It’s been months since Ludo blasted the Pageant with confetti, flying poinsettias, and bombastic pop, but our ears have been ringing with melodic power chords ever since. Fresh off their A Very Ludo Chrismas tour, the St. Louis-natives bounced back into town for the release of their 2008, major-label debut, You’re Awful, I Love You (Island).
While the Christmas motifs of the last show did not make a repeat appearance, theatrics and a party atmosphere were anything but absent.
Orange and white balloons covering the stage, oversized Ludo-cherries, and plenty of confetti – not to mention the band’s antics on stage – made sure the night was a carnival for the eyes as well as the ears.
And, of course, the band brought the noise. Specifically, a tight set that pulled on golden oldies while still showcasing the best of the band’s newest release. For me, the highlights were the perennial favorites “Hum Along” and “Part I: Broken Bride.”
At the helm was Andrew Volpe, bouncing on the stage like Buddy Holly hopped up on goofballs, equally at home shredding on his Fender as he was thrusting his hands into the air with gestures that would make the Three Tenors proud. And let’s not forget the signature Duck Face.
Lighting up his Moog, Tim Convy kept up with Volpe’s antics with his own contributions, making frequent trips to the front of the stage to hype the crowd, which needed no help in expressing their rabid affection for the five-piece.
In contrast to Volpe and Convy, bassist Marshall Fanciullo and Tim Ferrell played their sets more cooly, but with no less relish. Presiding over it all on a short riser, drummer Matt Palermo tore it up with fresh beats all night long.
Ludo’s brand-spankin’ new video for “Love Me Dead” is playing on MTV’s TRL tomorrow, March 19 at 3:30 PM EST.
Photographer’s Notes:
I had all access for this show and split my time from the photo pit and the side stages, with plenty of time crouching beside Matt Palermo’s drumkit with the wide angle.
In contrast to the last time I shot Ludo, the stage was free of cotton-fluff snow and plastic candy canes; in their place, however, was a small sea (or if not a sea, a large pond) of white and orange balloons to match the color scheme for the new ablum’s cover art.
For the first half of the set, these balloons covered most of the stage and were gradually kicked off, though they still posted an interesting challenge to shoot around.
Lighting:
If anything, lighting was the only technical weak point for this show, which seemed to lack the interest of the Christmas gig.
For the CD release, lighting was the Pageant’s modus operandi of high, white frontlighting and thin backlighting.
The intensity kept shutter speeds up and ISO relatively low, at the expense of deep shadows.
Lots of warm light from the front, with mixes of red, blue, and orange from the back.
Lenses & Gear:
I shot with the Nikon D3 and Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 for much of this show, with a good mix of the Nikon 14-24mm thrown in for comic effect.
The 70-200mm f/2.8 made some brief appearances, but I was mostly content to stay below 100mm.
Given the full-set shoot, I was happy to have a more leisure to try out the 14-24mm on Matt Palermo, which was an especially nice change considering the stage access.
Exposure & Metering:
Given the full-set shoot, exposure was all over the place. Sensitivities were set everywhere from ISO 1600 to ISO 6400, and shutter speeds were similarly varied.
End Notes:
Once again, this band was a joy to photograph. Once again, I failed at photographing Marshall Fanciullo, international man of mystery, ladies’ man, and mad scientist on the bass guitar. Next time.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 7:05 pm and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with fender, gig, live, ludo, moog, Music Photography, pageant, photography, pop, rock, show, synth, weezer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Welcome to ishootshows.com, the premier site for music photography featuring daily concert coverage, portrait features, and photo advice from professional music photographer Todd Owyoung.
Every time I see Dir en grey perform, it feels like a spectacle. Even though they’re touring r
Hanging out in the hot, hot sun on Warped Tour 2010, Chris and I met up with electro-pop wiz kid Gra
Both the new Nikon 85mm f/1.4G AF-S and Nikon 24-120mm f/4 VR have long been rumored, and they’ve
It’s hot, the summer solstice has come and gone, and, more importantly for many young music fa
Just a quick link to say that your truly was featured on Photoshop guru Scott Kelby’s Kelby TV
My name is Todd, and I love the rock show. My work has appeared in publications such as Rolling Stone, SPIN, the New York Times, Alternative Press, Metal Hammer, Entertainment Weekly, and Billboard Magazine. I'm available for worldwide travel for editorial and commercial assignments.
absolutely wonderfull pictures.
