When I learned a couple friends of mine who play in a band were playing a bar gig in the town next to mine I jumped at the opportunity to go see the show. It was a time to catch up with buddies, but also a well needed night out. When I considered I could possibly take photos I was extra enthused. My friends Scott and Dave from Victoria, BC play in a three piece band called The HEX, and they rocked it at the Mex Pub (Courtenay BC).
Three other bands rocked the small bar stage. Firstly, Sado Mannequin (Victoria BC) rocked out a solid short set, apparently they had only played a handful of gigs together, but you would never have known it. Second, The Daisy Stranglers, from Nanaimo BC played. I really dug their style. Reminiscent of 80s and 90s female lead punk bands like Bitch. Third up, from Victoria, The POOR Choices (great name for a band), were technically tight and solid all around. Somehow both grungy and clean, I've been listening to them on repeat for the last couple days. And finally, headlining, were The HEX, also hailing from Victoria. I've seen and heard Scott and Dave play in their numerous other bands in the past, and they sure didn't disappoint with this group. Musically ambitious, their fast paced and complicated brand of punk rock left me wanting more, a talented trio to be sure.
I had absolutely awesome time at The Mex! to top it off I met up with one of my best friends that I don't see nearly often enough (thanks for coming out Vicki!) I set up my Sony a6000 on the table next to me to shoot some video, and it performed well except for the the abysmal battery life that forced me to be selective in what I was recording, and I still ran out of juice before the end. I photographed the show using my work horse camera, the Canon 6d, and because of the low light in the bar, I slapped on the plastic fantastic Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens and never switched lenses.
I really love to shoot live bands, I think I will make more of an effort to do it more often. It's a nice change from directing models and I just plain enjoy listening to good tunes while swilling beers with friends.
~Cheers, Rev. D
The HEX bandcamp: thehex1.bandcamp.com
The POOR choices bandcamp: thepoorchoices.bandcamp.com
The Daisy Stranglers facebook: www.facebook.com/Daisystranglers
Sado Mannequin facebook: www.facebook.com/Sado-Mannequin