9:30 Club Concerts

Sleigh Bells @ 9:30 Club

Posted on March 29, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC - March 27th, 2012 - Derek E. Miller and Alexis Krauss of indie-rock duo Sleigh Bells perform at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. The duo's second full length album, Reign of Terror, was released in February and debuted at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 200. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson/For The Washington Post) (Kyle Gustafson/FTWP)

I knew what I was in for before I even stepped in the door for this show. Strobe lights, Marshall stacks and lots of headbanging. Sleigh Bells’ music is very in your face, and their live show really translates that on stage.

WASHINGTON, DC - March 27th, 2012 - Alexis Krauss of indie-rock duo Sleigh Bells performs at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. The duo's second full length album, Reign of Terror, was released in February and debuted at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 200. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson/For The Washington Post) (Kyle Gustafson/FTWP)

WASHINGTON, DC - March 27th, 2012 - Alexis Krauss of indie-rock duo Sleigh Bells performs at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. The duo's second full length album, Reign of Terror, was released in February and debuted at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 200. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson/For The Washington Post) (Kyle Gustafson/FTWP)

With their strobe-heavy lighting, conditions for this show were less than optimal. I focused most of my time on Alexis, since she is the face of the band. She hardly ever stands still and when she did, she wasn’t lit, so I had to be content to get whatever shots of here I could when the light was up, even if her hair was totally in her face, as was mostly the case.

WASHINGTON, DC - March 27th, 2012 - Derek E. Miller and Alexis Krauss of indie-rock duo Sleigh Bells perform at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. The duo's second full length album, Reign of Terror, was released in February and debuted at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 200. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson/For The Washington Post) (Kyle Gustafson/FTWP)

WASHINGTON, DC - March 27th, 2012 - Derek E. Miller and Alexis Krauss of indie-rock duo Sleigh Bells perform at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. The duo's second full length album, Reign of Terror, was released in February and debuted at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 200. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson/For The Washington Post) (Kyle Gustafson/FTWP)

When I left the venue I was pretty sure I didn’t get anything worth keeping, but I was able to find a nice set of photos in between all the pitch black exposures I took between the strobes. Again, not ideal, but I prefer to think of it as a nice change of pace from the usual gig lighting.

WASHINGTON, DC - March 27th, 2012 - Alexis Krauss of indie-rock duo Sleigh Bells performs at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. The duo's second full length album, Reign of Terror, was released in February and debuted at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 200. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson/For The Washington Post) (Kyle Gustafson/FTWP)

Full photo set below. As always, click on any photo to purchase prints.
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Sleigh Bells @ 9:30 Club – Images by Kyle Gustafson

Kyle Gustafson is a freelance photographer based in Washington, D.C. His work appears weekly in The Washington Post. Complex Magazine named him one of the 50 Greatest Concert Photographers Right Now.

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