LA's Moving Units, co-headlining with VHS or Beta, delivered on this year's Hexes For Exes with an infectiously danceable set at the Blender Theatre at Gramercy.
Following an opening set by Soft, who provided support on the tour, Moving Units took the stage and paved the way for VHS or Beta's 11 o'clock performance with a set of synthed-up dance-punk reminiscent of the Faint's best quality: balls to the wall dance party.
Pulling from their 2007 release, Hexes For Exes, Moving Units' Blake Miller led the three-piece group through a solid performance complete with all the rock star moves, a highlight being Miller's gold wrestling shoes.
Shooting Notes:
Moving Units' Blake Miller took center stage, rocking a straight mic stand like an extension of his body, taking turns on guitar in addition to his vocal duties.
Being house-right of the mic stand proved to the the ideal position for the right-handed singer, and provided an adequate shot for shooting bassist Johan Boegli at the expense of clean shots of guitarist Chris Hathwell.
Lighting:
In contrast to Soft's set, Moving Units received a more atmospheric treatment that provided a more dramatic and moody treatment. Purple/magenta lighting and cool blues dominating the lighting schemes, complimented by the addition of while yellow lights for contrast.
Throughout the set, hot white lighting were utilized both for atmosphere and for illuminating the band members in stage, as a foreshadowing of some of the effects that would come into play for VHS or Beta's set.
Lenses:
With dimmer lighting than the first set of the evening, Moving Units benefited from the speed of the Nikon 50mm f/1.4, whose fast aperture was essential during the darkest parts of the band's set. For the wider shots, and when light levels allowed, the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 provided a nice addition for rounding out the angles.
Exposure:
At the dimmest, I was shooting at ISO 1600 at f/1.6 and 1/80 second, while brighter segments of the set allowed for f/2.8 and 1/160 second at the same sensitivity.
