Almost 25 years after their formation, the Cult laid down a solid performance of no-nonsense hard rock at the Pageant. With support from Action Action, the Cliks, and the Knives, the British rockers performed a solid set that drew from their classic hits, as well as material for their latest release, Born Into This.
Without a doubt, the stars of the performance were frontman Ian Astbury and guitarist Billy Duffy, who dominated the stage with big grins and big performances. The pair shared the most time in the spotlight, literally, and genuinely seemed to be enjoying their stage time on this tour.
Shooting Notes:
The Cult’s performance was distinguished by the happy combination of great lighting and a veteran group that knows how to hit all the rock star moves.
The band played with their speaker monitors positioned about a meter back from the front of the stage, which pushed them farther back from the crowd than many acts that come through the Pageant.
While I was initially concerned about the impact this might have on the energy of the set, the band delivered on the rock and the distance didn’t have much of an effect on the images.
During a quick image search of the band’s recent live shots, I was also wondering whether Astbury would be sporting his trademark headband or other accouterments, but a pair of shades was the extent of the adornment.
Overall, the shoot was a snap. Between the great poses struck by the band and the abundant lighting, the set was fun and lacking in any supreme technical challenges.
Lighting:
Overall, the lighting for the first three songs was a simple scheme that utilized white light from the front in contrast with a variety of high backlighting.
A spotlight alternated between Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy, providing a very welcome boost to the house lights, which seemed to be on full blast from the front in a marked departure from their normal dimmed state.
The backlighting consisted of a cycling treatment of yellow, magenta, cyan, and white light, primarily with the use of one color at a time.
Lenses:
I shot with the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 for the majority of the time, the range of which was quite good despite the band’s increased distance from the front of the stage.
I can imagine that the lens section from shows at the Pageant may be getting a bit monotonous, as the midrange zoom secures a lot of camera-time at this venue. Still, I find the lens so well suited to concert photography that it’s often my first choice for these sorts of gigs.
Supplementing the 17-55 was the Nikon 85mm f/1.4, the range of which was highly useful for picking up tighter shots of lead singer Astbury, as well as the requisite drummer shot for John Tempesta.
While the absolute speed of the prime was not necessary, thanks the lighting, its fast-focusing, focal length, and excellent optical performance were all welcome at this show.
Exposure:
In a rare treat, I shot at ISO 1000 at f/2.8 and 1/160 throughout much of the set, broadening to ISO 800 and ISO 1250 as the lighting required. Though the Pageant is well lit for headliners most of the time, the exposure for the Cult’s set was unusually comfortable.
A good number of the images were shot at a luxurious 1/200 second as well. At the low end, I dipped to 1/100 at f/2.8 and ISO 1250 for a shot of guitarist Duffy when he got a leg up on one of the monitors during a lull in the lighting.
Shutter speeds topped out at 1/250 at f/2.2 and ISO 800 when using the Nikon 85mm f/1.4.
End Notes:
Even without being familiar with the Cult’s music, their set at the Pageant was a blast to shoot, in no small part thanks to the band’s charisma.
One of the most refreshing aspects of the gig was to photograph such veteran rockers without shooting up their noses from below a 10-foot stage. Were that the case, the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 would have been a must, so shooting this intimate gig with the more personable 17-55mm and 85mm Nikkors was a treat.
For the full image set from the Cult’s performance, you can hit the Flick gallery:
The Cult @ the Pageant — 2007.11.29
6 Comments Add your own
1. Keith | December 2nd, 2007 at 8:04 pm
Superb work here. Such a good variety of shots.
2. Todd | December 2nd, 2007 at 9:24 pm
Hey Keith, thanks very much. I focused on singer Ian Astbury and lead guitar Billy Duffy, but tried to pick up shots of each player. The light was unusually good for the Pageant (that is, bright), so this show was a lot of fun to shoot.
3. Kenny | December 4th, 2007 at 4:54 am
Hi Todd
Once again, you got it done! After admiring your work for a while now, this was the first show you shot, that I was actually there. It’s great re-living these moments through your lens. Thanks for taking a few moments to talk shop after meeting you, you’re just as friendly in person as you are in your writing! Q: Any disadvantages or challenges in these settings using zoom lenses (ex: 24 - 80) with an aperture range of 2.8 - 4.0, vs. a fixed 2.8?
Thanks again for all the post’s, your site has become an essential tool in my learning curve!
k
4. Todd | December 4th, 2007 at 8:20 am
Hi Kenny,
I hope the images reflect part of your experience from the concert. As I mentioned in the write-up, it was a blast shooting this show. It was great meeting up, hopefully we’ll be shooting a show together sooner rather than later.
Regarding your question, I personally prefer a fixed-aperture lens simply because it reduces the variables, especially since I shoot in manual mode for shows. I can lock down my settings when the light is stable and not have to worry about the changes in exposure that would results as I zoomed through the focal range with a variable-aperture lens.
Aside from that, the performance of a constant-aperture zoom is usually going to be better, if only because they are designed as the “pro” option. Lastly, there’s the gain of light at the tele and middle focal ranges, which never hurts for concert photography.
Thanks for the comment.
Best,
Todd
5. Valerio | December 4th, 2007 at 8:28 am
Hi Todd,
great shots here, congratulations, I love the 2nd from the top.
I never got a “cult for the Cult”, though, I believe they were already an overextimate band in the 80s.
Don’t miss the Dresden Dolls, they are fantastic live and so theatrical. I loved photographing them, there should be some pics of them somwhere on the web. (I can’t remember where). There are also few on my own website valerioberdini.com in the live section.
all the best
6. Todd | December 4th, 2007 at 9:50 am
Hi Valerio,
Thanks for your pick in this set, and for the comment. This band was just a bit before my appreciation of music, so I can’t weigh in about that, but the show was a lot of fun.
I will definitely be photographing the Dresden Dolls — I’ve seen and photographed them twice before, so I’m looking forward to the performance. You can check out the sets here:
The Dresden Dolls @ the Pageant — 2006.10.21
The Dresden Dolls @ the Pageant — 2006.07.20
The Dresden Dolls FTBR @ the Lucas School House — 2006.07.20
This last set is from their solo, post-show performance after they opened for Panic! at the Disco.
Thanks again for the comment.
Best,
Todd
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