Fronted by Nick Urata, whose languid croon filled the big hall with a sense of brooding celebration, Devotchka wove an epic set of gypsy punk in the cavernous Terminal 5.
Mixing old-world flair with the throw-down of rock aesthetics, the Denver-based band delivered a crowd-pleasing set that drew notably from their 2008 release, A Mad & Faithful Telling, while also including favorites from their break-out album, How It Ends.
Photographer’s Notes:
Considering the last time I saw and photographed Devotchka they played in a damp basement venue to a hundred people, this performance was a very nice change of scenery.
This gig was my first shoot in NYC’s Terminal 5, but the most exciting opportunity, aside from the venue and the great band, was the opportunity to shoot along aside my brother and fellow concert photographer Chris (www.onelouderphoto.com). Chris and I try and shoot together as often as we can, so when my dates to NYC were confirmed, one of the first things we did was check the listing for gigs.
Aside from my bro, this shoot was a nice opportunity to meet some other folks in the concert photography scene, including Bryan Kremkau, Ryan Muir, and Diana Sabreen.
In all, there were about half a dozen photographers in front of the barricade for Devotchak, but, thanks to the deep pit, there was generally plenty of room to move around for this show.
Now, whether the tiny bit of stage to which one wanted to move was free or not was another matter entirely.
Aside from pit real estate, the other notable considerations for this shoot were the lower 4-foot stage and slightly removed position of the band, who were set back a little over a meter from the front of the stage.
Just the usual spread for this set: first three, no flash.
Lighting:
Lighting for this set was an interesting mix, dominated by cool blue backlighting and a few quick shifts.
Frontman and singer Nick Urata was naturally the best lit member of the group, bathed in a warm front lighting for most of the set. In addition, two spots positioned on the floor flanked the singer for some eerie underlighting, which fired up hot magenta during the third song for the set.
What this relatively generous lighting on Urata translated into, at least for me, was a lot of lens love on the frontman.
Quick, bright flashes of light lit Shawn King while the drummer was at his kit, most notably two quick flashes of white light during the first three songs.
Tom Hagerman and Jeanie Schroder, unfortunately, fared less well with the lighting. Aside from a few moments of warm white light, Hagerman, who switched between the accordion and violin, played mostly in the dark. Similarly, Schroder’s lighting was limited mostly to color washes during the first three songs.
Lenses & Gear:
I shot this set using the Nikon D3 and my go-to zooms, the Nikon 24-70mm and the Nikon 70-200mm. These f/2.8 zooms covered most all of the necessary framing for this set, and the telephoto zoom was especially useful for Urata.
At a few moments, I was tempted to whip out the 85mm f/1.4 for the speed, but ultimately the 70-200’s flexibility for frame won out.
I did use the 50mm f/1.4 for just a few shots when Nick Urata played the theremin, an event that coincided with relatively darkness.
Exposure & Metering:
I shot at ISO 3200, f/2.8, and 1/200 second for most of this set.
When Urata’s magenta underlighting flared up, I spun down to ISO 1600 and upwards of 1/500 second, which still resulted in a lot of blown skintones due to the hot lighting.
Going into the St. Louis show at the Pageant, I aimed to nail this dramatic lighting.
End Notes:
If for some reason you haven’t heard these guys, I’d head over to the Hype Machine to give this band a whirl. It doesn’t really matter which tracks you pick (they’re all good), but I particularly like these cuts:
Stay tuned for round two of Devotchka’s 2008 tour when we take things to the Pageant a few days later. Also, don’t forget to check out the write-up for opener Basia Bulat, who put on a charming set supporting Devotchka.
17 Comments Add your own
1. Jason Sheesley | May 27th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
I think I can see your reflection in the Sousaphone. ; )
Nice shots as always, Todd.
2. Todd | May 27th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Hey Jason,
Ha, I think you’re right. I just looked at the original file and there are four photographers that you can see in the reflection (or in the web-sized shot, four clusters of red blobs along the edge of the stage).
I think I’m the third one from the left.
Thanks for the feedback, Jason.
3. Bryan | May 28th, 2008 at 7:16 am
Thanks for the shout-out! You got some great shots of Nick. really clear & crisp.
4. Todd | May 28th, 2008 at 8:16 am
Hey Bryan, nice to finally meet you at this show. Thanks for the feedback!
5. chris | May 28th, 2008 at 8:31 am
So many photographers in NYC only shoot the frontman of a band. I try to get everyone whenever possible. I felt a little guilty about not getting all of the band members for this show but I’m glad to see that I wasn’t alone in my choices!
6. Todd | May 28th, 2008 at 8:40 am
When I looked back on this set, I thought, “Hey, it’s the Nick Urata Band.”
While I would have liked to pick up more shots of each band member, the lighting just wasn’t in their favor. I checked off the accordion shot and the tuba shot, but Shawn King on drums/trumpet escaped me (for this show, anyway).
With a finite amount of time and fickle lighting, something’s got to give!
7. Jon J | May 28th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Alright, I still can’t figure out - what’s with the two mic set-up? I noticed it used for Mae, and now Devotchka. I know Halifax-based Rebakh Higgs uses them, but they’re usually placed further away from each other. Any thoughts?
8. Todd | May 28th, 2008 at 9:37 am
Hey Jon. From what I’ve seen and heard, often in these two-mic setups, one mic is distorted in some way, while the other is more neutral.
Nick Urata switches between the two mics while singing, favoring one or the other for different phrasing.
9. Chris | May 28th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
Hey Todd. Great set — looking forward to seeing the ones from the pageant. I like 1, 6, 8, and 10 after the intro. Man, I especially love 8 — that silhouette is AMAZING! It’s so inspiring.
10. Todd | May 28th, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Hey Chris, thanks for your thoughts on this one. I almost didn’t put in #8, but the dramatic effect won over any misgivings.
I’m going to post the Pageant shots next week, along with some thoughts comparing the venue to Terminal 5 in NYC.
11. Chris | the other chris | May 28th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Damn, that first pic basically shows the leaps and bounds the d3 has over the mk3 :(
I guess I’m gonna have to wait for the 5dmk2
12. Todd | May 28th, 2008 at 11:32 pm
Hey Chris. That shot was made at 1/200, f/2.8, and ISO 3200. My first thought would be, give me a mk3 and 70-200mm f/2.8 IS, I’ll show you the same shot.
I think the 5Dmk3 is going to be an excellent camera for low light work, besting even the D3. As long as Canon keeps the resolution modest (<16mp), they’ll have a winner. Throw some DIGIC processors at it, even better.
13. Chris | May 29th, 2008 at 12:06 am
Hmm, from what I’ve seen the only place the D3 really pulls away from the 1Dmk3 is after ISO3200. If you’re comparing Todd’s shots to mine, other than the completely different color balance between Nikon and Canon, the difference is almost entirely post-processing.
14. Chris | the other chris | May 29th, 2008 at 9:23 pm
It’s the color balance. I used to hate Nikon’s because it didn’t have that “pop.” Looking at the D3’s shots it makes me wanna switch. Like you said, it might just be post. The grass is always greener…
15. Todd | May 30th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Regarding color, the D3 is certainly much warmer than my old D2x. That, and the color fidelity is superior above ISO 800 with the D3.
16. Zach | June 2nd, 2008 at 9:48 am
Radiohead?
17. Devotchkat @ the Pageant &hellip | June 10th, 2008 at 12:08 am
[...] photographed Devotckha just three days before at New York’s Terminal 5, I was keenly interested in what differences there might be at the Pageant as I stepped into the [...]
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