Monotonix

Monotonix at the Biltmore in late December. Ami Shalev's "bathing suit area": what better way to fill the void between Christmas and New Years. Allegedly some music was played by this band that night too. At the very least their instruments did about as much crowd surfing as they did.

Ladyhawk

Ever since I saw Ladyhawk performing at Transmission at the Biltmore last week I haven't been able to stop listening to them. One of the best bands to showcase the festival, they're a refreshing dose of rock in an otherwise rock-and-roll-less music scene. Read Quinn Omori's review of the show over here.

Hooliganship

Peter Burr of Hooliganship at the Cinémathèque Monday night, part of their Cartune Xprez: 2008 AMRCAN Fall Tour. They'll be back in Vancouver at the end of January for a "3-D" performance.

Decades of Deviance

Madame Mae I helped Jen Brooks with her makeup backstage while Diamond Minx took it (almost) all off at Girls on Top's "Decades of Deviance" performance at Celebrities last Thursday night. All net proceeds of the burlesque night went to WISH, WAVAW, and PACE, to help women who have suffered abuse or sexual assault, and survival sex trade workers.

Mission of Burma

Mission of Burma performed the entirety of "Signals, Calls and Marches" at their Vancouver show at the Plaza September 30.
Shot for Discorder; read Alex Smith's review of the night here.

Basketball

A wayward flash turned Basketball and their audience into a pack of zombies during their last Vancouver show at the Victory Square Block party.

NO KIDS

No Kids, no-kidding it up at the Victory Square Block Party; Labour Day.

Malaika Mud

I've been to a handful of beguiling burlesque shows in Vancouver in the past few years, but there was something special about the Fight Club Cabaret that transformed the Wise Hall into a gritty underground parlour of hedonistic voyeurism on this hot August night. The special ingredient: mud. It was an epic evening of burlesque performances and slippery mud-soaked bodies engaged in competition, and/or pleasure. The show was put on to raise funds for Malaika Millions' impending expatriation to Los Angeles. She will be missed from the Vancouver scene, but one can only hope that the mud wrestling will live on in her absence.

Wiggle

A couple of the ladies who graced the stage at the 14th annual Wigfest at the Biltmore, this past May; shot for Xtra West.

Mattress

At Neapolitan, December 6.

Blogging

I've been neglecting my blogging duties to devote my time to this cooking experiment I have going on over here... There's only so much blogging one can do.

Kitchen vignettes

I've been on location shooting vignettes to accompany the food photos for the upcoming Whitecap Books spring release Everyday Indian, a healthy Indian cookbook by the lovely and talented Bal Arneson. The best part of attending food photoshoots of course is that you get to eat the pictures.

Davie Day

A recent assignment for Xtra West sent me to Davie Day for an afternoon of music, painting, kisses and horseshoes -- you know, the usual.

Malkmus

Stephen Malkmus at Richards back in the summertime; shot for Discorder.

Role Mach revisited

It's the Role Mach Electric Band, again! This time at the Biltmore, opening up for Old Time Relijun, whom I also meant to photograph, but was kind of paralyzed by Arrington's performance. Patrick here is also quite a fascinating front man to watch. It was a night of all-around ebullience.

Betty vs Betty

Betty Page took herself on to open up Fight Club Cabaret at the Wise Hall Friday night, an epic evening of burlesque performances and slippery mud-soaked bodies. More photos to come on that subject...

Sasquatch

Sometimes the people in the crowd are more entertaining than the bands.

Also we won one actual game.

First- and second-place winning photos in the Vancouver Recreational Softball League.

The Merch

The perfect St. Catharines nightcap to a zombie-filled evening involves catching a band at the Merchant Ale House. On this particular mid-April evening, Joe Lapinski (founder of Palooka and Yummy Recordings, and the blurriest subject in these photos) et al. were on stage. This is approximately as good as St. Catharines gets.

Welland Zombies

As I was saying... last month I visited the set of Rudy Quazar's "Zombie Killah" video, and was promptly turned into a zombie myself. The shoot was the final project of the year for some Niagara College film students.

