March 11, 2009 – Headlining the 2009 Taste of Chaos Tour, post-hardcore rockers Thursday threw down a raw, vein-popping set amid white-hot strobes and LED explosions.
Shooting Notes:
Thursday's set might not have been the loudest, or the most rowdily received, but I do think they came out with the most seasoned and brutal of all-out-assaults of the bands that came out on stage.
A large part of this effect was the lighting for the set, which came almost entirely from the back of the stage in the form of quick and intense flare-ups, thanks to a series of high-intensity arrays that spit out fiery whites, purples, and reds. At the front of the stage, smaller sets of LED uplights cast ghoulish tints on singer Geoff Rickly as he raged on the mic, doubling over and threatening aneurysm at every lunge forward.
For supplemental lighting, I used the Nikon SB-900 as to the commander on-camera to two Nikon SB-600s on stage.
The biggest concern of this shoot was trying to time Rickly's movements with the flare-ups from the back of the stage. Luckily, the singer came to the monitors at the front of the stage quite a bit, and little observation and timing helped bring home the shots I wanted.
Due to the short shooting time and the sheer intensity of the performance, I choose to concentrate primarily on Rickly. While I normally prefer to pick up all members of the band if possible, I made the decision to focus almost exclusively on the principle for this show. Not only was the singer the best lit, but he was also the most visually engaging in terms of posture and movement.
I shot this set with the Nikon D3, Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8, and Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8. For the most part, the midrange zoom was just wide enough to deliver the impact I wanted, though I did turn to the ultra-wide for a few shots.
End Notes:
Stay tuned for the full sets from Bring Me The Horizon and Pierce the Veil, coming up shortly.
