I actually never did thought i would have to write such a post here but well… now i’m kinda taking the time… just don’t have the time anymore to blog… it’s not that i don’t have the time in fact, more that i decided to go to the next level with my hobby that is photography and tried it very hard to be as fullfilling as possible. But now this has ended, we just stole all my photo gears, in a train, he grabbed the bag and ran, i did the same, but he was by that time on the other side of the closed door of the train, going on his way to the next station… But nonetheless, i’m glad i’ve experienced and lived so much for this hobby, and yes now, i’m calling for a little help to get me back on tracks.

Way before that, everything growed and moved so quickly, 3 years ago, all what i knew from photography was what i studied in my early years in college, interesting, but quite didn’t get how difficult and technical it would have been for cartier bresson or salgado to get those shots (and trust me when i say i’m miles away from how a shot from those photographers can litterally blow ur mind).

Started my blog when i moved from London to Dublin 4 years ago, as an urge to talk about how it was for a frenchie, trying to leave teenagers years, on the emerald island, to keep growing and all, at that time my way to snap some moments was easy, my nec phone and his 300 000 would do the job (at least in a full sunny day you know), but well, the idea was here, being able to keep an idea of all those things i was doing and experiencing, and trying to write all as much as possible, knowing that no, i just can’t write at all *swear*

Then comes my disease, probably the reason why this went out of proportion, had to come back to France, in a week started working in Luxembourg in an animation studio, loving it, decided to upgrade to a compact, to get even better ideas of how yes, even with back pain, life is fuckin’ great and creating a movie on a daily basis is just quite awesome…

Then to Brussels to get to the real true story here, a capital where i could see bands i actually hear willingly with loads of things to say and everything, and the idea that i needed to take snaps of that as well, aka, the first dslr, that did the job pretty well actually, then comes social media, Twitter, facebook and all made the job a lot easier, as would say @garyvee on his LeWeb talk last december, the entry cost is so low, that it’s really easy to be passionnate about things, and start really enjoying it. Where to start, we all know i now do a lot of concert pictures, first step, getting passes..

@damusic helped me a lot on that, just because after tickets i won on one of their contest (and i can’t read flamish, the only language of the webzine, how great is our era?!?!) i showed them the pics i took at that gig, it was actually the first sparkle, after some mails i asked if they were looking for a photographer and were kind enough to say why not give it a go… come on, this story already rocks

Then the fairy tale continues, making friends, having contacts with bands and artists and knowing that what i’m doing is actually more than ok for other people, not only i love it, but people are actually enjoying what are actually just what i saw and what i like. Just for that, for calling me and saying « hey do you want to come to manchester to take some snaps », @garygo is really the first one that gave me back all the positive thoughts i am putting in this hobby, i don’t care about being tired, seeing it’s 3am and i should get to sleep, i love this way too much to at first take care about that, we’ll have plenty of time to rest in due time.

The other artist that in that time where i actually lost all my photo gears pops out is Mark from @thescript , when i went to Manchester, they were also playing  in the same venue, shy as i am, i took on me and went to introduce myself, amazing moment, he actually did remember me from the shots of the Brussels gig and told me that it was a great thing that i was that into what im doing, because at some point, there might be a downlow, and at that time, you’ll be able to like what you love, well, that time might be now, and i’m realising how much photography is now a part of myself, and being away from anything that would allow me to take some snaps and memories is pretty darn difficult

If we ever met, i probably had a camera around my right wrist, now my best friend is even asking me when i actually don’t have it around if i’m ok ahah, that’s beacause it became kinda natural and normal. I snap, i discover artist, i get feedback from friends, and im a passionnate guys trying to get the better out of everything amazing he has been able to live, honestly, if anyone told me i would be on Peaches stage 10 years ago, i’ll have pretty much laughed at you ahah

So well, not here to cry, just a desperate attempt to show how much i loved those times, how much i need those time, how much this gave me so much, and how now it’s really difficult to really understand how stupid that can be, we just stole everything from me, simple, fast, senseless, he took the bag and ran away, and even more than the d90 camera and 3 lenses that were in it, i also lost my little mascotte loooping on the way, he was in the bag, travelling with me as a way to have cool snaps all over and with everybody, he’ll be missed for sure :/

I went to the toy shop i bought him like 2 years ago to see if by any chance but no… let’s say he’s been kidnapped and will with a lot of luck come back some day…. so well, this post, even if i don’t have much time anymore to blog about all those opportunities i have to ask for a little help, there’s a paypal button, that will  help to buy some new stuff, a bag, a lens, a body, who knows, i have no clue what i should expect about this « fund raise », but well, i know i miss enough photography to cry for help and to think that social media do aim at those kinda things, being able to help, spread the word, even have just nice words coming to see if people would miss my pictures…

if not for the fund raiser thingy, I was against the idea for a lonnnnnng time but well, here it is, the Kmeron Facebook page (not called fan page anymore you know), because i still want to be able to share all those things with whom want to, because this is just the perfect example: a month ago, a friend wrote me just to say thanks, i took Rodrigo y gabriela sone months earlier in pictures and she was curious enough to hear what those guys actually could sound like…

This is one of the best thing we ever told me, the sole reason that i put my gutts and heart into it, it’s for me, but not only, i had the chance to get to know people through photography that i would have never met, hearing incredible stuff, see shows mind blowing, capture moment with friends that will therefore last forever, hi, my name is Vince, and I’m a photographer (and this is the first time ever that i actually say that i am, so bear with me on that moment will ya ahah).

Weird that the stolen moments arrived the same week as i crossed the one million views on Flickr, you know, how fate can sometime have a strange way to put irony in ur life, but well, here i am, asking for a word, a coin, a smile…  i struggled a long time before deciding to write this post, but here it is, thanks at everyone who already said that this was just sucking big time (or « vince, what? but ur like sweating photography you know, how are you handling up? » one of the best line on the subject ever !), i’ll never thank enough everybody and everything about this… in a few years, when the disease that kept me going over the lack of sleep on a four days festival will have spread and i won’t be able to walk anymore, i’ll have lived fully and will have lots to show to my grand kids that back in my days, i had fun as well

So well, if ur up to it, just click on the paypal donate button, just leave a word, like Kmeron on FB, tweet me about it, i’m more than connected so it won’t be difficult to help in any little way possible Once again, i already got so many people to thank, 18 months ago, never took a concert picture, see where i am standing now, 3 years, didn’t even had a camera and concept like aperture or bokeh or the famous « what lense are you using? » « well a 17-50 3.5-5.6″ photographers speech was like a developper talking in C++ to my hears, things have changed, in a very good way if i dare say so, and i’m definitely trying to deliver as good things as people are willing to let me help me them, so far it was a nice ride, let it go on and on…

Paddy’s day. 4 years ago I was there, sweet ireland. 4 years ago one of my irish roomie gave me a can of beer before going to bed on the 16th of march and said « hey frenchy, here’s urs’! » me « errr wha? why? waiiii…whaaaa?«  brian -who actually was in the kitchen- « tomorrow’s paddy’s day frenchy, first thing we AAAAAAllll gonna do before even putting a toe out of da bed will be to chug it«  me « errrr well, maybe i’ll give it a try yeah -i was so diplomatic back in those days gosshhhh-, but i’m going to see the parade you know » « owww come on frenchy, not this touristic thing! » « you might have forgotten, but i do am a tourist ahah » « fair enough, we’ll see each other in one of the temple bar venue for some pints then » [we eventually did, but more in rathmines]

4 years later, i’m in another country, doesn’t mean i don’t think ’bout it, quite the opposite actually, but what better way to remind me how great this emerald island is than to talk about one of the artist i for sure wanted to see the most, The Swell Season, aka Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, Irish of course -or adopted, jus’ like the way i was-, discovered in the movie « Once » -recorded while i was there-, and 2 albums later, i could see them… and i wasn’t disapointed -to say the least-..

The movie is a typical sundance one, shot in like 2 weeks, but full of honesty and typical dublin moments, we all recognise Grafton street, the HMV near St Stephen’s green, the typical colors of the Dublin Bus and all… and everything seems so honest and true (twas probably!).  The first album of The Swell Season being all about the birth of this love between Glen and Marketa, it will be part of the way for us to understand why this nite was so special.