Here are a few outtakes; full set is on my flickr.

Zombie Killah

Hmmm, just as I finally got around to updating my blog it seems my host has disappeared taking all my photos with it.

Oh well, perhaps it will be back one day, in any case you can waste 4 minutes of your life here watching my BIG SCREEN DEBUT as an extra in Rudy Quazar's Zombie Killah video. Thankfully you don't see too much of me, since I spent most of the time laughing.

Photos to follow in the next post, or you can just go here to see the flickr set.

JTR

My good friend Jesse T Reid, pictured here with the beloved Penelope, in an abandoned warehouse, and playing at Kaz's in my "hometown." Jesse will be off on a mini-cross-Canada tour next week. Check him out here.

Alun Piggins

Alun Piggins at The Office in St. Catharines. Entirely unexpected moments of awesomeness.

Still Life

I haven't been to too many shows lately, with my cookbook-making day job spilling into evenings and weekends... I have however managed to work in some incidental food photography, and I've discovered a certain quiet joy that comes with shooting still life that I never really experienced before.

Role Mach

At Hoko's.

XXXrated

Another evening at Celebrities' 'X-Rated'. This blog just officially became un-workfriendly.

Two Headed Boy

Some time around the winding down of 2007 members of OK Vancouver OK, Role Mach and perhaps a little Greenbelt Collective here and there conglomerated at the Astoria for a colourful performance.

Peer Pressure

The Peer Pressure group in action, complete with colour swatches.

Kid Koala

Kid Koala at the Biltmore, back in December.

Up Your Bench!

Sean Maxey's "Up Your Bench!" show opened at Little Mountain Studios with flash cover song performances by some of the locals, including The Doers' Sarah Jane, Ora Cogan, and Ryan McCormick of Collapsing Opposites.

Happy new year, by the way.

An outtake of some New Years cards shot for my favourite couple, Duncan and Anna.

Jay Brannan

Last Sunday Jay Brannan (AKA Ceth from Shortbus) charmed the pants off an entire audience at the Media Club.

Scenes from a Scratch 20-Year-Anniversary Party

My first time shooting for Exclaim! magazine, Scratch Records's 20-Year-Anniversary celebration at Richards on Richards featured Destroyer, The Pink Mountaintops, some dude named 'Hilarity' and more. Read Kaitlin Fontana's review here.

Descending all the time

This looks pretty much like what Caribou sounded like, at their October show at Richards. Not unlike that part in 2001: A Space Odyssey, descending to Jupiter... vibrant, psychedelic, mildly unsettling, inexplicable, overwhelming, and with a nagging feeling of emptiness at the base of it all. The brain behind the sound, Mr. Dan Snaith:

The Lost Souls

Halloween weekend's Parade of the Lost Souls, spread out over a couple different parks on and off of Commercial Drive. Note how the orange GAP-hoodied kid haunts each photo.

Carolina Chocolate Drops: yummy

The utterly charming and ridiculously talented Carolina Chocolate Drops blew away the rest of the acts at the 30th annual Vancouver Folk Festival this past July.

Vancouver Folk Festival

More images from the Folk Fest. Jamaica to Toronto on top, and some young dancers waiting on the sidelines and practicing backstage.

Out of this World

Po' Girl's Allison Russell (right) has a voice like an angel, and Tanya Tagaq, an Inuit throat singer from Nunavut, also has an other-worldly voice, in a very, very different and fascinating way. Both performed at the Vancouver Folk Festival this summer.

Great Basia Fantasy

October 20, Basia Bulat, Great Lake Swimmers and Final Fantasy shared the stage at Richards on Richards.

The definitive shot

New this fall from Whitecap Books...

"When a cheese connoisseur and an authority on wine pair up, beautiful things can happen." Thanks to the generous folks at Les Amis du Fromage for the giant wheel of blue cheese.

Everything is Illuminated

Jumping back to July... no summer is complete without an Illuminares Lantern Procession down at Trout Lake.