I really love your work.
and thank you for all the explainations you add on this page :))
Didier.
Thanks, Didier. I appreciate the comment, I’m glad to hear you enjoy the work and the write-ups.
Nice series Todd .. I think the “Access All Areas”-pass allowed you some cool shots, although there “normal” ones are very good, too. #23, your lead picture, is my favourite this time.
Hey Andi, thanks for your thoughts on this set. I tried to get both kinds of shots, the sort of more rare shots like that of the drummer, but also the more “standard” images. If I shot this band a third time, I might try and shoot almost exclusively from on stage or on the wings.
I think the thing I like about this set is the great shots you got of the rest of the band this time. #1, #3, #6, #14, #16 are great. More cannot be said about having all access with a band that plays nice.
Great job.
Hey Chris, thanks for your thoughts. I still had an epic fail with Marshall — dude just plays in the dark.
The all access pass was certainly really nice, and it gave me the opportunity to try out a few things with the 14-24mm that I have been interested in doing.
Another aspect that freed me up a little in approach was that the lighting was actually less interesting than that of the Christmas show, so I did have a “been there, done that” feel at the front of the stage.
I actually didn’t shoot very much at all this show, considering there was no time limit. Just a little more than I would shoot for three songs normally, really.
Yeah, the only shots I got of Marshall were when he came to the front during Christmas. The only reason you didn’t get shots of him then was probably because I was standing in the “shootin hole” in front of him for that 15 seconds.
Some Canon photogs are switching to Nikon just for the 12-24mm. It’s crazy.
Yeah, this set of images has a maturity (been there done that) that the first set lacks. It’s almost as if you went for all of the shots you mentally missed the first time around. Killer drummer shot *check*. Killer beyboardist shot *check*.
Yeah, I think I got one shot of Marshall at the very end of the Christmas show, but didn’t any rock shots.
Speaking of shooting holes, I groaned a little when I saw the balloons. If it isn’t reindeer, candy canes and fake snow, it’s balloons. Next time I’m expecting plastic dinosaurs or robots at the front of the stage.
I definitely had a checklist for a few shots, like the lead shot of Matt on drums, and tried to get more involved shots of Tim. If only we got second chances with all bands. :)
Great job of working with the balloons – I pitched most of mine that had them. In particular, the one of Ferrell crouched among them is great.
I also feel your pain about Marshall. A good shot of him is always a prize!
And the shots from your 14-24 are always astoundingly wide. The full-frame of the D3 really lets that lens shine.
Thanks, Tasha — the balloons were tough, right? Is there always *something* on stage with these guys?
That shot of Ferrell was a total over-the-head grab shot, thanks. Racked to wide-ish, focus, up and over.
Next time I’m spending three full songs dedicated to Marshall, I swear.
14mm is really wide on the D3. It’s addicting, too. It’s the wrong lens about 95% of the time, but when it works… it works. :)
Glad to know I’m not the only one that has *always* had issues getting shots of Marshall. He truly is an enigma, and always in the shadows. I once got a shot of him, but he was making an unforutnate face and the flash I was using bounced in a manner I hadn’t intended… possibly off one of the giant inflatable cherries. Ludo has always been one of my favorite bands to shoot though.
Anyway though, I’ve been a viewer of your site for a while, first time writing. I wanted to say that I think your work is excellent and gives me a lot of inspiration and hope that I will be able to afford some better equipment soon so I can experiment more and hopefully come out with some great looking shots. (I’ve been eying that 12-24 for awhile, just having issues justifying it when it costs more than my camera body did!)
Hey Amber,
If Marshall had super power, I think it would be being invisible — while slappin’ the bass something fierce, of course.
Glad to hear from you, I always have to wonder who reads this site. I appreciate the comment, I’m happy if any of the info has been helpful to you.
Ultra-wide is really fun, let me know if you have any questions on gear.
Great shots! I’m the guy screaming in the orange with my two friends, I can’t believe you posted a pic of us! =D
thank you thank you thank you for all of these pictures. I could never get a good picture at the paegent cuz the rules there are so finicky!!! THANKS AGAIN!!!