Andrew St. Clair

I’ve been looking forward to the Don Giovanni showcase for months! Screaming Females are easily one of my favorite live bands and to see them with four other fun bands was a treat. I bought a ticket not even planning to shoot the show, but at the last minute, I approached Brooklyn Vegan to see if they had anyone covering it. They didn’t, so I did. My photography buddy Sharese Ann Frederick bought a ticket specifically to see Lemuria and my friend Kiri from the band Delta Hotel also showed up. I had seen an Shellshag play their usual energetic set with ‘The Screamales’ back in September 2010, but had yet to see the Laura Stevenson & The Cans, Lemuria, or Byrds of Paradise play live. I guess that’s point of these showcases, huh?

So after hanging backstage and shooting come candids of everyone just chilling out, I took a spot at the front of the stage with Sharese and Gretchen Robinette who was shooting for Impose Mag. When Byrds of Paradise took the stage, I knew it was going to be a tough shoot. The stage lighting was so fucking dim. As dim as I’ve ever seen it. I decided to break out my speedlight play with the light. The I think for the most part, it worked. But it only fits certain types of bands. Screaming Females, yes. Laura Stevenson & The Cans, not so much (which isn’t to say that they aren’t great, btw).

From the very beginning of the Screamales set, the audience started pushing each other and jumping around. But it wasn’t terribly violent or anything. In fact, it was kind of fun. I successfully navigated the crowd without damaging my equipment… or my camera (haha). Drummer Jarrett D was pretty much playing in the dark. So complete with my all-access pass (my first at MHoW; Thank you Joe from Don Giovanni) I snuck on the stage and got some close ups.

So, I as it turns out, the super-dim lighting was a blessing in disguise as I took some of my best shots of Screaming Females. It was great to hang with the bands and see them perform. If you haven’t already, check out the coverage on BrooklynVegan.com