Kyle Gustafson Photography -

Hot Chip @ 9:30 Club

Posted on April 25, 2010

British elctropop collective Hot Chip hit the 9:30 Club on Saturday with The xx, resulting in a sold out show that quickly turned the club into one big sweaty, pulsating dance floor. This was not an easy show to shoot. There was no photo pit, which meant I had to shoot from the crowd. Due to the amount of keyboards and sequencers that the band likes to use, I knew I had to get there early to…

The xx @ 9:30 Club

Posted on April 25, 2010

The xx have played D.C. three times in the last six months. All sold out shows. The latest show was Saturday night at the 9:30 Club opening for Hot Chip. The two bands hooked up for a short tour after they both appeared at Coachella earlier in the month. Not much new to report as far as their set. The lights were better than I expected and due to all of Hot Chip’s gear on the stage,…

Concerts Kennedy Center

Mavis Staples @ Kennedy Center

Posted on April 24, 2010

After a long month of shooting indie rock shows in small, dimly lit clubs, it’s always nice to get an assignment at the Kennedy Center, where the lights are always great. Getting a chance to shoot gospel legend Mavis Staples is just icing on the cake. This concert was held in the terrace Theater, a room I had never shot in before. It was a soundboard shoot, so I borrowed a 300mm lens and it worked out…

Concerts

Owl City @ DAR

Posted on April 23, 2010

Last night I got a last minute assignment to shoot Adam Young, aka Owl City, during his performance at DAR Constitution Hall. His hit song “Fireflies” is on the iPod of everyone under 18, so the audience last night definitely skewed young. Young spent the first sing instrument free, but strapped on guitars for the next two songs. Lighting was pretty harsh, more of the super-hot pink lighting bands seem to go for these days, coupled with…

Concerts

Titus Andronicus @ St. Stephen's

Posted on April 19, 2010

Titus Andronicus was one of the most buzzed about bands at this year’s SXSW Festival and after seeing them burn through a tight set of propulsive and explosive indie-rock on Friday, it was easy to see why. Plus, lead singer Patrick Stickles has a very impressive beard. This was not your typical D.C. rock show. First of all, it was held in a church, St. Stephen’s on 16th and Newton Streets in Columbia Heights. Their concert room…

Club Shows Concerts

Francis and The Lights @ DC9

Posted on April 18, 2010

I am all about the early shows whenever possible, so it was a nice treat when the headliner goes on at 8 p.m. on a Saturday. Francis and the Lights are a band from NYC that do this Kanye meets Otis Redding type R&B, and they took a break from opening for Drake’s current tour to play DC9 on Saturday. I dug their set. The world needs a new Morris Day & The Time. The club was…

9:30 Club Concerts

George Clinton @ 9:30 Club

Posted on April 16, 2010

I had originally planned on taking a night off on Monday but I got a last minute assignment from the Post to cover the George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic show at the 9:30 Club. Chris Richards had written a story that ran in Mondays paper trying to find out what ever happened to the band’s Mothership stage prop and the concert review and photos would be a follow up to that piece. I had seen Clinton only once…

Club Shows Concerts

"Baby" Cham @ Crossroads

Posted on April 15, 2010

Add “Baby” Cham to the list of artists that I had never even heard of when I was assigned to cover them for the Washington Post but came away a fan of. Not that I know anything at all about dancehall reggae, but Cham is actually a very accomplished artist. He’s been nominated for a Grammy and appears on all sorts of hip-hop remixes. The club where he played, Crossroads, is in Bladensburg, MD and it was…

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