One Bad Son - Live

A little less than a week ago a few of my buddies and myself made the trek into Montreal to catch a concert by the groups One Bad Son, The Glorious Sons and Airbourne.  The show took place at the Corona Theatre, the same venue where my buddies and I saw The Darkness last year and where the seed of a plan was planted in my mind.  The few photographs you'll see if you click on the above link were taken using a crappy little Kodak camera, something I could get into the building.  However, while at the show I saw people inside taking photos with Canon Rebel cameras.  If I were to take the battery pack off of my camera and used my smallest lens, it wasn't very much larger than a Rebel.  I figured that I might be able to get my 'disguised' camera into the show, and I put my theory to the test back in May at a concert by Future Villains and Steel Panther.  Since my little plan had worked the first time, I decided to give it another shot for this show.  We arrived early at the show and I followed the same steps I took back in May.  My camera was palmed in my hand and pressed against my body, but hardly hidden and still in plain view.  As we walked by the doorman and ticket taker I made to the camera was on the side opposite than they were.  I realize that all of this cloak & dagger drill was probably not necessary, but it added a little bit of a thrill to the event.  Once inside, I needed to get as close to the stage as possible.  The first row after the barrier was already occupied, but my friend Louie suggested I place myself just beyond the barrier, against the side wall.  I'd be shooting at an angle, but I had a clear view of the stage and wouldn't have to try and shoot between people.  I got my camera in the door, I was in a good spot, all that was left was for the show to begin.  The first thing I tried to keep in mind was some advice I had gotten from my buddy Pierre (Pierre B Photo).  He suggested I shoot using a smaller aperture than f/2.8.  Sacrificing a little speed for more clarity.  Though the lighting for the opening acts wasn't the greatest, I tried to keep that tip in mind.  The house lights went down, and it was time for action.  The first band on the stage was One Bad Son (follow them on Facebook).  They're a Canadian rock band originally from Saskatoon and now based out of Vancouver and they put on a great show.  It was difficult getting some good shots of the singer as he was often in shadows, but the rest of the band was often in some good light.  I hadn't heard of them before the show, but they played several of their originals before closing their set with a rocking cover of the Talking Heads hit, Psycho Killer.  Since the show, I've bought two of their CD's and and am really enjoying them.  The first photograph you see here was taken at f/4, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm.  The second photograph was taken at f/4, 1/125sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm.  I was really happy that I captured the drummer with his stick in the air.  The third photograph was taken at f/4, 1/100sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm and the fourth was taken at f/2.8, 1/25sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm.  Here are a couple more photos that I took during their set.

f/4, 1/25sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/2.8, 1/30sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

Kind of blurry, but I like it.

f/4, 1/25sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/4, 1/60sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

f/3.5, 1/50sec, ISO 3200 at 50mm

Okay, so maybe I didn't get far beyond f/2.8, but the tip was still in my head and it did come in handy later in the night as the other shows had a little bit more light.  I also used the Exposure Bias function on my camera to over-expose my shots by one step to get me a little bit more shutter speed.  One Bad Son, put on a good show, but there are still two bands to come.  Keep your eyes peeled, they'll all be here soon.