But before seing them tonite, support act is Josh Ritter, here, once again, an incredible artist, American but adopted by the main act of tonite. He grew and gain some fans while touring and learning in Ireland. And frack he can write, was just blown away by this smile, those lyrics, this moment where he just went out of his mic and start singing out loud, in front of 1800 people, and that was just a priceless moment. Those moments reminded me once again why i do love music and concerts so much, because from time to time, incredible shared by only a happy few moments come to life. And THIS was one of those for sure.

Cliquer ici pour voir la vidéo.

Could barely breath after this, him, like naked in front of us, no lie, no cheat, pure talent and happiness… [Want to have someone saying something even close to that when looking at my pics some day, probably one of the best word you'll ever be able to tell me, that you really just felt something because one of my photo, bc it just talked to you like it rarely does. Not have the guts to say that someone will ever feel like that, but we never know about the future, and that would be something quite beautiful to hear, ill probably say a shy "thank you", but deep inside, ill be really honored...]

Then going on with another mind-blowing moment… Josh made the AB goes blackout during his song « Annabelle Lee« , like pitch black inside, weird but full of sensations and senses slowly emerging, ur just listening to the story of this boat, while ur eyes are slowly gettin’ the habit of the dark and start seeing things like shadows and all.. already earned my evening, loosing one of ur sense you know, makes u think about how lucky you actually are to be able to see, to hear those artists, to feel the hand of ur loved one, to be able to walk… thinking that it’s all those thoughts and moments that makes u overcome the difficult moment you might have, tired as hell, heartbroken or physically in pain. You thought it was just black, but it was way more than that just black…

And that’s precisely what i would be grateful for, because 4 years after paddy’s day in Dublin, i’m seeing and shooting Irish acts, and i’m still standing, by myself, on my feet. Not as strong as i used to be, but standing nonetheless. For that simple thought that nite, Sir Ritter, I do say thank you, i’ll be there when you comes back in spring and fall like you promessed.

Then it was time to actually being happy to be here, and get ready to live something you know. Not just being at a gig, but feeling glad we are here, even at 1800… Seeing those smiles on and out of stages, whispering the lyrics, thinking about things when we here some words from this stage… and what a start!Lights are still on, Glen comes on stage, [and as for Josh] goes bare naked, no mic, to show us what would sum up the nite « Say it to me now » gives instant goose bumps to everybody, feeling this nite will be quite something, i know why i’ve waited for them so long, and why i wanted to share that moment, i will enjoy every bit, simple words, big thoughts, heart stopping for a bit.

♫ « I’m scratching at the surface now/ And I’m trying hard to work it out/ So much has gone misunderstood/ This mystery only leads to doubt/ And I didn’t understand/ When you reached out to take my hand/And if you have something to say /You’d better say it now » ♫

Cliquer ici pour voir la vidéo.

Damnnnnnnn…. i do like one hundred gig per year (averagely and if i keep doing so many), that’s why i can confess that yes, it is impressive, it’s not like many other concerts i’ve seen, we’re here altogether because at some point, some songs talked to us. The whole band comes on stage, The Frames, the first band of Glen, and Marketa, like shy and all, coming next to the front stage mic, Glen stopping her just to show that he needed a little bit of help and let her actually tune the string for him, ahah, so real, so simple, so cute, so lovely argghghghhggghgh  =D and we were going for almost 2 hours of songs, talks and reminders of how sometimes we’re talking about something without even really talking about it, just by acts, facts, looks, signs, smiles…

I’m just glad to be here, tomorrow, it will be the end of my 1st year as a concert photographer, my 1st photo pass was for Bob & Lisa as a try out for a small flamish webzine after like only 15 gigs shot. A year later, i can now say that 3 of my pics have been published in the special edition of the « Good city for dreamers » cd of General Elektriks. And what a nice sum up it is. 4 years ago, i started from nothing, learning alone in my hotel room in ireland where i just arrived that i had a genetical disease that will destroy my backspine in some years, harsh to understand, to bear, to think about it when ur only a 25 years old.

Now it was the time to do a step back after those 4 years, those 5 countries i did in the meantime, and realise what i have achieved, and this band made me realise how grateful i can be, for being who i am, what i am, how i live and how surroundedi am… For all of that, those songs gives a whole new meaning to my daily issues.

♫  »You were restless/ I was somewhere less secure/ so i went running to the road/ and so now there’s a long list of places i was/ i quit my rambling and came home/ cause maybe i was born to hold you in these arms » ♫

That’s why i really wanted to share this evening, [plan did not eventually went how i was expecting -to say the least-] but there is some shots and those words, less powerful and probably meaningless compared to the level of  happiness that could have been showing on my face, that would be my memory of this evening just for me, a true genuine smile, laughter, sore throats (and maybe a couple of tears for some reasons). It was probably not difficult to shoot, but bc i was more living the moment than focused on knowing where and when to shoot more than anything else, i know i could have taken so much more portaits… but overall it did make nice snaps : )

One year of pictures, 4 years from the beginning of this blog and the start of my celtic side, a pretty good way to say that, as is « strict joy », the 2nd album of The Swell Season, it’s time for some changes. After the birth of love on the 1st record, it is time to show the time where the relationship fades out and eventually comes to a breaking point.
I might be at a breaking point, unwilling to want to know what the future is made of.. Will i stop taking concert snaps? maybe, at least i know i’ll have lived fully into this hobby, and so many memories, one day once again I wont be able to deal with it anymore, the exact reason why I don’t count the hours or tiredness, im at 150% for the time being, while I can, while it last, while it does makes sense…. And it does when i look at the stage, looking at how much of an accomplice they are one for the other, i see those relationships do exist and aren’t supposed to go badly after all… You gotta be used to live with the other as he is, good or bad moments, happy or depressed, smiling or shouting, living far or too oftenly at ur place…. This is just babble for a lot of people, but it does make sense when you know me…

Looking at all of this, i know i might be at my 2nd record, the breaking point on some things that are here and around for some years now, unclear, unknown, unreal… Are the photos i take the reflect of what i saw or how am i feeling the moment i take them? probably a little bit of all of that, but undoubtfuly there is some thing going on in the air.. not sure i want to close the book to this, end of an ear, end of a love, end of a part of me, might be the time, might not, but how can we know before really closing it. At some point there will be the opening of the next chapter, not really sure what it is made of, we’ll see how everything goes, if once again everything can fit in without any issue at all…I’m just like that broken guitar he’s having for so long, an habit, it doesn’t sound than any guitar, he like it, he loved it, but after all it’s a part of who he is, of what made him this red hair that all those people are watching, but what if the guitar is actually also happy about being seen, sung from, cuddled with such words and all… what if… a string broke someday, would that be the same guitar?

In the meantime, « Falling Slowly » on stage really comes with that time where ur throat seems small, no more saliva, barely some air going through it, breathtaking, the things I did want to share the most for the last couple of years probably, that one moment, bc i know it would mean that much to me, bc i have images of that beer handed by m roomie in me head, some dance moves from london - »i like the way you move » would she say-, the « don’t you dare roll ur eyes at me », the « sangha », the « i don’t see you this way », the « go on behind the drums don’t be afraid », the « door from the night’s butterfly is always open » pops in my head… and my head is about to explode with all this tsunami of unexpected emotions and moments that did actually meant so much while being so small when played in real time…

♫  »I don’t know you/But I want you/All the more for that/Words fall through me/And always fool me/And I can’t react/And games that never amount/To more than they’re meant/Will play themselves out » ♫

There is like many other artists I actually want to see live someday, as for their music as for all the memories that goes with them, one down, half a dozen to go, when time and opportunity comes i will appreciate those as well, cause tonite, i might have decided to turn the pages on some chapters, 28 and becoming an adult maybe, or not, just thinking about some things in my life, and i don’t denie them, i just think i can go to the another level, or adjust the path let’s say… as would say someone in the crowd in answer to one of the story of the guys on stage « Fuck the moon! », yeah, let’s say that, with a big bright smile on ur face, an angry gesture upthere, fuck the moon!

