The Parlotones at Electric Ballroom 8th April 2010
First time I shoot The Parlotones was in August 2007 at a 200 capacity venue, the last time I photographed them was a year later in a 350 capacity venue and the band invited me to shoot from the stage. Since then things have changed quite a bit; sold out venues of over a 1000 capacity and I now need a pass to be able to take my camera into the venue.
First thing I noticed when I walked into the pit was the enormous height of the stage ( about 1.2 meters!) and the front of the stage was lined with monitors, which added another 50cm to the height. Sucks being small! I only had my 16-35mm 2.8 and my 35mm 1.4 lenses with me, I could have really done with a 24-70mm 2.8 :( . Good news is, that is now on my “next lens to get” list!
The pit was quite crowded as well, so it wasn’t easy finding a good spot where I didn’t have a monitor or someone else’s lens or head in the frame. Despite the problems, I think managed to get a couple of good shots though.
After our five (yes FIVE!) songs were up, I went into the crowed and enjoyed the rest of the hour and a half set, singing along very loudly (and possibly very badly) to every song.
It was brilliant to see The Parlotones play to such a big crowd and they sounded awesome. It was a pleasure and an honor to photograph the band! A big thank you to Glenn for sorting me out with a pass.