X-Rated

My first assignment on return from holiday in the superconservative United States was to shoot some porn stars strip-dancing with the Celebrities audience, for Xtra West. I guess it was about the time the fireman wrapped his naked body in a Canadian flag that I knew, for better or worse, that I was home.

The Flaming Lips in Stanley Park

A Flaming Lips performance looks exactly like their music sounds. It's really quite remarkable how they accomplish this.

The Genius of The Blow

Khaela Maricich performing at The Stranger's Genius Awards last Friday. I took enough pictures to publish a The Blow coffee table book. See the army of Khaelas on my flickr here. (that is, when i get around to posting them)

Vellela Vellela

This is Vellela Vellela (and not a scene from Heroes), opening the public portion of The Stranger's Genius Awards at the Seattle Public Library last Friday. I spent the majority of their performance exploring the red floor and drinking blond ale on the fluorescent escalators.

Portland: Musicfest NW

The Dirty Projectors played at Portland's Satyricon as part of Musicfest Northwest. And this dude played at the market the next day. Both were good shows.

Baptism

Last Friday I bore witness to the largest mass baptism in the history of Seattle, at Alki Beach.

Bumbershoot

The wonderful thing about Bumbershoot is the diversity of entertainment. Even when the bands suck, there is always something going on, be it comedy, literature, film screenings, art shows, etc. Here we have Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at the KEXP soundstage, Miranda July doing whatever it is that she does, and some 'word experts' at the Bumbershoot spelling bee. As well as a demonstration of how those wacky Seattle sculptures can double as playgrounds.

Andrew Bird

At Richards on Richards; the first of three consecutive Andrew Bird concerts I attended at the start of September. Shot for Discorder.

Devendra; vacances

With the turn of the month, the autumn chill is already setting in, and while the summer is drawing to a close, this spells vacation time for me. There is plenty to update from recent events: the Vancouver Folk Fest, the Illuminares Lantern Festival, some mini-trains, some food photography, three consecutive Andrew Bird concerts, and Seattle's Bumbershoot this past weekend. For now, two faces of Devendra Banhart will have to do; Devendra whose Bumbershoot performance was unquestionably the best thing I saw all weekend.

uniQorns

We partied with some unicorns at the opening gala for the Vancouver Queer Film Fest.

Band of Horses

Band of Horses played to a packed and rather smitten Richards on Richards this past Canada Day. Shot for Discorder; more photos on my Flickr.

They are the Pipettes

I shot The Pipettes for Discorder at The Plaza on June 15. Rob Peters slams them here.

More photos of the ladies and the sweet supporting Smoosh on my Flickr.

Flawless

Flawless, a new Sunday night that opened June 10 at Celebrities, featuring choreographed performances by the Boy-lesque dance group. Clockwise from above left we see Peru emerging from between the legs of former Britney Spears dancer Pierson Hayes; Axe; and Della Divine.

Shooting for Xtra West

is never boring.

Burlesque All Stars

Xtra West shots of the Burlesque All Stars, a night at Celebrities every last Thursday of the month. Pictured here is host Symone, Jovainka and JJ Delorean, who seemingly performed the entire movie Flashdance in the space of three minutes.

Dragon Boat Festival

Covering the Sisters in Sync team at the Dragon Boat Festival for Xtra West, I also happened upon a team of little red riding hoods.

Music Waste

Earlier this month I shot Music Waste for Streethawk Magazine, a whole lot of local talent at dives spattered across Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside over the course of four days, and hosted by Only Magazine. Read about it here and here. Pictured is Chrisarrific of the Bible Belts and the Choir Practice. More photos on my Flickr.

Spotted Peter

The ridiculously photogenic Peter, shot for Spotted Cock Accessories, whose ware you will find at the Portobello West fashion and art market, the last Sunday of every month.

