All in his hands.....

Welcome,

In a short lived era of musical brilliance, The English group ' TheYardbirds' effectively altered music and influenced many young musicians.

At various times the group had as members Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck.  All went on to bigger and better things and all remained a benchmark for others to follow.


Eric Clapton once said of Jeff Beck "With Jeff, It's all in his hands".


On Saturday night I was privileged to witness that for myself.  It was a show of subtlety, power and dynamics.  Watching closely, I came to see the truth in Clapton's comment.  With Jeff it is all in his hands. We too were in his hands.

I've now seen two out of the three Yardbirds guitarists in concert - Page and Beck.  Just one to go.

Stay safe.

Indigo

Welcome,

Last Sunday we took a drive in the Byron Bay hinterland and found ourselves at the Minyon Falls in the Nightcap National Park.

The scenery is spectaular.

As we were enjoying the views I noticed a young lady playing what appeared to be an oriental style bamboo flute.  The music was quite ethereal.

Given that I had recently set myself the task of  photographing  fifty strangers , I asked her if it was ok to make a photograph together.

She agreed, played a few more notes as I made the image, then after saying "thanks" she was off into the forest.

The last we saw of her was at some distance standing in the middle of the river just above the falls playing her music.

All in all it was a strange encounter.

If you find yourself in the forest near the Minyon Falls and you hear a strange music on the wind, keep an eye out for Indigo.

She may still be around.

Stay safe.

From a Budgie to a Vulture, and some things in between

Welcome,

One of my big loves other than photography is music. Always have, always will love it.

Whether it is belting out in the car or going around in my head, I always seem to have it going on somewhere.

Lindsey Buckingham and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac

Lately it seems a lot of 'older' acts have decided the time is ripe to tour and let a new generation of fans see them in concert. Naturally if it is someone I have always liked I will grab a ticket and see the show. This is usually done in company of my daughter Cat.

In 2009 we saw Leonard Cohen, Simon and Garfunkle, Budgie and Fleetwood Mac. I have enjoyed their music since my youth and have waited many years to see them in concert.

Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac with John McVie on bass and an obscured Mick Fleetwood on drums

I guess the only downside to seeing these concerts is that unless you are an accredited photographer, you have a heck of a time trying to get decent shots. Security are all over anyone with what they perceive to be a 'pro' outfit.

At the Fleetwood Mac concert they were even going into the crowd to hassle people with point and shoot cameras. Security claimed that it was at the band's request, but the band didn't seem to mind when those at front of stage were shooting.

Budgie didn't care - you could go for it as long as you respected the request not to use flash. A great attitude. Here is founder and bass player Burke Shelly getting close with crowd.

Still, the feeble minded folk who run the venues have to do something to make themselves feel superior I guess. Give us all a break folks. It does no-one any harm. No one is going to make a killing selling any shots of a group from the back of an auditorium! For what it is worth, many P&S cameras have longer effective lenses than the ones serious photographers have to sneak in to the venue.

Anyway - enough of that gripe.

This week I flew to Perth with Cat and Jess, her friend. The concert this time was "Them Crooked Vultures" a new 'supergroup' consisting of Josh Homme from "Queens of the Stone Age", Dave Grohl from "Foo Fighters" and "Nirvana" and John Paul Jones from "Led Zeppelin".

The concert was LOUD, HEAVY and most enjoyable. Fairly QOTSA with a deal of LZ influence combined with industrial strength steroids!

John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl and Josh Homme. JPJ is playing a custom 'slide bass'

Having waited since about 1972 to see John Paul Jones in concert there was no way I was going to miss the first Australian date of this band. It was not disappointing. Amazing things can happen when very talented people get together in a creative sense and if they park their egos at the door.

John Paul Jones on keyboards

Let's hope that their first album is not their last and this tour not the last either.

Whatever your taste in music - enjoy it to the fullest, and as always,

Stay safe.