital input to the energetic sound-scape.

This was truly a gig to remember. Lets hope the the guys and gal can be persuaded to make a return, soon.

New pics have been added to my Galleries:
VIEW PICS OF SACRED HEARTS AT THE FERMAIN TAVERN
VIEW PICS OF PARTY IN PARIS AT THE FERMAIN TAVERN

There seemed to be a firearms theme at the Fermain Tavern for two recent gigs. At least that is the conclusion you good make from the bands names.

Jersey based band 'Bulletproof' was one, and Ray and the Guns were the other!

So I guess a full-on assault was to be expected and both bands delivered. It was a disappointment that the turn-out wasn't better but we are now into the months when there are lots of events (and the sun, if we're lucky) all claiming their own attention.

I usually manage to not be distracted too much by other things and find the time almost every weekend to catch at least one gig.

The last couple of weeks have been very busy for me so these latest updates are a bit late... and I still have a pile to get through. Make this page a regular visit and you will be kept up-to-date with all the changes.
VIEW PICS OF BULLETPROOF

VIEW PICS OF RAY AND THE GUNS

I'd like to ask you a question. If you don't go to gigs, theatre or any live stage performances this probably won't mean much to you ;-)

What I would like to know is, what do you think the most important aspects are that improve your enjoyment and memory of any show or performance?

I ask this as I have an opinion of my own.

If we were to make a list in the order of importance obviously the performers will have to be top the pile. After all, that is probably why you even bought a ticket in the first place.

Without trying to fill-in all the other ingredients that make a great show I will cut to my point.

My guess is that most of you don't really consider the lighting. The subtle changes. The not so subtle changes. The colour. The intensity and direction. I suppose if you were engrossed in the performance the lighting somehow 'disappeared' into the background. Maybe this is the success of great lighting?

My own enjoyment of any performance, however, is greatly affected by the lighting. This is because I am usually 'at work' trying to capture everything in pictures... and all I can capture is the light!

This blog was inspired whilst I developed my pictures of The Recks recent gig at the Fermain Tavern.

The gig was lit by Lloyd Hellyeah and he did a great job. This makes my job sooooo much easier and reduces the time I have to spend tweaking colours and tones. When the lighting is well controlled and responsive to a performance it raises it to a higher level.

But have you ever noticed this? Or is it something that only a photographer can see? I'd love to know what you think.

If you would like to make your own opinion about the lighting at The Recks gig my pics are now on-line:
TAKE A LOOK AT THE RECKS GIG... AND THE LIGHTING!

Pete Bretel, front man of Sugar Slam, is known to love his music.

He also likes his beer (a man true to my heart!) and it seems that he has found the perfect solution to the problem that all men have... how do you multi-task?

So at Sugar Slam's recent gig at the Thomas de la Rue Pete instigated the master-plan and I can see it catching on!

With the help of a member of the audience it seems that it is perfectly feasible to front the band, play guitar and drink beer all at the same time.

When he has mastered singing at the same time I reckon he will have a long line of fellow front men looking to learn the trick :-)

I'm not kidding you and I've got the picture to prove it. You can always trust anything that you see in a picture, can't you, eh?

A few pics from the Thomas de la Rue are now on-line:
VIEW PICS OF SUGAR SLAM AT THE THOMAS DE LA RUE

Last Sunday Jamaica rocked!

OK, to be perfectly correct I should say The Jamaica Inn rocked :-)

Billed as 'Chaos at the Jam' the event returned to a newly painted Jamaica Inn as a warm-up to the bigger Chaos Festival in July.

The afternoon offered time to chill to acoustic sets out in the sunny car park. Then things kicked-off proper when we de-camped into the bar.

Brunt bought something heavier to the party and were followed by Guernsey's favourite good-time band, RentOClean.... the party was swinging.

Make space for Heave to take to the stage.

Two guys - guitar and drums - but what a sound. Breaking the laws of physics Heave can fill any space with sound... and it's heavy. Love it.

Thanks to the Greenman for bringing us another great one. See you in July, if not sooner.

Pics of a few of the bands are here:
VIEW PICS OF BRUNT
VIEW PICS OF RENTOCLEAN
VIEW PICS OF HEAVE

Today I'm excited to say that this web site has broken through a new landmark figure.

We have now logged more than 4,000,000 viewings!

Yes, you read that correctly, that's FOUR MILLION VIEWINGS :-)

The latest MILLION has taken just over six months so we are well on target to match last year's figure of TWO MILLION in twelve months.

