Les Savy Fav & Heavy Lag @ Market Hotel - Brooklyn, NY
Photos courtesy of Edwina Hay | September 12th 2021
Performing their first hometown show since January 2019, Les Savy Fav headlined Market Hotel in Bushwick, Brooklyn on Sunday, September 13, 2021. Although their previous concert at Elsewhere sold out, this one wasn’t, perhaps due to factors such as it starting at 9 PM on a Sunday rather than a Friday or Saturday night, the New York City public school year starting the following day on Monday, September 13th, New York City employees returning to their offices the next day as well, and concerns about the spread of COVID-19. The event was vaccinated only so attendees had to show their proof of vaccination and photo ID before entering the show upstairs.
Brooklyn’s Heavy Lag kicked off the evening with a great set at 9:15 PM and joked about being out of practice since they hadn’t performed in front of people in some time. The group features Greg Thornberg of Ellen and the Degenerates (which broke up in 2019), Anthony Careccia of Up for Nothing, and Josh Goan (who was in both acts). They performed with a fairly new drummer and remarked that they only have two songs on their Bandcamp page at the moment so hopefully, they’ll record more of their material with their newest member in the near future.
Les Savy Fav’s performances are a rare treat as two members of the band (guitarist, Seth Jabour and bassist, Syd Butler) being a part of “Late Night with Seth Meyers”’ 8G Band and Syd running Frenchkiss Records, among other reasons. Fans of the band and their live sets know to expect wild antics from their vocalist, Tim Harrington, and this show was no different (a list of some of the things Tim did appear below and are documented in this photo gallery). Before arriving at Market Hotel, I wondered if Tim would show any restraint as we’re currently in a pandemic and we all should be practicing social distancing, and was naturally unsurprised when their set began and I realized that answer was a resounding no. They indulged fans with favorites throughout their career and ended their set by performing all the songs from their 21-year-old EP, Emor: Rome Upside Down, which recently became available on streaming platforms.
Tim brought a broom and fake flowers on stage before their set began. At some point he brought a living plant from the venue to the stage, and then sang through its leaves.
Tim later licked the bristles of the aforementioned broom, more than once.
He removed his “I’m in Miami, bitch” t-shirt to later don a brown furry vest, followed by a white Les Savy Fav t-shirt, and then his bare chest.
The white band t-shirt was ripped open while he was wearing it.
He brought an audience member on stage to put their head through the other sleeve of the vest to become a two headed monster.
Tim placed himself against the big glass window behind their drummer, Harrison Haynes, that faces a subway platform, at least twice.
He licked the bald head of an audience member standing to my left.
Tim noticed I grabbed my beer in front of him and remarked “she said, ‘not my beer!’” and he was absolutely right.
He threw the microphone cord into a hook hanging from Market Hotel’s ceiling and sang into the mic while it was hanging from the ceiling.
This aforementioned hook was yanked from the ceiling by Tim.
He sang while standing on top of the bar in the back of the room.
Tim put a beer can, his microphone, and one of the lights from the stage, down the front of his pants.
Syd left the stage at one point, only to return to finish the song the band was playing when he left.
Tim borrowed a male photographer’s camera during their final song, which had a wrist strap, and then took photos with it.
Made in America - Philadelphia, PA
Photos courtesy of Bridget Craig | September 3rd & 4th 2021
Dugg
A$AP Ferg
Baby Keep
Bobby Shmurda
Coi Leray
Freddie Gibbs
Griselda
Justin Bieber
Kehlani
Latto
Lil Baby
Megan Thee Stallion
Moneybagg
Morray
Roddy Ricch
Tinashe
Young Thug
Jason Mraz @ The Mann Center, Philadelphia, PA
Photos courtesy of Carolyn Lederach | August 20th 2021
Before coming out to this show, I couldn’t help but think back on my own musical history of Jason Mraz. I distinctly remember the time back in 2002 when I asked my mom to take me to the mall so I could go to FYE and pick up a copy of Waiting for My Rocket to Come. I never thought some 19 years later I would be coming back from a pandemic and taking photos of Jason Mraz celebrating the release of his 7th album. Despite following Mr. A-Z’s music career for all this time, somehow this was the first live show I have attended and I’m kicking myself for waiting this long. Not only was it a fun time with his 12-piece band, but it was also fun to see a new spin to classic hits like “The Remedy (I Won’t Worry)”, and get to take in a couple of solo songs as well. It was all the good vibes we needed to come back from a drought of no-shows for over a year.