We would eventually sing « Back Broke » that nite, and it just totally makes sense right now, the other song that i wanted to share that nite.

Coming home, thinking, dreaming, aching, but always me, smiling and happy as always, those 1461 days have changed a lot of things, physically and mentally, i’m still the heavy weighted frenchy that some are almost afraid to put a hand on the shoulder, but deep inside, i’m still the same old cranky happy and full of qualities Vince to the eyes of some. I love my life, end of a chapter, let’s start to write or take snaps to illustrate the next one, because after such a first chapter, the sequel can just be even better than all of those moments, there would have just been some slights changes in the way, almost unnoticeable for many, but they’ll be here.

♫   »back broke and dancing/ cause you’re here/ beside me/ Cause you’re here/  hear with me/ back broke and happy/ cause you’re near/ nearer to me » ♫

Cliquer ici pour voir la vidéo.

Cliquer ici pour voir la vidéo.

I did already saw them live one time some months ago @Atelier @210 as a support act for the very good « General Elektriks ». Was astonished at that time, singing in german and all, but the venue is not made for music at all, so couldnt really say if that was worth going to see live in a full session or not. Then i saw them on the schedule of Le Botanique, one of my favorite venue ever, and wondered if i should go or not, decided not to, wasn’t sure i would be in Brussels that weekend, in the end i was, and in the end i won a ticket, because as would confess the singer on the stage that nite « got a mail last week saying there was 5 tickets sold only, so well, thx everybody for coming i guess « . Room was actually full, due to winning mailing contest or FB contest and all..

So well, here we were, arrived on the usual time, in an empty rotonde, but everyone was probably grabbing a beer or something ahah. The concept art of the band is around 4 colors, every member being dressed in one (red, blue, green, yellow), and when the first note is coming to our ears, stage lighting delivers accordingly hehe, but its difficult to have a clear view of which color goes towards whom, nonetheless, very nice and clever effect

Music is catchy, balance is good this time, as usual in the rotonde, and the 4 are really standing just in front of the stage, close to the audience, that’s always nice, even if i do need a 35mm in those cases, would realllly be helpful, but well, in the meamtime, catchy colors, no timeout, they’re just happy to present their 2nd album, and are more than willing to move and not stay at all behind their mics, you gotta love this for a photographer you know, no mouth mic at all *bliss*

I also saw the Rickenbacker bass that the bassist has, and that pretty much made me smile ahah, just reminded me of the day i saw R.E.M. live in Luxembourg, and that was actually the 1st gig they were playing again  with the Rickenbacker after being stolen on this same tour in sweden, given back anonymously few days later, but you know for REM, the Rick is their sound, we do recognise it on so many tracks that it would have been a shame to loose it, but well, i was the only one to smile at this little details, i do am probably too passionnate, sry about that

Not often we hear singing in german, but well, it turns out ok i guess, now listening to the album there’s several song in english as well, more or less looking like the style they have in their own respective bands but well, hope they’ll get better gigs after gigs you know ^^

Loved the 2nd encore, Daniel being totally honest « it was a bummer to take the huge bass in the train, so i’d better should use it you know » ahah Cya soon, on ur own bands or with this cute germanish one \o/

===

In my ears :
Blur -Country house- « He lives in a house, a very big house in the country/Watching afternoon repeats and the food he eats in the country »

I didn’t knew it yet, but 2 full beautiful days were in front of me. 2 days at LeWeb, the 1st european internet conference. 2500 people, 50 nationalities, 1 medium : Internet. I’m not from that world, you know, entrepeneurs, trying to put some money in a startup and all, people reading daily chronics of Techcrunch, i’ll probably cross some millionnaires, web evangelists or huge internet star, but i would probably not recognise half of them… I was there for the people, to meet friends, to be somewhere i don’t belong but i’m damn happy I had access to this out of the time Bubble.

Went before the 2 insane crowdy inspiring days to come, to see the venue, get my pass to not wait too long tomorrow morning, and try to destress a little bit. The way I am,….it’s not my job at all, but bc i like doing such things, it just grabs my nerves.. « will i be able to provide something remotely interesting » « What if i dont know what to shoot » « What if im badly spotted »… well… we’ll see… in the meantime, the place is just actually huge wow!

The main room will be for most of the people the place to be, but the ground level will be where you’ll be networking and make the ticket all of sudden totally worth it, theres also 2 workshop places, one for ‘practical’ conferences (@paypal and all) and one more for the startup competition. Crossed the pass of @loic (one of the big internet guy, hosting the event, the one that created @seesmic like 2 years ago, and where i did make awesome friends that are still in my daily 2.0 life.. meeting some again here during #leweb made one of the reasons i wanted to come) and @geraldine, the other half behind the event, the one that allowed me to get here to be one of the official photographers down there, via twitter, in like 2 hours between the « does anyone know enough @loic or @geraldine for asking them if they need a photographer » and the online checking after a couple of emails, awesome. the theme of this year is « the instant web », totally into it even if we’re 2 months away to the first speaker, but damn i love this technological era!

And there i’ve been asked to go to the VIP/Speakers diner later that day, that would be held in the TF1 building (french will undertand that..). So well, went to the rendez-vous point to get in the bus to get there,  in front of the official 4 or 5 stars hotel of LeWeb, and get there, in the end, something like 40-50 people are coming on this one (there was 2 bus), and its weird to realise that all of a sudden, this bus is worth billions of dollars.. and i just dont get much of the person that are crossing by to get in, in 2 days, itll be something like « owwww thats the zappos CEO that has been acquired by Amazon for 1 billion, right!’, im just so not a g33k honestly right now, or just the entry 1 nOOb level that’s all…

But i’ve got to say that they are quite open minded actually, on the bus, met @jenergy that will be one of the speakers on the 2nd day, and we chatted for the whole journey (aka « owww parisians traffic jam ill never miss ya »), funny and nice to see that im not as connected as she is, but overall a very nice meeting with lots of talk and exchange, that’s why i also like to discover such a world, bc people aren’t as bad as everyone thinks, there’s some good coming out of it, for sure there is…

Little appetisers, drinks, and an awesome show by the Voile dechire French company…

Time to spread the VIP passes for Geraldine, while getting to eat 2 buffets, wine and all, and im already downloading/working on the pictures, you know, trying not to waste to much time networking, why would i actually bother, im not looking for a VC funding or such, just meeting people randomly, getting the moments to show that yes, it looks like a tacky wanker style everyone is beautiful event, whereas everyone here can come home with something interesting after those 2 days, the core is herem closer to a community? maybe, overall, the idea to move things, learn, discover, try, fail, get up, try again, a fighting spirit in an unknown world for many.

Wednesday morning, first day, already feel vip by already having my pass ahah nespresso is one of the gold partner this year, so free Nespressos for everybody with some croissants and all, kinda french breakfast (missing the bread tho), a shame im not drinking that much coffee, ill probably have enjoyed it as much as all the other persons there ahah did get a backpack special « leweb », no fancy iphone or twitter bird sculpture in it tho :p

Time to try to reach a spot, 1st row actually, far left, perfect to being able to let the laptop process the pics while im going around shooting and meeting interesting people hehe but opening remarks are being held by @loic and @geraldine so ill stay for the moment, waiting for the 1st guest!

And here he is, backstage, looking at the opening remarks. You probably never saw his face, but he’s probably one of the few that litterally changed my digital life, just by co-inventing (not) another social network, Jack Dorsey created Twitter from a pragmatic and empiric issue he had (keeping tracks of taxis and messenger to sum up), and has really revolutionnised internet, more than just « 2.0″,  it’s the real-time and spread factor that makes him the upmost place im willing to loose time (but i’ll get back to that while talking about the best speaker of Day 2 : @Garyvee)

He’s here to present @square, a small device you put on ur #iphone or #android on the jack plug, and that allows you to easily pay with ur credit card in small shops or things like that for example, smart and clever, the demo is actually not working the first couple of times (what we call the « Bonaldi effect » back in France) but it eventually did when connected to 3G (and remember loic asking « gerladine, if u ever heard me, could you take me another card? » while it wasnt working the first times ahah). It can actually be very helpful for a lot of small stores, or people trying to buy in an antic market you know, being able to easily and securely pay amount of money, i say « big up » to that!