Nick Krgovich

Nick Krgovich, of P:ano, Burquitlam Plaza, Gigi... a Christmas album under the name of Chris Mastheim, and the aforementioned To Bad Catholics and whatever else he has or has had up his sleeve. Nick is my favourite Vancouver artist and it's always an honour to photograph him. Unfortunately he is not the best at self-promotion, and I often find out about his shows just by accident.

To Bad Catholics

Earlier this year I photographed To Bad Catholics at Julia Chirka's home in East Vancouver, an apartment I had actually been in before when it was rented by friends who were previous tenants. Hanging out with Julia and her cousin Nick Krgovich, it quickly becomes apparent that they are not only of the same blood but seemingly live in a separate, charmed world of their own. A world that consists of two. Their music is the same: difficult to penetrate, but once you get inside it, it's pretty awesome.

Great Lake Swimmer

Erik Arnesen of the Great Lake Swimmers, at Richards on Richards this past Easter weekend.

The Take-Home Chef

Whitecap author and take-home chef Curtis Stone made a stop at Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks this spring to woo the ladies with his chocolate creations and charming Australian self. Curtis was on tour promoting his book, Cooking with Curtis: Easy, Everyday and Adventurous Recipes for the Home Cook.

Simon vs. Peanut

In February my friend Simon paid me a visit and forced me to photograph him. Simon is often beside me helping with Spotted Cock art direction, so it was fun to have him on the other side of the camera. Pictured also is Peanut, defending his territory.

Mating Rituals of the East Wellander

Back home in East Welland I went to see a friend's band play but instead wound up photographing the mating rituals of the locals.

Christer

Christer promo shot; this is the main image on her website. Go visit her here or here or even better, in person, July 7 at the Backstage Lounge.

(He smells like gin of the bathtub variety)

Jesse Reid
The result of an impromptu photo shoot in Jesse's kitchen.

A Man After Midnight

Shot over the holidays on Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls, about a block from the hotel where I spent a year and a half of my life as a maid. Sean Ban Beaton, AKA "Eddie" in Toronto's long-running ABBAtastic musical, Mamma Mia (and also the dancing leprechaun in that juice box commercial).

Elliott Brooding

Shot for The Ubyssey; Six Shooter Records' Elliott Brood played the Railway Club on the western leg of their fall 2006 tour.

Cookies and Creamy Mittens

The lovely and talented Hannah captured in a photo shoot for Spotted Cock.

Dandi Wind

Dandi Wind performed at Silkhaus in Chinatown, December 17 2006. Apparently it looked something like this inside her head as well.

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy

A mediocre photo for a speechlessly lovely performance and one of my favourite shows of the year, but it made the Jancember cover of Discorder. This was the first of three consecutive sold-out shows at the capsized hull of an arc-like St James Hall.

Electric Six

Here rocks out Electric Six on the stage of Richards on Richards in October 2006. I shot this for Discorder Magazine.

The Painted Birds

A band photo shoot for my friend Gavin's band, The Painted Birds; as generically band photoey as it gets (though no one is scratching their heads). Not a month later, Gavin left the band. He still, however, uses this black and white photo for his Myspace profile.

Handsome Evil

I caught the husband and wife band The Handsome Family at a poorly attended show at Richards on Richards, one night in December. Both scary and beautiful in that let's-celebrate-the-bleakness-of-life kind of way, the band's dark-bluegrass at once is uplifting, and makes you want to curl up in a ball. I picked up Rennie Sparks' book of short stories, Evil, which served as the perfect reading material for a holiday smalltown trip home. Like Rennie's lyrics, her stories have a sometimes funny and often disturbing insight into human nature, and the evils of general down-home stupidity.

Spotted Cock

Alex; from the first of several photo shoots for Spotted Cock Accessories.

Transmission Festival, Day 2

Shot for Streethawk Magazine in December 2006 at the Roundhouse in Vancouver.

Alternating stages featured Super 700, Mr Hudson and the Library, Malajube, CircleSquare, Wintersleep, Hawksley Workman and more. Read Jordie's review here.

The full photo set is here.

Peanut says:

"Click on my belly."