Uploads from kirstiecat

Deerhunter

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:30:53 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

I cannot stop listening to Monomania!!!!!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYUENZQ84-E

***All photos are copyrighed. Please don't use without permission***

New Band For You to Discover: Wilsen

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Mon, 13 May 2013 04:59:29 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

Here's a New Music Monday recommendation-opening for Daughter on this tour for previous dates, Wilsen really impressed me so I bought their record, Sirens, and really love it-gorgeous without any kind of pretense with such lovely vocals.

www.youtube.com/wilsenmusic

**All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission**

Why Cameras Exist.

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Sat, 11 May 2013 10:23:03 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

The Smith Westerns are one of my very favorite local bands in Chicago and they announced today they would be going on tour:

www.smithwesternsmusic.com/#

But that isn't what I wanted to tell you about today. I wanted to tell you about the reasons why cameras exist.

There's a space in every moment that can be stretched like a rubber band. It can be a playful thing. We like to make it snap against our fingers, not for the pain but for the reason that we can then control it.

There is a definite part of me that has always loved music and photographing music made sense to me for many reasons but I'm not ever trying to photograph a person up there. Instead of showing you a body, I'd rather show you energy. Instead of showing you a face, I'd rather skip ahead to the sadness or the joy within it (most of the time happening both at once). And that's how I am with my camera, snapping my camera strap like that rubber band and trying to control time. Because, when you take a shot, the time becomes a room you walk into and never have to leave. You feel your chest expand with your breathing and there's a stillness that takes over and reigns everything in. There is a place you can never get old and that makes all the pain you must endure worth it. I like to go there again and again. If I couldn't go there, I think I might die.

Daughter

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Fri, 10 May 2013 04:50:49 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

I saw Daughter last night and was quite impressed with both Daughter and openers Wilsen. Elena Tonra of Daughter was quite marvelous in many ways. I really enjoyed hearing them play many songs off of If You Leave.

More photos and a rewview here:

gapersblock.com/transmission/2013/05/10/reviewphotos_daug...

Many thanks to Jason Williamson who posted photos that encouraged me to see Daughter live. This shot is particularly marvelous of Elena so go take a look! :

www.flickr.com/photos/acejace/8412958818/

**All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission**

Purity Ring

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Mon, 06 May 2013 04:42:13 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

I went to see Purity Ring again at the late Cabaret Metro show..didn't start until midnight and there wasn't a photopit that could be entered...lots of fans cramming against me but I managed to get a few shots I liked.

Band's website here:

purityringsongs.com/

More photos and a review here:

gapersblock.com/transmission/2013/05/05/reviewphotos_puri...

**All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission**

The Veils

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Fri, 03 May 2013 04:57:40 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

Some people are strange and delicate masterpieces and every time they open their mouths, you can just sense a rare brilliance in the air around you.

www.theveils.com/timestayswego/c/

**All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission**

The Makeup

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:59:39 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

So, I could only stay for one song of The Makeup because I had to run to shoot the interview shot for Janelle Monae but that one song was quite impressive and a blast to shoot. Ian Svenonius did not let me down!

***All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission***

The Makeup

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:59:38 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

***All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission***

The Makeup: Michelle Mae

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:59:36 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

***All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission***

The Makeup

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:59:34 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

***All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission***

The Makeup

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:59:33 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

Not sure if Ian Svenonius dances better than Jarvis Cocker but I'd be the first one in line to photograph a good old fashioned "dance off" !

***All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission***

The Makeup

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:59:31 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

***All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission***

The Makeup

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:59:29 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

***All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission***

The Makeup

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:59:28 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

***All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission***

The Makeup: James Canty

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:59:26 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

Also plays with Ted Leo and the Pharmacists!

***All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission***

The Evens

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:45:35 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

It was almost surreal seeing The Evens play. I never had a chance to see Fugazi or Minor Threat live and this was much more stripped down than I had imagined, even with lamps on stage as if they were playing in their own living room at home in Washington DC. Here's another band I admire the morals of and Ian MacKaye had the funniest expressions at times!

**All photos are copyrighed. Please don't use without permission**

Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys, Conductor of the World.

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 04:46:07 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

The desert was merely sand until Jello Biafra used his hands to conduct and command. The mountains grew taller, sand shifted and blew across our features, the stars danced, the moon sighed, and the palm trees shimmered and water droplets bounced up and down as if they had lives of their very own. Jello conducted the world to turn on its axis for at least a little longer, even though it is squealing and reeling and whincing from what we've all done to it.

Jello Biafra, conductor of the world.