Now the most important thing his once again the social aspect, moreover 1 cent per transaction while be given to a non governemental association of ur choice (eg charitywater), seems stupid, but in an era is all about how much money you gonna get at year+2 , well, kinda love the open mind and will to do better things with better and modern instruments, trying, little by little to help those who arent much fortunates, yes, it sounds like a fairy tale, doesnt mean we cant try \o/  so well, even if glinches for the « see its easy….er….easy… er….well » overall a first kick to get what’s LeWeb, a geekie community happy to see the happy few that are making today’s internet, and sometimes with clever things to say (therefore us happy to hear it, but not all the time the case, if i may confess)

And wonderful and unbelievable thing is that @jack, with his 1 593 859 followers actually replyed me for the B&W photo i tweeted  him, seems nothing but gosh thats the exact reason why nowdays is such an incredible era, the possibilities are endless, and oftenly internet things are bringing good things IRL you know, its just not only « out there » it does convert sometimes into opportunities, relationships, discoveries physically and all

It was time to go out and wander around, just trying to get whats actually all the fuzz about this 2000 euros ticket entrance conference, and its quiet obvious, like online, everything here goes fast, you randomly meet someone that recognise you just by your avatar, or ask for you twitter name to try to find back the photo you just took, that is a world i dont always get, especially when people are talking about things that arent even possible to translate  » well you know by using the API to get a proper GUI, you can totally reinvent the concept of the SNL » yeahhhhh yeaaahhh wellllll…..

Front row are people like Jeff Clavier (famous VC) or Scoble (famous blogger) : the people you pretty much want to be able to pitch if you have an internet service to sell you know… and what the image i had « i just quite dont get it how this one is more important than this other one, why are they so ‘the right people’ in this world, by blogging things that aren’t always true for me, but everyone agrees all the time, and they’re all friends all together and all.. this seems so untrue or so, i get it, but wow, its the same for some -ok only one actually- , i just dont get why hes supposed to be one of the « influent » bloggers ». i swear, weird feeling, even never had names like Chris Pirillo and all, probably crossed him several time, but im not that of a connected techcrunch guy so well, dont get the name, dont get the face, yes, lots of them are « casual nobodys » you know…

But I can confess i did misjudged them, in the end of the 1st day, everyone’s leaving, ill see Scoble talking to a random guy, that politely ask « sorry, could you have just like 5 mn to talk », and they actually went to sat 3 meters away to talk… ok… well… after all… so that’s whats incredible in here, opportunities, to see friends, people, met, talk, learn, price is super expensive but (this year) it’s warm, wifi is great, drinks available, it’s for sure not my bubble, but feels happy deep inside that someone trust me enough to give me the possibility to be there and live such things, yes, always the same speach about being grateful, but come on, what can i expect, it’s just fun, i’m glad all those things are happening, bc i’m mainly not asking to, and in the end, im just happy to be one of the happy few living that much so quickly, « if everything’s fast, then nothing’s fast »

Tired, focusing, snapping, I’m really glad @tybo let me get his nikon D700 for the whole days, the camera i’m dreaming off and i won’t have before a looooong time, but damn it’s nice, you know, proper weight, incredible speed and image, buttons everywhere to not ever miss a shot if ur a lil’ bit technical, properly a dream for a photographer, a dream worth the ticket to get in LeWeb, but a dream nonetheless (but one day i’ll get a client paying me enough to get it.. one day itll be mine *wayne’s voice* )

Crossing the father of the Creative Commons (all my photos are creative commons shared, you know!), YouTube (we all know how much youtube changed our daily world right?), seems not much, but actually its a lot to consider to be 6 feet away for people that, just by having an idea, a concept, a provider, a service, changed the game, or at least how its played, but once again, the speaker that really inspired me the most the 2nd day talks way much more about that than i am right now honestly, we’ll get to that, in the meantime, randomly bumped into friends, twittering all day long, exchanging, learning, some talk really are great, some other are pretty much their brand talking about their brand, or that they will now provide « this and that » to the users… not my cup of tea, but i still gets why some are willing to say this is a great event..

The opposite side is also understandable, i get why people can hate such event, people just talking about virtual stuff, trying to raise money, to come with a concept that need some big firm to help, but once again, the great thing is that everyone succeeds in finding what they want here, just listen, just talk, just meet, just open ur eyes and take snaps, im happy here, everything makes it totally worth it, you earned or not to be there, but you are in the middle of a tech conference that litterally sum up what is the digital world nowdays,  techie goldenboys but with a open mind ^^

Time to close the day, and decide to go grab a bite with some of the friends down there, and thats where the magic happens, me, from brussels, @veniale from paris, @kdfa from the east of France, @WhitScott @anitale & @Jyamaski from San Francisco, and we all met online, while beta testing the « seesmic video » site back in the days (back in the days = litterally 2 years ago, which is quite a lot in fact for a website), and that is just the beginning, tomorrow will be a very very inspiring day on so many levels, can’t wait!

It’ll actually be the first time ever i got one picture printed on real paper, in a magazine and all, you know.. P.R.I.N.T.E.D. ! True it shouldn’t be that much of a big deal, except i’m just proud this happend, one year ago, never took a concert picture, 3 years ago never had a camera on my own, so seeing this happen just makes me randomly smile and enjoying the moment. True i’m lucky enough to have some of my pictures wanderin’ all around internet for several bands and all, even got good contacts with some of ‘hem, but here it’s for a monthly thing, you know, people who aren’t fan of this singing guy or this groopie style hardcore fan.. regular people, who didn’t ask to see 5 pages in front of them with just pictures taken by me in it…

So how did i end up shooting the Bottelarij? (pronounce it the way you like, Flamish is way too difficult anyway ^^ )…. it all went down to Twitter (Yes.. AGAIN.. i know). Used to take some snaps for the Laid back friends, and Julius there was kind enough to retweet some of my pics, then been followed by one of the content editor of the monthly paper magazine that ill end up working with, at « the Bulletin ». After following me on a daily basis and seeing how many pics i was taking and all, she asked if I could/ would do a photo reportage for the next issue… well.. why not, so rendez-vous was taken in a quiet morning…

First thing, first impression: a good adice : do not fucked up by going to the wrong place and standing there at the time ur supposed to see the editor in question.. bad bad idea… some phone calls exchanged later, oupsi, my bad (or google maps to be honnest but well..) i actually wemt one kilometer away to the proper place \o/ So the idea is to go that ex-beer brewery, now a melting pot of NGO, artists, classes, labs and all… to see how the venue has turned up. and its not my thing, im a people personn, not architecture. Buildings aren’t talking to me that much, on the contrary, the smile of a close friend totally sparks up My mind…

This morning, i’m discovering that every floor does have his own tone color and a church is here, one of the Ad!d!ct Lab, a cinema studio and all… the Ad!d!ct Lab is a worldwide concept actually, a workshop where everyone can come and try out design, photograph, idea, once again, a giant bowl of stuff to try, artistic or thoughts altogether

The overall hallways is very impressive, not sure its totally finished, or still « oww we forgot to put some paint on the wall sorry about that », thats so cool actually, you see and can imagine all the « artists » that have access to that place and are seeing each other works and all, giving ideas, but i was actually not fair when i said walls dont talk to me, details on those walls does (lines from a poem)

The most intruiging part of the day was actually the « movement class ». like a modern dancing moving open ur heart and eyes classes.. with things like  » No.. jump… ur not jumping right now, ur jumping, got it? » ahah, a mix between yoga, movement, opening, listening, very weird at first, then i get that its probably quieting all of them down, forgetting ur daily life, just enjoying this hour and being driven by the voice of the teacher, surrealist but inner peace comes in different way for every people

Actually fun also to speak in english with Nina (the editor ya know) whereas she can also actually speaks French (my native language), but wellm at least i practice my english then ahah and while we wander around those walls, trying to find one of the churchs, you just cross grafittis and all, a very nice journey ahah, everything is Art in a way i guess

We will in the end not find the church open inside the building, but well, the top view over brussels under the snow is cool (see how funny i am.. snow…cool… yeah sorry, its the best i could come up with actually…), but in the end, it was supposed to be a 2 pages in the new monthly edition of this printed issue called « the Bulletin », seems they had enough photos to make a 5 pages story out of it, and even ask if i could do another photo reportage in March, and maybe a little thing in February, well, sure if you think my pics are good enough for your readers, i say let’s go!

