Digital Portfolio

It was really smooth jazz music. The drummer was making very percussive, u nusual sounds on the drum kit. He was not  detracting the attention from the other members but was subtly  gliding around the drum kit. There was a contrast of performing styles from the musicians. Some members were performing and communicating the tunes whereas some members were purely absorbed in the music, in their musical bubble. These had different qualities to them and created a heart felt communication of their music. The musical evening s tarted off as a performance but then became the atmosphere. In the spirit of jazz they took it in turns to improvise. They were s welling together creating a magical spell. Their i nstruments being an extent of their beings, communicating expressively. Alastair Pennington Quintet Hyde Park Book Club 24.01.19

For a 3 piece band this band created a LOT of sound and created a lot of atmosphere. The verses were quite punk, sung by the bass player and the choruses were very heavy with the guitarist growling down the microphone. The songs were quite long with lots of progression and different elements in classic heavy metal style - Black Sabbath style. They took it in turns to rotate the singing, even the drummer, which was quite unusual to watch.  There was so much energy in their performance, t he drums were played so hard that they actually were moving around! The guitarist moved his hands so effortlessly, playing so many different notes whilst his hair was all over his face. This performance was extremely enjoyable and was worth me becoming deaf for the rest of the evening! Gomorra The Fenton, Leeds 19.01.19

This was an unexpected gig which we stumbled upon because a jazz night at a different place as cancelled. We had no idea what the music would be like at all, just saw it was some live music and decided to surprise ourselves. It turned out to be punk which is a genre I enjoy but have never experienced live before. We were taken a back by the atmosphere and energy. It was extremely intimate, with the bands playing on the floor rather than the stage. This attracted the crown to circle around, standing at interesting angles. We experienced the whole gig from the side. This made you feel absorbed, in the music but also a distant observer. Watching the audience their expression of music was fascinating, the punk possessed their beings in uncontrollable head banging. There was amazing immersive lighting which created a red haze which engulfed the performers. I already strongly associate the colour red with punk music (perhaps its association with aggression?) This bands stage presen...

Came to watch a friend play in a metal band but had never heard of the other bands playing. I t was odd at the start, the audience was very shy and lined the walls rather than standing centrally. Not only must this have been awkward for the audience but also an intimidating atmosphere for the performing band. They were all extremely talented. The singers particularly had such a wide range (really high and really low) but all perfectly in tune. I think the guitarist was actually the star. His fingers were easily flowing around the guitar, like a spider and he could sing and screech perfectly. Their sound was heavy yet classic, it was rejuvenating music like Metallica mixed with Black Sabbath. They were glowing red and only wearing black clothes. They were enveloped in the lighting and it was bold and striking. Artefacts Key Club, Leeds 02.12.18

We were right at the barrier at the front. We had an amazing view. We were close enough to the mosh pit to feel part of the experience yet safe at the front. There were some fantastic grunge moves/positions. It was amazing watching a founding and originating and authentic grunge band from Seattle in real life. It is incredible to think about the different experiences of gigs that the band must have had and how tame this gig must be compared to their gigs at the beginning, 27 years ago. It would have been a different and incredible experience to watch them in their prime. They have their own sound but all of the songs are different. They were fast and slow but all Mudhoney, a unique sound. All perfectly distorted imperfect dirty grunge. The gig was so loud! I knew every tune and I wasn't holding back yelling them. There were some really special, unique moments. Mark kept coming right to the front near us and he gave someone a twinkly high 5. This was a truly multi-sensor...

I have grown up listening to the Human League, specifically the album 'Dare'. They have been such a huge part of my music evolution and seeing them all on stage was quite weird. I don’t think anything could live up to the enjoyment I have had listening and singing along to them over the years.  We were seated at this gig. This meant that there was no discomfort of standing, getting too hot, being squished, holding things, losing a spot. There were moments where I wished we were standing so that we could boogie around however the distance meant that we got to view the whole spectacle, taking in everything at one time. The view meant that we couldn’t see any of their faces or what they uniquely looked like which was an interesting way to view a gig, holding its own aura. Phil Oakey kept wandering around and disappearing off stage. He later told us that this was because he had a sore throat and was sipping a Lemsip back stage. He did really well but by the encore he had practic...

The nature of folk/bluegrass music is very spontaneous and improvised with the instrumentation as the focus rather than the performers. The jam wasn’t to do with the people at all, just their musical skills/passion where those involved were interested in the music making, creating an evolving world of sound . Everybody was part of the same sound, engulfed, contributing, experiencing and imputing. This session had fluid and spontaneous jam qualities of bluegrass and old time music and was an authentic folk music experience. Due to the nature of reportage illustration (capturing the musicians playing live at that time and place) there was limited time to illustrate as they were constantly changing position, coming and going in each tune. Old Time Music Jam The Chemic Tavern, Leeds 25.11.18