Posts Tagged ‘festival’
COKE LIVE MUSIC FESTIVAL PT.2 – 19-20 VIII 2011 – KRAKÓW, POLAND
(First part can be found here)
Coke always marks two things for me: the dawn of the summer festival season and time I’ve started comming to Kraków more often. This year it was also a beggining of an almost 2,5 week trip with three festivals, some vacation time and lots of drawing (thanks to Ulson, who made me come back to drawing..again!). And almost every time I come to Coke there’s always something wrong – in the previous years it has been my camera, my almost-broken knee. This year it was the uncertian weather, which affected the Pukkelpop and me limping (kids, never try to go into a moshpit after the doctor advised you not to do so – but the Deftones gig was AWESOME!). However, it was the most awesome Coke ever – lot’s of friends and workmates, great gigs (Editors blew me away..) and the weather turned out to be more awesome then Barney Stinson will ever be.
Coke was the first time I’ve managed to test out my new lens Nikkor 80-200, which worked just great (Of course, it’s not the Nikkor 70-200 mm F2.8 VR II, so it has some flawns). Pretty different focal length from what I was used to (50-150). So after completing some new lenses, lamps and acessories there was only one target left – a full-frame body. And because my D300 was not in such a great condition and I was tired of waiting for Nikon’s new model to be announced in the late October I purchased a D700. But that’s another story. If I ever win the lottery. I’m going straight to the store to buy a 14-24 2.8, 24-70 28 and a whole bunch of primes…
Heineken Open’er Festival 2010 @ Babie Doły, Gdynia – Day 2
Second part of Heineken Open’er pics. Loads of work ahead so I’m sorry for the delay.
Also:
- gallery from the first day can be found here.
- for bootlegs from the festival go here.
- for HD quality video recordings from the festival go here.
Heineken Open’er Festival 2010 @ Babie Doły, Gdynia – Day 1
As it was my 6th Heineken and the third one that I’ve had the photo pass with me and I was not obliged to upload the pics “on the spot”, I’ve decided to take some more photographs of what’s going around the fest. So here you go – gigs, people, my friends, people who work their asses off (actually when I’ve shot the backstage pics they had some time off so keep that in mind) during one of the biggest festivals in Poland . And this year I’ve used a slightly different method during the post-production so let me know if you like it. Any feedback appreciated!
As usuall, I forgot some things, did more of the Fender tent that I’ve supposed to (because it was just so awesome I couldn’t get out of there:), cried during the Pearl Jam gig (which was the second band I ever shot and the pics I did in Chorzów still scare me to this day so the Open’er gig was like a payback time) and forgot the Kids Zone. But hey – there’s lot’s of going on all around!
Days two, three and four will be put up in the next couple of days. Every entry will be around 100 pics so putting them all into one would make your browser go crazy.
Also:
- for bootlegs from the festival go here.
- for HD quality video recordings from the festival go here.
Free Form Festival 2009 @ Warszawa – 16/17 X 2009
Last year’s edition of Free Form Festival was my first. I really liked the fest and there were many nice things going around for me at that time, so having good memories and being asked to shoot the meet & greets with the artists, I decided to visit FFF for the second time.
The biggest disappointment (for me) was the location and the weather. Free Form had really bad luck, because just days earlier almost whole Poland was struck by snowstorms/storms/low temperature and it was mid-October and the place it was. So it was pretty cold and I ended up being wrapped in two hoodies plus a winter jacket – nice and warm. The place itself wasn’t so bad, but it didn’t have the atmosphere the previous location (Fabryka Trzciny) had.
The gigs were OK, but three of them just blew me away – Karl Bartos, Birdy Nam Nam and Vive la Fête. Bartos performed the stuff he did with Kraftwerk and I finally got to listen to some of my favorite songs ever, songs that shaped electornic music, songs that my Dad used to play me when I was little (I was so scared of the metalic voices in Trans Europe Express). still I’m soo mad I haven’t seen them in Kraków last year and it will be one of the biggest “concert” mistakes of my life. I don’t know why, but Kraftwerk’s “machine music” always brings tears to my eyes. Birdy Nam Nam’s and Vive la Fête’s performances were, on the other hand, full of energy, loud noises and should be put in a dictionary as words that are used to describe the word party. Party on, party hard. And that was what the crowd did!
Big thanks goes out to Kasia Tarka, for all the help, and Monika, for letting me stay at her flat, helping me not to freeze at the party, not being mad at me for returning at some mad hours and eating the food from her fridge:) And, of course, a festival gallery would not be complete without my “trademark” picture of H., my festival soul mate, my BOO! brother and one of the best people in the whole universe!
The photos were done for Good Music Productions. And if you are interested in buying the photos for a publication, please contact us.
Orange Warsaw Festival 2009 @ Warszawa – 4/5 IX 2009
50,000 people, pretty good line-up (The Crystal Method, MGMT, Skinny Patrini, Clive Harris and more), located in the center of Warsaw, the capital of Poland – Orange Warsaw Festival. And the admissiom price? Free!