So the day the issue came out, lunch time at 12.30, went to take the tram to the international train station of Brussels just to get a copy of it, a mix between being proud, and actually just happy and glad this happens, we’ll see how it goes, but just thanks to @julius from LDBK and @ninaism for having faith in what im doing has a hobby like that, seems not much, trust me, deep inside, it’s an actual big deal.

As i always say, even if it stops today, i’m just glad all this rollercoaster got me and get me to do that many things, i already have plenty of stories to tell my grandkids one day, maybe many more to come, but in the end, on a daily basis, i’m just happy about what i’m doing, i’m a concert photographer, smiling and damn happy, enjoying every tiny little bits of the incredible moments im experiencing, not missing much to be freakin’ happy, really not much….

===

In my ears :  ♫  » They say an end can be a start/Feels like I’ve been buried yet I’m still alive/It’s like a bad day that never ends/I feel the chaos around me/A thing I don’t try to deny/I’d better learn to accept that/There are things in my life that I can’t control » ♫ Phoenix -if i ever feel better-  [bc sometimes you cant control, and tons of good stuff happen]

First thing is that it’s cold right now, -3.5c to be exact right now, brrRRrrrR

Arrived on time, but it looked more like a club than a pub or a gig venue. well.. we went slowly in, to see a bar and proper instruments -or maybe is it just a hype place, im kinda not used to those you know…- but well, with 45mn behind schedule, a martini bianco for the lady and a coke for me (11 euros for both, gosh its not easy to be a gentleman and a billionnaire i say!! #WTF)

Now the question remains : How do you shoot a Band that even if it’s cool to hear such melodies, actually have a lack of lighting, or at least a very bad ones (not very bad, lack of possibilities i’d say, 2 big colored spots…). Well, then you can’t do much actually, can’t wait for any cute rims of volumetrics (my 2 favorites things in concert photography for sure), nope, you go back to the expressions, the rythm, the movement, otherwise, it just look like a scene taken from ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas » :

They really are less stressed than the first time i saw them @le bar du matin some months ago when they launched the album, everything goes very very smoothly, and it’ll be overall something like a 45minutes gig, Sandra, even a little sick, is really capable of showing a lot in her voice, almost breaking, quiet and sweet, very swell sensation, adding the bass and slight keyboards its really cool popish songs ^^

The singer has the bad (photographically-wise) habit to pretty much never leave the mic, and bc its a small place, of course can’t make it to the side to be able to have something else than a « mouth mic », well, that kind of things happen, but its clearly a bummer.. and ill probably buy a 35mm next week to have more « space » around the frame in such small venues, cause right now with a 50mm (closer to 85mm bc im not in full frame, and im sure ive lost 93.6% of the 10 readers i have at this point…), in the meantime, you just say your doin’ photo « the arty way »

I love black & white pictures. it just gives you straight expressions, contrasts, things, that can be sometimes disturbed by beautiful colors or lack of contrast, no B&W is really sometimes what makes me love photography the most, showing the moment, this little time where something happend, no artefacts, bc, in the end, do we remember more a movement or the color of the wall that nite? True here its just a necessity, otherwise the image is pretty much not readeable if that makes any sense ^^

But sometimes people just don’t like it ahah, i’ve talked with Puggy ’s lighter, that told me that he sometimes just doesn’t get why photographer are putting their pics in B&W, that he « chose the colors of those lights, but well, i know that for you guys, red just sucks in pictures, i know ». He totally got it right, true its sometimes nice in some songs, but when it comes to photography in concert, red suxx, big time, you have no contrast, everything is burnt and all ewwwww, so usually, if u see a B&W pics in here, either there was way too many red in the scene or its out of focus ahah \o/

So well, crossing my fingers for them, who knows someday they’ll be able to hit on their own a cool venue, with sweet lo-fi like that who knows, a movie score, and ad, something, anything, but overall, very nice people afterwards « hey, i know i knew ur face! »  » yeah, ur the guy from the pics last time and that is making a concert a day! » « errr yeah, more or less ahah » but well, all the best, and ill be there next time, if they level up between each gigs like that, the best is still to come!

Loooping was also happy because he set to cross Igmar’s path again (true its a boys name and the duck ’s got eyelashes, but i ask the lady « we told me i was in charge of the duck for the way back home so well » me « whats her name? » « errrr, no name i think or is it? nooo, dont think so, lets say.. igmar… » so igmar was named ahah ^^ and for the record, in Belgium, kiss on a chick from a guy you never saw before, very welcoming, true, but i still just dont get it (and its been 2 years that im here you know…)

To finish, the cover recorded that nite « Dock of the Bay »

Cliquer ici pour voir la vidéo.

It was time to get back to a more common schedule, several concerts a week, and not dozens in a day like during festivals. Gotta confess i definitely do prefer long gigs, of one artist than a 40mn shoot/best of, hoping then to cross their paths again.. so well, september, back to the venue im usually going to, Botanique and AB, ready to discover some musicians that would have probably never finished in my ipod a couple of years ago…

The Dodos was the first concert of the new cultural year, sound was weirdly mixed, but rumor has it it’s willingly done and their sound live…yeah well.. very cool nonetheless ^^

Bonaparte was on another nite a real punch to the eye sight, a big circus under E  driven by a small german jumping and singing quickly ahah, was astonished and glad i decided to see them, climax weird but totally in the same spirit as the band and concert

The tallest man on earth is like a nowdays Johnny Cash in the acting and lyrics, except he’s swedish ahah, wonderful discovery that this energic lad as to give to us, he’s back in brussels in a few month, ill be there for sure « im a man in ur eyes babe… »

Moriarty, with the blues/soul/jazzy influence and energy they gave was really delightful to see during a whole gig.. the cover of « enjoy the silence » is worth remembering

Cliquer ici pour voir la vidéo.

Dagoba was way too Metal for me, but the picture is cool so well…

Didier Wampas was such a blast, he looks like nothing, has a hello kitty guitar, but doesnt give a damn and overall just love to spread his love to the public, intense crowd and heart movement… « l’aquarium tactile »

Joshua is a belgian band that will someday be known outside of this country, but in the meantime, someone that says « how can we not be proud of coming from this little country of Belgiun when we see how the audience is awesome around here » deserves much much respect « Animal will save the world »

We have band was a total surprise, i wasn’t sure about going out to see them, twitter and his magic made the rest, when i got a message from them saying i was on the guest list. overall some electropop worth hearing, looking forward to the album in the next month, pretty sure it will be something i will be listening to over and over again

Jon Hopkins was a tremendous inspiration this year, met and saw live for the first like back in april, i went, willingly, all the way down to a small town in Flanders, just to see some of his music live once again, and i was pretty sure it would be as good as the first time, and i was right, 9mn songs going uptempo slowly adding layers, taking you to the heart and soul.. incredible… « light through the veins »

Noisettes was amazingly fun, jumping, bare naked feet, sexy as hell, musicians were also having a lot of fun, and the pics totally showed how much this nite was one of the good ones in le Botanique, really   « never forget you »

Revolver was impressive but the classical background they have, and how they can bring some harmony together, and this incredible encore, in the middle of the crowd and the 13meters high rotonde of le Botanique. 3 minutes in pure heaven, intense and simple moment. the simplest gesture, moments and thoughts are always the strongest anyway..

Cliquer ici pour voir la vidéo.

Yodelice was very sweet, ths drums he has just behind him, litteraly pushing it  while standing up gives a strong base for all the tracks to leave a nice atmosphere, hes bringing us to a special place, to his own world, and ill see him again in 3 month, can’t wait

Cliquer ici pour voir la vidéo.