I posted a blog about six months ago when the THREE MILLION mark was smashed.
READ THE THREE MILLION BLOG HERE

At that time I tried to illustrate how the viewing figures could relate to time... how many views each hour or minute of every day. The results were quite surprising!

This time around I thought that maybe I would try to find how the numbers can be associated to something a bit closer to a photographer's heart. That is an actual paper print. But how thick is an average print?

The wonders of the Internet came to my rescue again and after a few minutes of research I had some figures to play with. It is difficult to find explicit references as there are certain variables - not least of which is the thickness of a sheet of photographic paper.

In the end I have been conservative and based my results on an 'average' that seems to be a fair and realistic number. From my searches I found the height calculated for a pile of ONE MILLION sheets of photographic paper varied between 350 ft and 480 ft.

So I am going to use a figure of 400 ft.

Now let's take things to the next stage and try to picture what this pile would look like.

Perhaps if you are a resident of Guernsey (our small but beautiful Island in the English Channel, near France) you will be familiar with the dramatic cliffs on our southern coast. The highest of these are about 350 ft above sea level.... that is less than the height of a MILLION PRINTS in this example.

Try and picture that... are you impressed yet?

No, well a try at this!

As you have seen, this web site has now had FOUR MILLION HITS since first launching. Take this number and work out the height of that pile of prints and we are talking TALL... LIKE 1,600 FEET HIGH!

If you find it difficult to picture how that relates to the real world, take a look at the picture at the start of this blog which shows the heights of some of the tallest buildings in the world.

NOW YOU MUST BE IMPRESSED!!

The shame is that these numbers are only picture views. They aren't going to make me rich, although I think I would be Epson's biggest customer if I had to produce a print for every web image viewed!

My Epson Stylus 4900 would be working night and day :-)

So a big thank you for spending time viewing my pictures. I am now chasing the next big number.... Pop back again soon.
READ ABOUT THE FIRST MILLION
READ ABOUT THE SECOND MILLION
READ ABOUT THE THIRD MILLION

It's been a while since I have written anything about the equipment I use and the workflow that goes into making the final prints that drop through your letterbox a few days after you place an order.

Today I'm not going to go into much detail about all my kit. However it might be of interest to know some key items.

I'm lucky to have the opportunity to use 'top-of-the-range' equipment from start to finish of the capture process. I feel that when shooting as a Professional Photographer, a high standard needs to be maintained all the way through from capture to the digital darkroom and on to the final production of a print.

I am a NIKON camera user and love the quality and handling that this brand offers.
My current kit includes a Nikon D4, a NIKON D3s and a NIKON D3.
NIKON creates the finest photographic equipment in the world as far as I'm concerned. I await your responses :-)

UPDATE 10-03-2014: I've now added the new NIKON D4s to my kit bag. First impressions are good but it will take a few weeks to fully test. Drop me an e-mail if you want to discuss the latest NIKON body EMAIL ME

I also use NIKON lenses and have too many to list but can call on everything from a 400mm f2.8, a 200mm f2, 24mm Perspective Correction, 200mm & 105mm Macro, 50mm & 85mm f1.4's and many others in-between through to the brilliant wide angle 14-24mm f2.8.
So I hope you'll agreed that there is no excuse to not capture the highest quality of image :-)

The digital darkroom work is carried out using the latest versions of Professional software like Photoshop and Lightroom and this is all viewed on twin 30 inch colour calibrated reference monitors.
All images are then Catalogued and referenced using IMatch allowing quick and comprehensive searching.
Lots of back-ups are then made.... you do back-up your own work, don't you?

But all the work and cost of capturing the sharpest, colour corrected images would fall at the final hurdle if the quality of the prints wasn't to the same standards.

This is why all prints up to the A2 SIZED MONTAGES are individually hand-printed by me in my studio on an Epson Stylus Pro 4900 Professional Large Format Printer using the latest 11-Colour Ultrachrome HDR Pigment Inks. This offers me total quality control of the final output.

This printer is regarded as setting new standards in colour precision offering one of the widest colour gamuts on the market and exceptional longevity of prints.

So be assured that when you order a print from TALLPICTURES every effort has been made to make it as good as it can get :-)

Details of the various print options can be found by clicking this link:
VIEW DETAILS OF THE PRINT OPTIONS

Few things in life are as reliable as a gig by Guernsey's own Pete Frampton. Quality is assured!

