Liquid Liquid
Last Saturday, I was covering the Liquid Liquid gig at the Barbican Centre. I haven’t shot any gigs at the Barbican before, I’ve only ever been there as a punter. A quick look around the web didn’t give many clues, there aren’t many of photos from gigs to be found. I did find a couple of pics of the layout of the place though, and what’s this? The front row of seats is right up against the stage! Where do the photographers go..?
I canvassed opinion from some other photographers who have shot gigs there, and one of the guys told me that there’s about 8 rows of seats, then a gap, and then more seats, and we get the gap. So, while you’re moving about trying to get the shots you need, you have to keep crouched down so you don’t get in the way of the paying punters. Fair enough, but I wasn’t sure my crumbling knees would be able to last the pace!
One of the disadvantages of being further away from the stage was that I had to use a long lens, and it wasn’t the most brightly lit gig ever. The Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS lens is a monster, and trying to handhold it at 1/30 and 1/40 sec was a real challenge, even with the IS switched on. The staff at the Barbican were really friendly and helpful, so I think maybe I could’ve got away with using a monopod, Ah well, I know for next time.
Before the gig started, I asked if the photographers had to leave at the end of our three songs, and I was told to check back with the press desk to see if there were any spare seats. Luckily, some crazy fool on the guestlist was a no-show, so I got back in and was able to watch the rest of the show.
I wasn’t really familiar with Liquid Liquid until a few days before the gig. Time Out had a short piece on the band in their Music section, and it was one of their recommended gigs of the week. You may not be familiar with them, but I bet you have heard one of their songs, surely containing one of the most famous basslines of the ’80s… Cavern was sampled by Grandmaster Flash and used on White Lines. How cool is that?!
They don’t play too many gigs, so if you get the chance to check ‘em out, then go see them. They have quite a unique sound, kind of percussion led bass grooves, and the crowd were really into it so the whole place was jumping…
Check out their myspace page here: http://www.myspace.com/liquidliquidmusic
Domino records page on Liquid Liquid: http://www.dominorecordco.com/artists/liquid-liquid/
Pics from the gig here:
