Category: The Gallery

Ed’s note… Lucy Heath suggested we cover Luke Canconnon & Jimmy Davis at the Hare & Hounds, citing the former front facing 50% of Nizlopi as ‘deserving more recognition than just that bulldozer song’. Knowing little else about the man, I thought Lucy may well be right; off I went to dig out a wider portfolio.

Luke Concannon had certainly been busy. As I started to delve I found much more than a child friendly ‘one hit wonder’; a man with messages, motives and the tools to get out there. Excellent.

But almost as quickly as his activities grabbed my interest, his profile turned me off; from the garrulous exclamation marks on his home page, to the declaration (without sufficient context) ‘in 2009 I hitchhiked from England to Palestine to live intentionally, wildly, and boldly.’ I, smell, ego.

But misanthropy runs through me (although I see that as their fault, not mine) and I could be as judgmental about my own rhetoric. Sometimes.

Yet as I started to imagine myself interviewing Luke Concannon it just wouldn’t fit. By the time I watched the short film introduction (by Daniel Broadly & Alex Thornton – click here) and heard ‘revolutionary’, ‘spiritual’ and ‘activism’ uttered in the same breath, I was out. Editorially I feared it would end in an argument.

But Lucy was adamant to cover the gig, and Jimmy Davis was incredibly approachable and gracious. Plus, putting my ego aside, it deserved to be covered.

What I didn’t expect (and what was not properly promoted) was such an array of support acts – making the night a rare cornucopia of performers; one I’m thankful we were, eventually, there to report.

The following are a few of my favourite pics from Lucy Heath’s excellent coverage.

N.B. My apologies Mr Concannon, if you’re ever back in Birmingham we’d love to talk to you. And I’ll try and mature in the meantime. 

Ed King is editor of Birmingham Review. Follow him @EdKing2210

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THE GALLERY: Luke Concannon & Jimmy Davis @ Hare & Hounds, Thurs 13th Mar – Ed’s pics…

Luke Concannon playing and singing amongst the crowd; Lucy got a few shots of this part of his set. A bold move from a solid front man/solo performer. Got to give the boy his dues here.

I especially love the light in the smoke with the elevated stage as a backdrop, plus the actions of three people to the left of the pic – a modern audience.

For more on Luke Concannon, visit http://www.lukeconcannon.com/

 

 

Co-host Jimmy Davis, the man just looks good in a spotlight. A good light-to-dark feel.

Something grabs me about live gig shots that are so ‘up close’, but it’s the pained expression and extended hand that hook me in here.

For more on Jimmy Davis, visit http://www.jimmydavisdavis.com/

 

 

Another ‘up close’ shot, this time of Raydeeance – minus the musicians and backing singers that were with him on stage.

This is almost frighteningly close, the man is so involved – what is you want us to know??

For more on Raydeeance, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_gLErQKO2U

 

 

The red backdrop to blue exposure, the kit on the far right, the monitors along the bottom front, the mike stand framing an unobstructed artist. If whatever it was on the top of the amp wasn’t masking the venue’s ‘D’ & ‘S’…

Just a great pic of an artist playing acoustic; makes me want to know everything about them.

For more on Afronaut, visit https://soundcloud.com/afro0/tracks

 

 

Not easy to take shots of two men standing behind mics, keys and a desk…

The rainbow lighting on the far left (top) and blue/red reflection on the flight case (bottom), to the red & black chequered shirt on the right, frame this well for me.

For more on Musical Misfits, visit https://www.facebook.com/MusicalMisfits

 
 

 

Likewise, poetry performances must be another swing/hit/miss endevour for photographers.

But Lucy captures a facial expression here that nails it for me – is it scorn, is it a question? Neck tendons poised on something important. Plus, again, the smoke and light. And in this case the  t-shirt.

For more on Spoz, visit http://www.spoz.net/

 

 

One of my favourite shots of the evening. The contrast and confliction of red/blue, with the tattooed and pierced man soaking them up in the foreground…

Wonderful. Horrible. Makes me feel both threatened and as if someone’s defiantly in control. I can’t turn away.

For more on Seasick Fist (aka Jaden D. Larker), visit http://www.jadenlarker.co.uk/

 

 

 
 There are a couple of Red Staar shots I could have chosen (check out the full Flicker of pics) but I settled on the only portrait picture. It’s the hand, telling us to both stop and that we’re OK to listen; that balance of informed intelligence and avuncular compassion.

Superbly composed. But check out the rest of Lucy’s Red Staar shots too – a cracking variety from this performance.

For more on Red Staar, visit http://www.redstaar.co.uk/ or https://soundcloud.com/redstaar