Archive for July, 2009

Knock Out Festival 2009 @ Hala TS Wisła, Kraków – 11/12 VII 2009

It was a second time I’ve attended a metal festival this big (first was Metal Hammer Festival in 2007 – but it was much, much bigger and it was one of the first festivals I’ve attended as a photographer). Quite a line-up, ranging from progressive metal, sludge, death metal and trash to post-rock and metalcore bands.

Great performances by the foreing gigants such as The Dillinger Escape Plan (I couldn’t make it the first two times they played in Poland so was very happy to see them now – if you haven’t seen them, do it and you won’t regret it!), Cynic and Meshuggah. Apart from DEP, I caught two other bands everyone has been talking about – Blindead and Tides From Nebula. The first one presented a heavy mixture of sludge and progressive sounds – if I could compare it to any other band it would probably be somwhere between Neurosis, Rosetta and Cult Of Luna. Highly recommended and it really makes me proud that we are from the same town. But the TriCity wasv(and still is) lucky when it comes to bands and artists: Apteka, Behemoth, Kury, Illusion, Pink Freud, Kobiety, Leszek Możdzer… As for Tides From Nebula, the crowd was served with lost of instrumental post-rock and post-metal noises. Convinced me to buy their album as soon as the new paycheck arrives. And I finally admit that I’m not really a trash-girl. There are small exceptions for this genre of music but both, Testament and Voivod, just don’t belong there but the crowd was more than happy.

It was the first edition of the festival, and I hope not the last one. Pretty strange that there were around 2,500 of people there. The ticket price was medicore, the fest takes place during holidays and the line-up was great – I really thought that I will see crowds around 4,000-5, or even a little more…

Photos were done for Wp.pl to illustrate a review of the fest written by Zbigniew Zegler. You can read the feature from both days of the fest here and here. However, the photos I’ve chosen for this blog entry are sometimes different from the ones that got to the review – wanted to show something a little different.

Read the rest of this entry »

Globaltica 2009 @ Park Kolibki, Gdynia – 24/25 VII 2009

Last year Jakub Panasewicz (with a little photo help from me) prepared a nice coverage of Globaltica for Wp.pl (you can read about the fest and see the photos it here and here) and I really liked the event, so this year I’ve decided to attend the festival third time in a row.

The line-up was a complete suprise as the festival went into a completly different direction. Less world typical music and rather presenting the artists who draw from other musical traiditions. So we had quite a mixture of folk, rock, instrumental improvisations, stoner metal and delicate singing. All in one place for as cheap as 60 zł for a two day ticket. I just can’t write more about the fest as it would sound like a sponsored commercial;) If only it hadn’t rained…

Best gigs? Orange Goblin (awesome stoner metal), Big Sexy Noise with Lydia Lunch (all those New York crazieness mixed with blues guitar and Lyndia singing – shivers all over my body), Jason Webley (a bit of a cabaret and lots of choral singing!) and Murder By Death (gotta love those alt-country folks! I almost forgot those guys existed but an entry on Maciej Stankiewicz’s blog reminded me of them), but the rest of the line-up wasn’t bad either. I was a bit dissapointed by Kyst – heard a lot about them and they just didn’t sound right. I hope to hear the band in a small club – perhaps the gig would be better.

Who I’d like to see next year? Without doubt, I’m waiting for my second favorite band, Woven Hand, to visit Poland and I think they would really fit into Globaltica’s new way of choosing the artists. Who else? Dropkick Murphys, Ben Harper, Nicola Conte, Dave Matthews Band, Tom Waits, Hevia…Lot’s of daydreaming here but hey, if they invited Orange Goblin to the fest, you can expect almost anything, not limiting yourself to folk or world music artists. The sky(or the money..) is the limit!

From a photographic point of view, this was the best event I’ve shoot this year. Great bands, awesome lights, nice security (yup, it happenes sometimes!) and no “three songs, no flash rule”, although the only band I’ve shot for more than three songs was Orange Goblin. There was too much going on, so leaving the pit after three firsts would be a big mistake. I only wish I’ve taken my photo-ladder – the scene wasn’t so high but a couple of additional centimetres really “does” make a differance.

Read the rest of this entry »

Heineken Open’er Festival 2009 @ Babie Doły, Gdynia – 2/3/4/5 VI 2009

Some shots from the biggest music festival in Poland! The first day brought great gigs from Peter Bjorn & John and Arctic Monkeys (don’t like them on the CD’s but the concert was very nice!), and a major disappointment for me: Basement Jaxx‘s concert.  Saw them three years ago and the performances just can’t compare.

I just had a blast with M83 – the best gig of the fest (along with Faith No More) and the best gig of the year. Really:

After three songs I was hooked and the pictures from it have stuck into my brain and don’t want to come out. I was so dead-tired but still managed to jump through the whole concert. One of my friends took a photo of me shooting the band so I’ve got a nice souvenir (thanks Ania!). Worth every second of it. Will the next year bring a performance such as this one for me? Pearl Jam are on their way so it will probably beat all!

All the pics here were made for Wp.pl.

Read the rest of this entry »