Opening for The Dead Weather, The Ettes filled the Pageant with beautiful, buzzy garage rock on a haze-covered stage. Challenging lighting? Certainly, but only a taste of what was to come.
I thought the Ettes provided a nice compliment to The Dead Weather's sound. I could also see them hooking up with Band of Skulls or Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
The Ettes – “Crown of Age”
Photographer's Notes:
Little did I know, The Ettes lighting was going to be the easiest stage treatment to work with of the evening. Going into their performance, I had a good idea of what sort of lighting The Ettes would receive, and I was right. House lights were the modus operandi for the openers, with dim magenta casts throughout.
For me, the most engaging subject of The Ettes was drummer Maria “Poni” Silver, who brought a really energetic performance at the kit. Poni's swaying hair was a nice touch and added as much of a challenge as her swinging arms as it bounced around the frame.
I photographed The Ettes exclusively with the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 and Nikon 85mm f/1.4 lenses. The fast f/1.4 aperture of these lenses really saved the day, allowing me to open up the dim stage lighting for this set.