It is sad to say that Pete no longer lives in Guernsey but he does make regular visits back home to see family and friends. And it is those friends who always take the opportunity to get some 'stage time' with Pete during the short stays.

Last weekend saw the guys on two stages and they dropped straight into gear and simply continued where they left off months ago. The quality of musicianship was as high as normal and the band rolled out all their classics leaving us looking ahead to the next visit.

I've added pics of Pete & friends playing on stage at the Fermain Tavern:
PETE FRAMPTON & FRIENDS PLAY THE FERMAIN TAVERN

VIEW PICS OF MT. WOLF
The Carlton Hotel opened its doors to two visiting bands on Friday night and I'm pleased to say that there was great support from us Guern's.

I suppose that there was always a good chance that ticket sales would be OK as the headlining band had two locals in the line-up.
So perhaps Mt. Wolf can be thanked for attracting the punters but I have a feeling that the other two bands on the bill also played their parts by bringing their own following.

First on stage were Bright_Lights. I am really enjoying this Electro-Pop band and they were a great choice to open the night with a sound that easily filled the room and is surely crying out for a chance to feature on one of this summer's Festival stages... watch this space!

Next up was Lloyd Yates and again they could certainly claim a following amongst the 'gig goers'... even though their visits to our shores are rare. This shows that they have made a real impression on previous visits.

And so the night was completed by the appearance of Mt. Wolf. They were well received and their set showed that they already have songs that offer opportunity to make it on a bigger stage.
Looking at the gigs they have lined up around the UK during coming months the band clearly have ambition and are prepared to work for a break into the big time. Keep a ear to the ground to see if they can pull it off!

I've added new Galleries featuring the three bands:
VIEW PICS OF MT. WOLF

VIEW PICS OF LLOYD YATES

VIEW PICS OF BRIGHT_LIGHTS

So there we have it... another great night of LIVE MUSIC.
There really is NO excuse to spend your weekends sitting on the couch when there is such a great choice of live music just waiting for your support... See you next time?

Last of the Light Brigade have been in action at the Fermain Tavern to launch their new single 'The Door'.

The guys had put in a lot of work to promote the event and I was was one of many who lined the trenches ready to receive the best that the band could fire in our direction.

I've been a long term champion of the band and have enjoyed seeing them grow in confidence when on stage and at the Saturday night gig they achieved new heights. The line-up had been re-enforced with extra troops and featured Andy Coleman on keys and John McCarthy on guitar. But it was The Cavalry Choir that turned the campaign into something really special.

Even this platoon of troopers wasn't enough for their Commander and Tyler Edmonds had conscripted Mark Le Gallez and Colin Leach of The Risk and Chris Dean from... oh, too many... to join LOTLB on stage for the final push.

The result was a great showcase for a Band that is clearly ready for the next call to arms.

Support to LOTLB was in the form of Guernsey's own foot-tapping skiffle-country proponants. Their performance would have justified the couple of quid entry on its own. That is more than enough to prove that - if you missed it - you missed a great night when local music was called to 'action stations'.

Pics are now online:
LAST OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE LAUNCH THEIR SINGLE - THE DOOR

Pics of The John Wesley Stone can be found here:
PICS OF THE BARN-STORMING JOHN WESLEY STONE

The weekend saw the Greenman MCC change their home venue of the open cliff tops at Pleinmont for the confines of the Fermain Tavern.

The Tavern had no problem offering a perfect venue for this warm-up gig that heralded the 2013 Chaos Festival. The word is that the Greenman MCC have chosen this year to tweak and improve on the popular formula and they are promising that this years Festival will be the best ever :-)

So with this word going out before the Tavern gig we were all expecting a pretty good night. The line-up included a few of our known reprobates in the form of Sugar Slam and Of Empires. This was a good start and the boys played storming sets.

But the band I was looking forward to seeing was Jersey's Harlequin Knights. I knew very little about them other than I had seen and photographed some of the band members before - in different bands.

Their performance was a highlight of the night as far as I'm concerned. They have great energy and charisma on stage. The songs are very well written and the vocal harmonies were superb... all this from a band that has only been together for seven months!

I understand that they will return to our isle to play at Chaos 2013. So there is your first reason to book in the weekend of 12th - 14th July for the Greenman MCC Chaos Festival. Don't miss it!
Take a look at the Greenman MCC web site for more details: http://www.chaosevents.com/

I have uploaded pics of the bands here:
VIEW PICS OF HARLEQUIN KNIGHTS
VIEW PICS OF SUGAR SLAM
VIEW PICS OF OF EMPIRES