Semi Precious Weapons

09.02.08 | 20 Comments

Semi Precious Weapons @ Cicero's -- 2008.08.29

With a path of broken hearts and empty bottles in their wake, New York’s Semi Precious Weapons rolled into St. Louis to prove one thing: people frickin’ love the rock show.

Dressed in a black top with his signature black leggings, Justin Tranter flirted with the crowd, playing both the ever capricious tyrant and coy lover to the audience with a quick turn of his patent leather stilettos.

Cole Whittle, the boy raised by wolves, slapped down bass lines with a feral intensity, taking pause to sip a glass of Captain ‘n Coke offered from the audience in between spin kicks and manic rock spasms, never spilling a drop.

At the back of the stage, presiding over the controlled chaos before of him, Dan Crean kept the savage beat, pummeling a big, raw sound from his stripped down, five-piece kit.

All the while, your very own Guitar Hero, Aaron Lee Tasjan, brought the six-string love, stomping out bluesy, rocked out riffs on his Fender and Epiphone.

Semi Precious Weapons whipped through a whirling 45-minute set with nothing left for an encore and left no doubt at the end of the night – your rock ‘n roll saviors are here. Truly, rock ‘n roll never looked so beautiful.

Semi Precious Weapons’ debut full-length comes out September 30 on Razor and Tie. But you don’t have to wait until then, hit the band’s Myspace for the tunes now.

Semi Precious Weapons @ Cicero's -- 2008.08.29

Photographer’s Notes:

As always, Semi Precious Weapons were blast to photograph, and I only have one complaint: the time always flies by. I shot this set with a CLS setup of four speedlights: one SB-900, one SB-800, and two SB-600s.

End Notes:

These guys are always a favorite band of mine to photograph, no exception. Be sure to check out sets from the band’s precious performance at the Pageant and Cicero’s for more glam rock action.

Semi Precious Weapons @ Cicero's -- 2008.08.29

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20 Comments Add your own

1. David Mullis | September 2nd, 2008 at 10:55 pm

hey todd great stuff as always. you really should do a write up on flash use.
2. Todd | September 2nd, 2008 at 11:05 pm

Hey David! Thanks for the comment. I’m going to let this set be a Where’s Waldo for the flashes.

I’ve been using more and more flash lately for gigs, not to mention promos. I plan to do a little write-up on flash in the near future.

Nice to see you at Jack’s Mannequin, btw.
3. Flash | September 2nd, 2008 at 11:10 pm

Beautiful!! I am still so sad about the circumstances surrounding this weekend. I wish I could have been there but your images are hot hot hot!
4. Todd | September 2nd, 2008 at 11:14 pm

Thanks, Flash! Next time we will rock out to SPW for sure.
5. Keith | September 2nd, 2008 at 11:42 pm

Dude, this is one HECK of a set. They TOTALLY look like they bring the rock show…I am blown away. Stellar CLS work. I like too many of them!
6. Todd | September 3rd, 2008 at 12:19 am

Hey Keith, thanks for the comment. Semi Precious Weapons totally brings the rock show, and hard. I don’t know anyone who has seen these guys live that didn’t fall in love with their show, regardless of musical taste.
7. David Mullis | September 3rd, 2008 at 12:26 am

would i be correct in assuming the flash setup was the 2 600s at the front of the stage left and right just above head height, the 800 in the back lighting the drummer and the 900 has the fill/commander?
8. Todd | September 3rd, 2008 at 12:28 am

David, you are correct, nice job. I just sold the SB-800, though, so I will have to get by with just the SB-600s are remote from now on.
9. Chris | September 3rd, 2008 at 1:48 am

Tokina 12-24? Man … haven’t heard those words in, well, never from you! This set is AMAZING.

Just a few words - I FUCKING LOVE JUSTIN TRANTER. He puts on one hell of a show — the entire band does. Instantly a favorite and gonna download their stuff when it comes out [ironically the same day as the new Jack's Mannequin CD].

Picks: 2, 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 18, and 19.

God I wish I had a better angle, instead of a pillar and dyke trike [dude, she kept pushing me out of the way and using her arm to block my camera] in my way.

