Gallows at Emo's, SXSW '09

Gallows at Emo's, SXSW '09, originally uploaded by Grant Simpson Photo.

This is a shot from the Gallows show at Emo's during SXSW '09. They are a hardcore punk band from Ireland. Fantastic energy and great music - they are the real deal. Frank, the singer, is by trade a tattoo artist. He was off the stage and in the crowd within the first few measures of the first song. Awesome show.

I'm finally able to go back to the photos I took for SXSWORLD magazine during SXSW '09. It was an intense day and a half, and I hadn't done an assignment like that in years. It was fun, but I just couldn't do anything with these until I'd had some distance from them.

I learned a lot about shooting live shows. If it's crowded, I have to get there early, get right up front, and stay there if I can. Build rapport with the other photographers up front so I can get back into position if I have to step away, like I did for this shot. Try not to use the flash too much if possible. Emo's is pretty dark, so I didn't have much choice but to use it quite a bit. Also, if the stage is tall, I'm going to have trouble - I'm only 5' 4" tall. All in all, I enjoyed it but don't know if I'd shoot live music as a vocation.