**All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission**

What is your best experience meeting a musician?

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 04:47:30 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

I've been lucky in my relatively short lifespan to have spent 2 hours talking with Jarvis Cocker (thanks to my friend Leigh) and to have briefly met Nick Cave (He was surrounded by beautiful women after a Grinderman show at the Metro. I walked up to him and said, "Hi. I just wanted to say I liked your book And the Ass Saw the Angel" then walked the other way hastily in my nervousness. I met Tegan and Sara at Coachella and we talked about how much we liked Canada-they were very nice too-and I met Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT at Lolla a couple of years ago and said a little melodramatically "YOUR ALBUM COMGRATULATIONS SAVED MY LIFE!" I met Thurson Moore a few years ago when he was still with Kim Gordon and took a photo of him with my brother in law. I told him that I had the same birthday as Kim Gordon and he alluded to the fact that someone (I think we both knew Saddam Hussein) shared our birthday as well. I met Alan Sparhawk of Low a few times and he was always super nice to me. Efrim Menuck of Thee Silver Mt. Zion and Godspeed You! Black Emperor was also quite nice and down to Earth. I met Cullen Omori outside of Schubas Tavern once and gushed about how much I LOVE Smith Westerns-especially their album Dye it Blonde. I met Angus Andrew when a friend interviewed him and he talked about how audiences terrified of him. I interviewd Julianna Barwick and Zac Pennington of Parenthetical Girls and was so happy to speak with them.

I've enjoyed meeting many indie bands and taking portrait shots. My portrait shots are usually taken within about 30 seconds of meeting the band or musician. I'm an incredibly shy person around musicians and most people probably consider me rather intense and outgoing overall but I have a very nervous anxiety about me when it comes to meeting musicians I love. The greater the emotional investment I have in the music, the worse it is for me because I worry that if the meeting doesn't go well, I won't be able to still iisten and love the music. Maybe that's a little strange and rather silly but I still think that is the root of my fears.

I'm rambling...I'd forgotten how many great musicians I've met. It's actually pretty cathartic for me to remember all that. It gives me something to look forward to when my life flashes before my eyes before death-most likely being hit by a truck while I'm riding my bicycle on the mean streets of Chicago.

Anyhow, I really admire Janelle Monae. She just seems to have the whole world figured out. She's also one of the most amazingly talented performers I've ever seen live and she's never disappointed me any of the times I've seen her. She has an incredible voice, choreography and style overall. In addition to her many talents, she's probably one of the hardest working musicians. Trust me, she deserves all of the accolades she receives. She's truly incredible.

I was very nervous to meet Janelle. She's quite perfect and petite and immediately disarming with her gorgeous eyes. It's easy to feel quite intimidated by the whole thing like "why even bother..." I feel a little like a mouse searching for a dark hole in times like that.

Anyhow, I always manage to function a little better when I have a premise that is legitimate as a shot to accompany an interview and I did the shot at the top of this one idolator.com/7454368/janelle-monae-queen-electric-lady-in... (my photo is credited at the bottom) Even more important, though, is the fact that Janelle was super nice to me and touched me in a way that others just haven't.

It's funny how some people just notice some things. I was by this very perfect person dressed all in white who couldn't have been more brilliant and I immediately felt less...a little ugly, a little overweight...a great deal flawed and imperfect. It was then that Janelle noticed I had some dirt and grass on one (actually probably both) of my knees and said, "You have grass on your knees, baby. That means you're dedicated to your art and I really respect that." I felt like I was walking on air...every time I'm ready to give up on life, I'm going to think about this moment and the subtle way that one female artist can reach out to another and truly change that person and make it all better.

I look forward to hearing about some of your experiences meeting your favorite musician (s) and, if you haven't yet checked out Janelle Monae's music yet, what on Earth are you waiting for?!?!

www.jmonae.com/

**All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission**

Janelle Monae

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 17:25:49 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

I'll post a jump shot of her and share a little story tomorrow but I couldn't resist also posting this one. I'm just a sucker for a flare. I can't believe I even own a lens hood anymore these days...

**All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission**

Jello Biafra of The Dead Kennedys

nobody@flickr.com (kirstiecat) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 04:56:00 -0700

kirstiecat posted a photo:

I was super impressed with his performance and after he shook a bunch of water on the audience, I got a bunch of lens flare spots I love in my photos. Jello Biafra is still very political and he ranted quite a bit about his liberal beliefs. Half the time, I wasn't taking photos because I was too busy raising my fist and yelling "YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT!" adamantly in agreement. Sigh.

**All photos are copyrighted. Please don't use without permission***