Oh well, I am SURE I will see them again… I really have to.
10. Todd | September 3rd, 2008 at 7:23 am

Hey Chris, thanks for the comment and your picks. Yes, Justin Tranter is a legend. Now you know, and so does everyone else, as evidenced by all the other photographers there.

I’m hoping their album does well, they all deserve it.
11. Keath | September 3rd, 2008 at 8:13 am

that last shot with the audience playing Whittle’s bass sums it all up I think :) Great set!
12. Todd | September 3rd, 2008 at 8:43 am

Hey Keath, that last shot was fun. Cole just put the bass on her and went to go nuts on stage.
13. KennyW | September 3rd, 2008 at 9:12 am

Yo T.O.
If I commented on every Amazing Set you post, my index finger would have cramps and arthritis, and I wouldn’t be able to push down my shutter release anymore.. But, I can’t hold back with this set! The angles, and perspective (..and lighting, and composition, and…)is just crazy amazing. I can actually feel the wood floor, and smell the clove cigarettes. I actually ducked because I thought that telecaster neck was going to hit me in the head, and I think a wood chip from a drumstick just flew into my eye when writing this.. beautiful work bro.
14. Todd | September 3rd, 2008 at 9:24 am

Hey Kenny, thanks very much for the kind words, glad to hear you can get into this set. I don’t shoot Cicero’s very often (the last time was for Semi Precious Weapons last year), but for this band, I’ll endure the smoke and cramped space.
15. Tasha | September 3rd, 2008 at 9:53 am

Your shots of Dan are beyond incredible. Did you climb onstage in front of him?

Wow.
16. Todd | September 4th, 2008 at 11:24 am

Hey Tasha, yes, I climbed on stage on a few occasions. I felt badly about not getting any “in your face” shots of Dan the last two times, so I was motivated to get in this for this performance.
17. Solange | September 22nd, 2008 at 1:53 pm

Todd,
This set is something else. The lighting you produced in this is stunning.
And you know how much I like SPW now. I hope they come back to London soon.
I am intending to get to learn some studio lighting stuff next mont and I am panicking already.
It is just a short course and I hope to get to grips with it.
I saw the comment about the D3. It is definitely a beast of a camera specially in your hand.
But it is more than what I can spend at the moment. Do you think I would be happy with a D700? I have read a lot about it. I’ve waited for the 5D replacement but I am not keen on the price in the UK either.
I can buy a D700 body and a nice 14-24 mm wide angle and a 50 mm 1.4 lens for some pounds more.
I’ll be needing for portraits and I think the 50mm is a nice one to start. I am really a sucker for Wide Angle lens, so I’ll want one badly. Do you reckon it is a good choice? I am a bit lost at the moment.
Sorry for writing so much but I am in need of some opinion.
I can’t wait to see all this upcoming gigs you’re shooting. So many bands I love in there.
Not too many gigs for me lately…need to save my money for the camera. haha
Cheers!
18. Todd | September 22nd, 2008 at 3:23 pm

Hey Solange,

The Nikon D3 is my first choice for a concert camera, but I think the D700 comes in a close second.

If it’s within your budget, I have no hesitation recommending it. And of course, the 14-24mm is a fantastic lens, one of my favorite for live music.

The 50mm is a little loose for portraits unless you don’t mind staying a bit farther back. The perspective distortion is not ideal for certain types of shots, so you might be better served by a longer lens.

If you go with the D700, I would actually recommend the old manual focus 105mm f/2.5 if you have the luxury and eyesight to manually focus. I find this lens very nice for the D3 and D700, though it can be tricky to focus accurately.

Aside from that, the Nikon 85mm f/1.8 AF-D would be a good, fairly inexpensive portrait lens.

Let me know if you have any more questions, and thanks for the comment on SPW! Hope they come back to you soon.
19. Carsten | October 16th, 2008 at 3:58 am

Again - oustanding stuff and the CLS set up clearly helped you produce some sensational photos.
20. Todd | October 16th, 2008 at 4:54 pm

Hey Carsten, thanks very much. This was the first show where I’d had the opportunity to set up some speedlights on stands, and I think getting a flash back by the drummer really helped out in some of the shots.

speak up

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