You really have to appreciate the career Jason Mraz has had, now on tour supporting the release of his 7th studio album Look For The Good. When his first album Waiting For My Rocket to Come was released it really opened up my 14-year-old mind to a clever new form of music, giving me a new appreciation for songwriting that I didn’t know I needed at the time. It wasn’t until Jason’s 3rd album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things., that he really showed the world what he was made of with his biggest hits “I’m Yours” and “Lucky”. Since then he’s still been busy making the world a better place with his avocados (yes, Jason owns an avocado farm), various philanthropy efforts, and more beautiful songs. Lastly, an important note to highlight more of the good in Look For The Good…back on the album’s release in June, Mraz announced that all his earnings from sales and streams of the new LP would be going to numerous Black Lives Matter charities. More can be found on this in his official statement. Hopefully, your feet will find you back at a show soon enjoying life.
Dale Play Reggaeton Fest @ Glenwood Oaks, Chicago IL
Photos courtesy of Emily Nava | June 18 2021
Reggaeton fans of Chicago and surrounding areas gathered in the parking lot of Glenwood Oaks on Friday, June 18th for Dale Play Reggaeton Festival featuring EIX, DJ Orma, Hozwal, Dalex, and Jay Wheeler.
This festival was the first of its kind in the past year as the live music scene took a hit from the pandemic. EIX got the party started with new music and was followed by Bad Bunny's DJ Orma, who played a variety of Bad Bunny hits, including "Safaera". Hozwal kept the energy going, then Dalex played a mix of songs he is featured on, such as "Elegi (Rauw Alejandro)" and songs he is most known for, such as "+Linda" and "Pa Mi".
Headliner, Jay Wheeler, gained more popularity over the past year with the release of his hit song "La Curiosidad (featuring Myke Towers)" and his 2nd album Platonicos. Wheeler made his Chicago debut by wearing a Blackhawks jersey and playing some of his recent releases such as "Otro Fili" and "Viendo El Techo" as well as old songs such as "Dime Que Si". Throughout his highly anticipated performance, Wheeler continuously engaged with fans and showed his appreciation for them by thanking them for being there. The energy of the crowd was electric as every fan used their phone as a flashlight for "La Curiosidad" and sang the lyrics in unison. Wheeler left the crowd chanting for an encore, so I'm sure this will not be the last we see of him anytime soon.
Lil Yachty with Dial Up @ Planetarium Parking Lot, Chicago, IL
Photos and review courtesy of Taylor Nettnin | August 14 2020
Chicagoans were treated to an outdoor show presented by Lakeshore Drive In on Friday, August 14th, 2020. Amid a global pandemic, the live entertainment industry was hit hard and there was a lot of uncertainty on what the future of live shows would be. Thanks to production companies like Lakeshore Drive In, fans are able to enjoy their favorite artists from the comfort of their own car!
Starting off the night was local group Dial Up, who brought the energy and amped up the crowd. While you are only allowed to walk around the perimeter of your car, attendees still found ways to have fun with their friends and dance along as if there weren't any restrictions. It's even quite fun to hear the response to "make some noise!" be everyone's car horn. Dial Up hit the crowd with a lot of nostalgia, as their soulful music sounded to be heavily influenced by R&B and Hip Hop from the 90's.
Lil Yachty then took the stage for the first time since December of 2019. Playing a good mix of new and old hits, with a few of his features in between, the entire crowd found a way to cheer him on. Fans stood in the bed of their pick up trucks, others sat on the roof of their car; no matter how they did it, the fans found creative ways to show their appreciation to experience live music once again. You could feel the energy from the crowd, and it showed in Lil Yachty's performance when catching quick glimpses of him genuinely smiling and enjoying being on the stage once again.
Drive N Drag @ Soldier Field South Lot, Chicago, IL
Photos and review courtesy of Taylor Nettnin | August 09 2020
The Soldier Field parking lot was used for much more than parking on Sunday, August 9th in Chicago, IL! The Drive N Drag Tour rolled through Chicago for six shows Friday through Sunday and featured many fan favorite drag queens from recent seasons of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Season 12 top three Jaida Essence Hall, Crystal Methyd, and Gigi Goode were reunited on stage for the first time since their filming wrapped. Other queens that were performing were Season 11 winner Yvie Oddly, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, Plastique Tiara, and Asia O’Hara who also doubled as the emcee for the night.