General Elektriks brought us back to the roots of soul and jazzy keyboard, while he was loosing like 3 liters of sweat, we enjoyed the groovy moments and all, cool, and im not saying that because he asked me to put 3 of my pics in the new special edition release of his album in February

The XX was not that impressive in live, but i can say i saw them while they were still 4 in the band ahah, cool and chilly tho, but this portrait just totally rocks

The cutest canadian ever, Pascale Picard, was delightful once again, smiling, this singing accent she has, arffffffffff *in love*

Handsome Furs reminded me of the Kills, but a little bit more trash and living the life and dream, in a couple’s way ahah

Just Jack was groovy as hell, a flow, a smile, happy to be here, incredible memory when he starts to sing « starz in their eyes » he stops the band and simply says « come on guys, its always the same, when we start a song like that, theres all those compact cameras coming out, in order to upload it on YouTube, come on guys, we’re here to have fun, put that away, and come jump with me » -people clapping- this is just really true and honest, and gosh its good to hear!

Micachu and the shapes was once again a lot of noise, but good one, her pushing and pulling her guitar quickly and all, screaming, you gotta love it, but if you do, its a cool moment

Bat for Lashes on halloween day was something i really wanted to see, the sweet voice of Natasha, the incredible drums by Sarah, « Horse and I »

Mew and his incredible vocal performance made me dream a little bit, those Nordics guys really knew how to be breathtaking, the stage and the projections helped a lot i think ^^

Grizzly Bear was trip-hopy with nice arrangements and differences in all the sounds of the musicians, dreaming as well on this one

Andrew Bird and him whistling while playing some violin is just one of the highlight of the year, thanks @kdfa for the discovery, even I went to Ghent to see him a 2nd time

Wallis Bird is Irish, and an astonishing discovery, she’s energetic, speedy, as a smile that probably broke dozens of heart that nite, and very fresh in the way she interacts with the audience ^^

Cliquer ici pour voir la vidéo.

Rodrigo y gabriela  were also this year one the pure moment that you could just appreciate by being there, how can two acoustics guitars can speak so much, give so much, makes feel thousand things without any actual word. it’s probably the whole beauty of it, but seeing Gabriela smiling at 1′40″ makes u understand that the feeling is clearly on both side of the stage

Cliquer ici pour voir la vidéo.

Astronautalis gave so much, just a support act, but damn he talked, rapped and slammed, and had fun, and im not saying that bc he asked for one of my pictures for his press kit ^^

Tegan ans Sarah was a sweet and weird moment, where i actually did fell in the middle of 2000 lesbians, hair clones of the 2 sisters singing on stage, weird, but cool

The Scotish from Dananananaykroyd were absolutely stunning by all the energy they had in this little Witloof bar, weird i chose the quitest of all the pics but well…

Reverend and the makers had a nice gig for 75mns, but its just when the singer took his guitar, pointed at the audience and said « you, me, out » that we knew has hes used to, it was going to be jam session outside, and it did felt good to share unique moments like these!

Cliquer ici pour voir la vidéo.

Puggy, seen several times this year, wasn’t convinced at the beginning by the new songs, then its catchy and all, yeah, you got me, i still love you ahah ^^

Sleepy Sun made me feel being back in the 70’s, the Doors style ^^

And M to finish, french guitarist, an awesome one, perfect to finish this incredible year, tiring as hell, but incredible, always learning and evolving, in less than year, ive earned and gained a lot, and that makes me happy. 2010 bring it on, itll be awesome as well im pretty sure

]]> http://www.kmeron.com/2009-was-awesome.html/feed 7 http://www.kmeron.com/festival-seasons.html http://www.kmeron.com/festival-seasons.html#comments Tue, 29 Dec 2009 16:54:13 +0000 FrF.Kmeron http://www.kmeron.com/?p=794

To sum up another great thing that happend for me this year…  Some call it the holiday season, other the « lets get a cool tan on a beach » season, me its just the « 3days and 50 artists, its gonna be freakin’ tiring but gosh its cool » season. Festival, all size and « influences » from a small 1000 people, 6000, 20 000… and me, lucky to have passes to go backstage and frontstage to try to get some cool snaps. Quite something for a first summer honestly!

Starting with the « Fete de la Musique » in Brussels, this celebration on summer day, in front of the royal palace, nice, last year i discovered some very good bands, this year i was astonished by the energy they had. Considering also that i always sucked big time at jump shots, it was a wonder to actually succeed to nice ones in the same day, for Moriarty and for Balkan Beat Box

Then the first big big festival on Brussels, didnt actually thought id get a photo pass for the whole 3 days, lots of great people, lots of dust, but damn happy. Discovering the groovy Keziah Jones

Ben Harper, in front of 20 000 people. He’s talented, but not communicative enough for me.

Arno is a Belgian singer, i actually discovered him a year ago, during les Ardentes, then i learned to listen to it, to the nice lyrics, and the moments he sang « les filles du bord de Mer », making having the whole crowd with the hands in the air is just breathtaking, and you’re here, the only photographer taking pics of that, bc all the other one stayed only for the first 3 ones and didnt took the courtesy to come back for this last one, the other one authorised for us. little did they know. Highlight of the Festival, by far!

Emir Kusturica & the No smoking Orchestra was an awesome end of the 2nd day, festive, people happy, smiling, sharing, and me, up there, in front, at the same height as all the artists and what they see. Sure people are not looking at me, probably not even noticing i’m here. but what a view.. not sure enough people realise how sometimes they can be lucky, i do really mean lucky to be on the other side of the crash gate, see things differently, as only a few can, the happy, the few, the lucky ones.

Benabar seal the deal the last day, wasnt that fan of his music on cds, cool, fun, well written, but never thought that hes actually a power battery on stage, jumping, right, left, interacting, ahah, that was great, and a cool way to finished, tired and dusty, 3 days and half a hundred artists with some other 20 000 people. my first full festival as a photographer, a cool one, hot and sexy, but cool one above all

Main Square Festival in Arras was another chance to cross Franz ferdinand and Lenny Kravitz, but i do remember most and foremost Moby. went there only with a compact, no photo pass, but had a blast anyway. Moby, last artist after also Justin Nozuka, katy perry, duffy and the 2 others i already saw before… alsmost midnite.. starting to rain, typical, welcome to the North of France if i may say… but in the end, an artist willing to share and live every single moments. Big smile when i now think about it, but him saying « well if ur all under the pouring rain, why shouldn’t I » and taking his mic front stage, under the rain… wow… but like WOW! not even close to remember the goose bumps some tracks gave me -yes, you can have goose bumps while soacked wet-. him giving away his towels to the front row as a desperate to make everyone comfortable, dont worry Richard Melville Hall, we already feel like we’re in ur loft with you, around the piano jumping and swinging all together… « in my heart »

Les Ardentes this year was actually a one day festival for me, not enough time, didnt quite get the festival rythm, my back hurts, feet are soar, knee is barely there, but when Peaches ask for my pictures of the AB i took a couple of month back, and that i say no problem, just help me out for a pass someday, and actually get an on-stage pass, the daily pain is just non felt anymore, you just dream that you are here, shooting an artist you randomly knew 3 years ago from a cd on a graphists table, loved it, and now invited by her to a festival, just incredible, who am I to deserve that except someone that fucking digs it

Serious Business at Dour, invited by the LaidBack friends to do a photoreportage on one of the stage all day, allowed me to see the celtic punks of the Dropkick Murphys, just to get a shot of how i miss ireland, and discover some very nice electro peeps like DJ Mitsu the Beats, all the way from japan, that understands english but doesnt speaks it, you got to smile at this, music unites people in this40 000 people gathering, music, lyrics, sounds, experience. life.