Until I get the response from Snap Event, there will only be links to the galleries on Wirtualna Polska.
- Groove Armada, Calvin Harris & The Crystal Method
- N*E*R*D & MGMT
- Skinny Patrini & Afromental
- Razorlight & Smolik Big Band Project
- Maria Sadowska & JaConfetti
Big thanks go out to Konrad, who let me stay in his beautiful flat for a couple of days and tolerated my unstoppable desire for different kinds of tea.
Tauron Nowa Muzyka 2009 @ Katowice – 28/29/30 VIII 2009
I didn’t know if I would go to the festival with or without my camera (Aśka Combik got her confirmation months ago), but two days before I was finally told, that I’m gonna shoot the event.
I was, and still am, stunned by the line-up. A nice mix of diversity and the “new” sounds from around the globe.
However, non of the concerts stunned me like HEALTH, Fucked Up or M83 did that summer. I really expected a lot from Pivot and Planningtorock but walked away dissapointed big time. Not that much from Fever Ray – I really didn’t get the into her solo work, but I was more than happy to hear the voice that made me cry when I saw that video. See you next time Karin, but please, with The Knife this time!
And Dan Deacon got cancelled so I threw my pain of not posessing a wide-angle lens away…at least for a week. But using a wide angle and a fisheye would be fun – the stages weren’t that big and you could use it for a few nice shots. Next week I’m at the Orange Warsaw, so there’s gonna be a huge difference.
It’s all a proof of the fact that Poland became with many interesting concerts and festivals. And no matter how “strangely” the Tauron Nowa Muzyka is organised and how it deals with a problem of it’s set location (I hope it will be the same place again next year), it’s still one of the most interesting events to go to. I just hope that next year I won’t be sleeping in different places every night:)
Lots, lots of thanks goes out to Hennessy Williams (again!), Marceli Szpak, Graftmann and my last.fm mates!
Coke Live Festival @ Kraków – 20/21/22 VIII 2009
Last year I went to Coke Live Music and got back with a huge amount of dissapointment. The gigs weren’t great, the atmosphere was so-so and I was thinking of not returning this year…However, when I saw James, The Killers and NAS on the poster I decided to go. Contacted the folks at WP.pl (a website I collaborate with) if they were interested with the photos plus a review of the fest and after getting the “green light” I applied for the photo pass.
Really, concerts this year – brilliant! Got a total blast from James, NAS and Lupe Fiasco. James was a pretty nice suprise to the line-up, but the band managed to play a great performance! The same goes for Lupe Fiasco and NAS – two great hip-hop artists. Lupe came with his DJ and a drummer, while NAS put a great show with a live band (plus – a DJ of course;). Hell of a show!
The Killers -a big dissapointment for me. I loved the first record, I really did. But the rest…well. A copy of a copy of a copy from the first LP. The songs sound flat and they do not posess the magic, the ones from “Hot Fuss” did. What’s worse, I got the idea that the band is aware of this: almost all pieces from the last part of the concert came from the debut… And the “no-photo” policy plus the lack of small (but always nice!) things like comming from the stage info the audience. Come on! James started playing FROM the crowd and often the singer would get off the stage and interacted with the audience. Personally, I love those kinds of things!
While the line-up consisted mostly of hip-hop and reagge, it didn’t bother me that much. From politically-involved to pure fun – all faces of those genres were shown. I just hope that next year, more electronic and pop will be present. But inviting The Roots, Beastie Boys or Kanye West wouldn’t hurt a bit!
(Excuse me the absence of The Killers photos, but they did not allow photographers to enter the pit. Their photos were provided by their private photographer, and Brandon’s brother-in-law, Torey Mundkowsky. Well, the guys always seemed to be a “big” friend of all the photographers ..)
And if you are interested in buying any of the photos for a publication, please contact us. More photos can be seen on Wp.pl.
Off Festival @ Mysłowice – 6/7/8/9/ VIII 2009
(Disclamer: Dear People Who Take Care Of Our Roads And Trains – we live in a country of 40 million, with blooming economy and culture, with more and more tourists comming each year. And it took me about 9 hours to get from one side of the country to another, and it will take me more to get back to Gdynia, because all neat train connections were..cancelled. What the funk is that?)
Thanks to Utek, we started our journey on Wednesday, drove almost through the whole country and ended up in Tychy, a nice town near Mysłowice, where Off is taking place.
Before the first day shows we hanged out with Hennessy Williams, a bootleger from Warsaw, who’s preparing loads and loads of boots from this years Off (be sure to check the list on his site!). We saw three shows (great performance by Paristetris and The Complainer & The Complainers!), talked with Jarek Szubrycht (we’re both so excited that Sun 0))) are playing during Unsound Festival!) and headed back home. A short prelude before a veeery long weekend full of space rock, electronic monsters and experiments from music magicians from all around the globe. Cheers!
And if you are interested in buying any of the photos for a publication, please contact us. More photos can be seen on Onet.pl.
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.
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.
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.