Speed Beaver Music

Some bands really know how to throw you a curve ball and Great Imitation are without doubt experts in this field.  Opening the Musician Stage at Leicester’s Summer Sundae Weekender, they started out with some funky mash-ups of well known tracks such as MC Hammer’s Hammertime and Kanye West’s Goldigga with a style that falls somewhere between camp vaudevillian comedy and  rap/rock crossover with a good sprinkling of R&B to confuse anyone foolish enough to think they know what’s coming.

It was all good light-hearted entertainment, perfect for a sunny start to one of the most relaxed easy-going boutique festivals around.  Then lead singer James Scott announced there were just two songs left and that the next song would be a little different.

“Real Men Hit Things” was indeed different, a bleak story of domestic violence performed with an intensity that left people gobsmacked and more than a little choked as the story reached it’s predictable tragic climax.

A band that can play with an audience’s emotions to this level are surely bound for greater things than simple imitation.

BANDS: Great Imitation – Images by mike gatiss

As Minus IQ are a very active band on stage, to get anything sharp at all, I have to use the flash and as The Fly is notorious for bad lighting, I decided to have some fun with the flashgun. I slowed down the shutter speed to almost one second and let the speed of the flash capture the action. I think I got some very interesting results, different to my usual stuff, but I quite like it.

The band played a brilliant set and I found myself dancing along to their infectious disco/rock songs. I do apologise to the band and their fans who had to witness this atrocity! Sorry!

Last night was 80′s night in Camden. With pounding Human League and Durannies downstairs, the Minus IQ guys brought it back upstairs with rather more jumping about than the originals usually managed. It wasn’t rammed but with a posse of photographers and a line of fangirls at the front it certainly had a buzzy feel about it. They’re at the Fly again next week. Should be much more intense then.

Minus IQ myspace.
More pics here.

A St. Trinians style outfit is never a bad start and these girls didn’t disappoint: fast, thrashy and plenty of attitude. Sadly, they cleared the room, reflecting more on the audience more than the band. They’re new and raw but given some more gigs, they’ll definitely shape up into something deserving of a better crowd. Definitely one to watch.

Myspace here.

More pics here.

Last time I saw Gareth Icke and his band I promised I’d take some promo pictures of them at their next London gig. So on Thursday night I packed my gear plus my light stand and umbrella and headed off to the Barfly.
When I got there I gathered the band together upstairs in the backstage area and set up my stuff.
Doing promo shots at a venue before or after a band goes on stage is never ideal, but I think I did OK in the 10 – 15 minutes we spend on different poses and line-ups.

Later on I took some pictures when the band played their headline slot. The light was the worst I had EVER seen at the Barfly and I was close to getting my flash out. I ended up converting a lot of pictures to black and white due to the washed out purple stage light.

More pictures of Gareth Icke and his band
Gareth Icke Myspace