Not a festival, ’cause i actually willingly chose to not go to the Bruksel Live to go to Luxembourg to see Snow Patrol. Did not have any doubts, and i was right! those irish lads are just what i needed at that time, halfway through the season, to have just one step back and sing along « if i lay here, if i just lay here.. would you lay with me and just forget the world? ». remembering also the « c’etait un rendez-vous » short feature of a car racing in early morning paris, to get to her beloved one…

The Feest In : Het Paark Festival was not scheduled, but 2 days prior to the first gig, got a mail saying « the photographer is sick, would you go instead », sure i’d go, yes, its lost in flandersin Oudeenaarde, but hey, there are some pretty cool artists, dont need more than that First slap in the face will be « triggerfinger » and the charismatic singer, damn i felt exhausted at the end of this, this true powerful rock n roll 3 piece ensemble juste reminded me why i also loved festival : discoveries, get to be astonished by an artist « unscheduled » or never heard before by myself, and that you afterwards really want to see with his own gig.

The Qemists and Jenna G was also cool, 2nd time after them being a support act for « enter shikari » a while back, Jenna G was sweet enough to mail me to ask if she could use some photos for her press kit.. how can u say no to someone that cute ahah good drum n’ bass

The main reason i didnt even think about saying no to replace the photographer is that Ghinzu was there, and being the 1st belgian band ive heard about some years ago, loving their music, i kinda had to be able to shoot them at some point, so i did, and it was just great. only the first 5 songs were allowed, i actually did 93% of the gig before a security guy said « Time’s up », but i was there, moving my butt and singing in the photo pit, happy to sing along « do you read me, do you read me loud, do you hear me comin’ « , did miss the last song, that i shot from the crowd, so no biggie, but at that time, that just juiced me up and remembered me why i loved concert photography, thanks John S

Heather nova finished the 3 days in this flanders land, sweet, beautiful, wish i could have spared this moment with someone, a shame it was a technical failure ^^

Le cabaret Vert, 42 000 people in a town called Charleville-Maizieres in France, unexpected as well, but strong and good festival Tricky gave me a good impression the first day, and i did discover some tracks of his that sounded very good live!

Lyre le temps was the electro discovery of this festival, and the public did respond very well to it

Deftones was not at all my cup of tea musically wise, but Chino was definitely fun to shoot

ShakaPonk was energic and powerful, a shame we couldnt actually stay long to shoot..

I missed the entrance of Emmanuel, lead singer fron the « im from barcelona » swedish lads, but didnt miss it this time ^^

The « We are Enfant Terrible » are basically the reason why i came at this festival for the first place, was glad to see them on stage, was cool for cyril the drummer to recognise me during the press conference just with my avatar bc we didnt actually ever met before… incredible press conference for the record, during deftones, 23h00, a dozen people, but no one asks any question, so cyril says « what about a game?!?!?’ and we actually played a children game, you know, the one where you’re supposed to slap the hand of your neighbour and all.. finsihed second out of five, but surrealistic moment ahah, people did ask some questions afterwards, id guess they knew we would have played for 20 minutes otherwise ahah ^^

Discovered « Debout sur le  zinc », met 2 lovely ladies, had once again a blast, exhausted but good…. also for all the backstage life, and being able to cross some singers and be there for some acoustic session… uber priviliged people im telling you… and tomorrow, the last part of the year, september till december, but what a summer

Cliquer ici pour voir la vidéo.

What a year… I actually officially started concert photography « just » in late March ‘09… so it’s not really a full year.. but well… (I had my 1st photopass at this date actually). Here it’s not that much a « what gigs gave me goose bumps », more « what images i took made me proud of what i’ve learned, experienced, and how i live music on a daily basis ».. watch out, there’s not way too many pics, i’ve always sucked at choosing anyway… but well…

First in January was Arid, and the incredible cover of « life on Mars » and the high pitch note of Jasper while litteraly walking in the soldout AB. Instant goose bumps.

Parts & Labor, the Noise band, a twitter game, won 2 tickets, took some snaps, send them to show my appreciation to the webzine that made the game, and it was the actual beginning of how i did have my passes…

Puppetmastaz.. Got tickets from a friend that actually knows one of the pupetter… and damn, second time i was seeing puppets rapping and slashing each other, but damn fun and good. But so not easy to shoot!

Bloc Party. Didn’t get a ticket, once again an angel sell me a spare ticket (you gotta love Facebook and 2.0 social media web i mean… Come on!), and that was a huge slap in my face. Shouldn’t have been able to take some snaps, get in with my camera without a pass, so shot the whole concert whereas i will have been limited to the first 3 songs with a pass… Happy to  have seen them before their probable split. As they sang « Baby you’ve got to be more discerning, I’ve never known what’s good for me, Baby you’ve got to be more demanding, i will be yours » -Modern Love-

Metronomy, 1st lineup, was a very cool moment, loads of laughter, fun, playing with the lights they had on their chest. Here again, electro can be fun, and put a small venue upside down. Will not be impressed by there more rocky lineup some months later. at all.

This is a nite i litterally won a lot. Wasn’t sure about going or not. In the end, just one of the highlight of my year. Support Act I’ve never heard before.. « Gary Go ». And some weeks later, this same artists that is asking if he can use my pictures, and some months later, will ask if i’m interested to come to another gig, in Manchester, as a support act of take that in front of 60 000 people. Incredible story, blessed to have someone like that having faith in what i’m doing as a pure hobby, and really more than a business exchange. I’m glad i went out there that nite, i’m glad i was able to take snaps, i’m glad someone showed him the pics, i’m glad he contacted me, i’m glad i’m able to speak a little bit of english so that when i’m on the phone, i’m able to say not that silly things. This picture is barely ok, but damn it, make him have other gigs in 2010!

Main act that nite : The script : pretty much the same story, a nice gig, loads of energy (true that i probably love them as well just for being irish), surrounded by screaming teen girlz, but overall very nice anyway, was glad and happy that they invited me to shoot them again in luxembourg some weeks later, and that i litterally crossed them in the hall in manchester backstage of take that, and they did remember me, and got some wise words that probably changed the way i see what i’m now shooting

Discovered another venue, the « witloof  bar » at the botanique of brussels. Cute with the stones and all, but with a loud band like that ouch… went to buy some good ear plugs for the following concerts the next day ahah

The Eagles of Death Metal litteraly rocked my world, 2000 People screaming, shouting, moving, singing, loving having such a blast, pure rock n roll, didnt care anymore about my arthtritis and the daily pain, i just had a bowl of energy filling me up for a long time. This is why i love music, concerts, this venue, and being able to keep those moments on a screen is just priceless. Because after all, we all leave for moments that will be remembered, i’m quite happy this year was filled with so many for me

2 weeks later, scotland, alex, Franz Ferdinand was going to do the exact same effect on me. Incredible moments, from Take Me Out to This Fire, it was intensed, strong, many good pictures came out of it, but just having the such charismatic lead singer just on top of me while he went close to the crowd is worth a thousant words… « this fire is out of control, I’m going to burn this city »

The tiny tiny Kaki King (more or less 1m50) showed me that a guitar can also give you goose bumps, no lyrics, pure notes and instrumental moments. Very nice

Nico Muhly get me back to loving jazz, i was lying on the floor of the mythical AB venue, eyes closed. Happy to be where i was standing, in such a short notice to being a nobody photographicaly wise.

The Whitest Boy Alive was a bowl of energy, a way that i couldn’t imagine, seeing those smiles on stage, seeing those incredible moments where they stop between two songs to give to a guy a letter from her girlfriend that saw them some weeks before in Danemark. Romantic, cute as hell, and artists happy to share such moments ^^

Razorlight was probably the first real Live Nation gig i had a photo pass for, a concert ok, but i do have issues with the god complex johnny seems to have, but picture wise it was fun, and the « all my life, watchin’ america » was worth going, definitely.

Second Sex was pure bad, ugly, deceiving moment of concert. I really lost 7 euros that nite. How the hell did they end up opening for muse.. did someone lost a stupid bet or something? but this shot is worth being seen so well… but overall.. i laughed more than i moved, wich is never good in a gig for me, well, when it’s not supposed to make us laugh anyways.

Miss Kittin & The hacker. My teen years, electro, « life on Mtv » and all. First row in the AB, fun.