It has been many months since Chicago has had a live event due to Covid-19 and safety guidelines, so this show was very different in the sense that fans had to wear their masks and stay around the vicinity of their cars. At a typical drag show you can go up to the stage and tip the queens, but everyone in attendance respected the safety of the queens and everyone around them and made sure to follow the rules, even when the queens came out into the crowd for their final number.
It was thrilling to be at a show once again. You could feel the genuine happiness of the performers to be in front of their fans again, as well as the excitement of the crowd to be watching a live performance. Each queen had their own time to wow the crowd, complete with costume changes and backup dancers. A highlight of the night was Yvie Oddly and Vanessa Vanjie Mateo performing their original song “Hype” together; their energies meshed well together, and their different styles complemented one another.
Utilizing Asia O’Hara as the emcee was an amazing move for this tour. In between acts Asia came out in the crowd to ask “Drag Race” trivia questions and generally interact with the crowd. She even found someone in the crowd who was willing to share their food with her, safely of course.
Although this show wasn’t like what we’ve grown accustomed to for live events, it was still uplifting to be around the distanced crowd and watch performers in front of a live crowd once again. If this is what shows are going to look like for the foreseeable future, it seems as though everyone is already well adapted to it and can’t wait for who they can see next!
Crossfaith with Ocean Grove @ Chalk, Brighton, UK
Photos and review courtesy of Gili Dailes | March 3, 2020
Crossfaith, photo by Gili Dailes
When things were still relatively normal in the UK, just days before COVID-19 forced us into lock-down, I had a chance to photograph Crossfaith in their Brighton leg of the tour with support from Ocean Grove.
Little did I know at the time but this would be the last shows I will photograph in a long while- and I’m glad that I was there to capture the raw energy these two bands have brought down to our seaside town.
Hailing all the way from Japan, Crossfaith have spoiled us with their upbeat set, a hybrid of heavy metal, drum n base and industrial metal. Every single member of the band knows how to get a crowd engaged, and with their strong stage presence and exceptional talent they had everyone hooked for every second of the set.
Supporting Crossfaith tonight were the Australian nu metal band Ocean Grove and Black Futures.
Ocean Grove’s music is quite different to Crossfaith’s and the immediate connection between the bands was not obvious at first. They did, however, get everyone hooked to their energetic show, during which front-man Dale Tanner managed to lose his kilt within the first 30 seconds of the first song- leaving him wearing nothing but his pants and a fishnet tee for the rest of the show (which he didn’t seem to mind at all!).
Wire @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
Photos and review courtesy of Edwina Hay | March 11 2020
The influential punk band Wire is currently touring the US in support of their 17th album, Mind Hive. The tour brought the English band to Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY for two shows on Wednesday, March 11th and Thursday, March 12th. Both nights featured support by a rotating Wire member DJing for the audience at 8PM. On Wednesday night, we were lucky to have Robert Grey (Wire’s drummer) play a music set that I truly wasn’t expecting or experienced before. An early song in his set featured a harpsichord, another featured foghorns (“Song For Our Ancestors” by Steve Miller Band), and another was the familiar “Unaccompanied Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major” by Yo-Yo Ma, and we also heard Jimi Hendrix in conversation with Dick Cavett after Hendrix’s performance of the National Anthem.
After he was done DJing, Wire took the stage promptly at 9:15PM with bassist Graham Lewis addressing the crowd with “Thanks for turning out,” and vocalist/guitarist Colin Newman remarking “What strange circumstances we find ourselves in,” alluding to the pandemic of COVID-19 (a.k.a. Coronavirus). There were many people in attendance of their first night in Brooklyn but Coronavirus was on all of our minds and may have explained why it wasn’t a sold out show for the long-running band.
Beginning their set with a song from 1989, “The Offer,” Wire transitioned to “Be Like Them,” the first track on 2020’s Mind Hive. The quartet of Newman, Lewis, Grey, and guitarist Matthew Simms presented songs both old and new, fervently and loudly to an enthusiastic audience. I was absolutely elated when they performed “I Should Have Known Better” the first song from their third record, 154, that features Graham Lewis on vocals, another favorite, “French Film Blurred,” off their second record Chairs Missing, and people near me were very jubilant when “Ex-Lion Tamer” from their debut Pink Flag was performed, dancing and singing along with the band.
Before the show on Wednesday night, Wire announced that they are releasing a vinyl only album for Record Store Day called 10:20 and will tour the US west coast in October. As Coronavirus dominates the news and impacts our lives more and more each day, it felt wonderful to briefly escape it all with such a momentous band and their music for two hours while I washed my hands thoroughly in between sets.