Les Cowboys Fringants are a canadian folk band. That soldout two times the AB (2x 2200 people). And it was almost 2h45 of pure energy, smiles, unexpected moments (flying paper planes on a song, them starting 11minutes earlier « we figured out that if we wanted to play more songs, we had to start earlier, so here we are), love is in the air, the violin girl is cute as hell, they’ve got this typical accent when they are speaking french. A band i have to see again live. « Comme des étoiles filantes… »

Peaches was awesome that nite. Crowd surfing, nice stage and all. Didn’t expect a direct contact with her via mail for those shots, but totally worth saying « sure youc an use the pics » when i will be later in the summer on stage. Earning everything, just by being ourselves, some doesn’t like this way of thinking, but i’m pretty ok with that, as long as i’m ok with my shots being used under those conditions. « I don’t wanna loose you » made a lot of sense that nite.

Lily Allen was cute as hell. Also a hell to shoot. Just 2 songs, got to wait outside of the room itself before the 2 songs, then just the time to try to take a snap and thank you good bye. But that allowed me to realise that no, this can’t be my job, i’m here because i love going out to see those artists, the whole gig, and not trying to just take a good (technically speaking) snap, and goind away to work on them, nope. Main idea being that in the photo pit in front, i was the only one moving my ass, singing (or screaming/shouting… up to you…), and that even gave a smile to lady Lily because i’m pretty sure she’s not used to have one of the photographer singing with her the cover of the Kaiser Chiefs. That smile made me think that yup, i’m different in my way to see concert photography. So what. I have a blast. i’m loving it this way. everyone deals with it his own way.

Charlie Winston is an English Man just known in France, some folk english pop songs, a nice smile, and a crowd happy to move as well. fun.

Metronomy, 2nd lineup. Uncool gig, did prefer the 1st time, but happy about this picture, and him preparing is pipe

Daan is a Belgian Singer. Didn’t like the 1st time i saw him @Bruksel live back in summer ‘08, this time on the other hand, more bluesy jazzy soul, cool. And a straight look to the lens, not often, always working as hell tho

Sharko is another Belgian Band, with a charismatic singer, having fun, leaving the gig rushing into the audience until the door at the end of the venue ahah

Lenny Kravitz was a show. First row, some songs where just unbelievable. Fly away and the strobes, american woman, the piano moment. Overall shot with a compact, but glad i’ve seen this showrunner live.

Les Wampas are a french punk band. And the singer is just nuts sometimes, climbing on the speakers, puting a chair in the crowd to be lifted, cool to see people loving having fun that much

Danny from the Script, a smile, happy even if he’s in Luxembourg, a country he probably never thought he would visit. Happy to share this concert with the people i went in. « just like grafton street on a rainy nite, you were vodka and coke i was guinness all nite ».

Phoenix was really a blast, awesome concert, some tracks were just amazing live, and one an artist tells you « thank you, we didn’t know such a small venue could make that much noise ». You just need more. « if i ever feel better… »

Chester French was the end of the year in the venues. American, a nice end to this 08-09 Concerts year you know… Then there will be some festivals…. But we’ll talk about that tomorrow « she loves everybody… »

So here I was, going to Charleville-Mézières, et tiny town in the North of the Champagne region of France, for the 5th edition of the « Cabaret Vert » Festival (green cabaret), a 3 days festival, with an ecological idea behind it. An overall very nice journey, to the heart of why I like so much what is not my daily job. Taking pictures, photos that will last as memories and moments I’ve experienced…

After a little detour to see a friend, here I was on my way to the town of Charleville-Mézières, not far from Sedan and the Belgian border. My howetown is not that far (like 2hours drive), never been there tho.. a perfect way to discover the town and region under a heavy sunny weather, what more can you ask really ^^ Thinking about it, it’s actually going to be the first festival (for pictures i mean) that i will do outside of Belgium, now looking forward to see how it goes, bc usually, the standard in a belgian Festival is quite high already

No issue at all with the photopass, and i was on my way to discover the site, site that is actually really in the middle of the city, no joke about that, yes, it’s a square at the beginning, but surrounded by buildings and everything, interesting to discover ^^ loads of security and fences, people on their way to the Camping place.. you know, the beginning of a festival It’s « only » a 2 stages festival, but it will be more than enough (Dour has 6 stages I think… ) and the sun is there, which will help a lot overall

« Exit Wounds » was opening on the smaller stage the event. One of the very nice principle is the price.  1 euro per artist, and you got the price of the 3 days festival. It’s actually very good and not oftenly we see that kind of simple mathematic explanation. Next would be the opening of the Big stage by « la grande sophie », a french artist.

« Yeti Lane » went on the Small stage and it was time to see Tricky on the main stage, and his downtempo Trip-Hop creating a perfect mood to start the evening/nite. Some tracks are just awesome in live (2nd time I actually saw him live this summer after Les Ardentes ). And this time, i really appreciated some tracks.. First, true he was the singer of Massive Attack on their first « bluelines », but he actually went solo back in 1995 (yes, dunno why, would have though it was was closer to 2000ish… wow). And now, I can say that tracks like « Hell is round the corner », the bass line from « overcome », or one of his latest « puppy toy » is really overwhelming with good intentions, quiet periods that will go slowly and slowly higher, until it blows at ur face. Francesca, the singer that is also on stage is actually helping, her feline way to move her body while sharing the mic with Adrian (yes, less exciting than Tricky right?) is just an image you wanna keep. Sensuality, and good lyrics <3

After the 3 songs, us, photographer are kicked out of the photo pit.. and it suddenly actually make sense for once, when Tricky actually decided to make people come all over the stage.. and the people actually stopped coming when there was no more room left.. wow… but well, everything went well, but my 2 cents is that it was kinda unplanned by the security lads ahah ^^ Tricky’s picture are worth seeing, tatts, floating on the music, open hearted.

Going way up North in denmark to see « the asteroids galaxy Tour », that are famous for being one of the song of the latest ipod ad… Nice sweet pop on stage, it’s during the private 2 songs acoustic session that it makes me happy to be where i’m standing, sharing a moment that only a few can say they have lived. And that is really something worth going through the lack of sleep, hurts, wasted time and all. Totally don’t care right now, just enjoying 3 guys singing for us how sweet life can be sometimes…

Then it will be time to be hit by Ghinzu once again. Saw those Belgian band (from Brussels to be more specific) live a couple of weeks ago after being one of the first belgian band i’ve known, at that time still being in France. Little did I know I was going to shoot them some years later, and feel damn good about it. Gosh now I really have to see them for a full show and not for an hour in a festival… but damn.. it’s pure power, madness, the riffs are just deadly awesome, John is doing his show, the other guys are following and spicing all of that (prop on for the guitarist). Damn, just feel like hit by a truck, but this sensation, for this week end, is a good one, and because it’s unexpected to actually be there for 3 days, then i’m even more appreciating the moment

I’ve missed « zone libre », or at least wasn’t allowed anymore to take any pics, rumor has it it was nice tho. So well, back to the main stage, to jump on the heavy electro of « Birdy Nam Nam », 4 Djs/MCs, 2002 World champion, offering an übercrowded square a way to jump and have a fun that appeared instantly on everyone’s face. Really something to discover, to be on the other side of this fence, and see everyone going crazy for a tune, or bc everyone is simply jumping and enjoying the moment. An absolute blast, and the 4 sound makers are talented, nothing to say about that, they know what they’re doing

Twas then time to head to the Hotel, true i’m not playing 100% hardcore festival style, i’m not drinking either so well ahah ^^ a very nice first day overall, 2 cameras and the gears are kinda heavy tho, but well, you get used to it and don’t feel much more at the end of the day… I’ll remember the good spirit that everyone is having despite the 30 000 people, the proximity with the artists, a shame we weren’t able to do the Acoustic Session with Ghinzu, but well, i’m happy bc i’m making pictures, listening to good people, and overall just happy, which is already quite something

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In My ears : Depeche Mode -A Pain that i’m used to- : ♫« All this running around/ well it’s getting me down/ Just give me a pain that I’m used to/ I don’t need to believe/ all the Dreams you conceive/ You just need to achieve/ Something that rings true » ♫