Saturday, October 29, Foundry on Whyte hosted their first (and hopefully annual) Halloween Homecoming! I had been looking forward to this show for a few months after my friend Jon asked me to shoot it.
Here’s the thing about Jon:
We have similar taste in music.
He is passionate about bringing that music to Edmonton.
And he (for some reason) always invites me to come along for the ride.
He runs events at Foundry (and runs Sour Cherry Cult!!) and it was exciting to see his vision come to life with this night of heavy music and spooky costumes.
LA rock band Starcrawler was the headliner of the night with some incredible alberta-based openers: from Edmonton; we had pop princess Robin Cisek, indie-punk band Stem Champ, psychadelic rock band Tebby & The Heavy, and from Calgary, alt-rock band Exit Division.
When Foundry hosted Starcrawler back in April, I had never shot a show but knew that it’s where I wanted to go with my photography. To prepare, I started listening to their music (and you should, too!) and googling what I could expect from their live performances.
One thing stuck out – possibly getting blood spat on me???
??
???!?!
Okay, I’m in.
Here are some shots from that night in April:
The show was intimate and the lighting was bad, but I made do and I left that night feeling ALIVE!! I had not seen a disgusting rock show like that in far too long and I wanted more!!!
Right after their show in Edmonton, they started on a short run opening for Jack White (excuse me?) and then went on to tour with My Chemical Romance…. . . . . .
Halloween Homecoming
Starcrawler’s performance was the highlight of the night. They have incredible stage presence and really interact with the crowd, even if it’s sassy as hell. Since this was a halloween show, they were all dressed up, and most notably, lead guitarist Henri Cash was Elvira and I think he really had some people fooled. Cash and front woman, Arrow DeWilde, are entertaining and fun, while the rest of the band kind of just stands and plays. They can’t all be wild.
Arrow is able to flip through her voice so effortlessly, and all while creeping around the stage and thrashing her body around. Very very Rock n’ Roll.
Doing their merch was fun for me – I am totally a sales person and talking to fans that were stoked to be seeing them in an intimate setting made for easy banter. I love excited music fans.
All this to say, I am officially ready to be taken on tour to manage merch & photograph you and your band. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you. 🙂
The venue – Foundry on Whyte
Being involved in a local music event like Halloween Homecoming was a total no brainer for me, and while all of the bands absolutely killed it and made for a really fun night – Foundry was not the right venue. They’re always challenging me with their lighting choices and for this show, they brought in a narrow spotlight. I could not capture the entire stage and I spent a lot of time adjusting my camera from one extreme to the other. Nothing any photographer couldn’t manage, but I would love to see this improve.
And you’re probably thinking “well, bad lighting is ok as long as the sound is good.”
🙂
There have been sound issues at every Foundry show I have been to and this night was no different. And I don’t mean the occasional feedback, I mean like the lead singer’s mic randomly cutting out every few seconds for a band’s entire set. Music fans notice these things and it sets a weird vibe as everyone glances at each other like “…really?” It’s unacceptable and awkward.
If Foundry on Whyte ever hopes to be a reputable music venue, they need to prioritize this and either hire a professional sound-tech or get their people properly trained.
And to end this post on a high
I am now Exit Division’s biggest fan. They are each incredibly talented musicians and I am always blown away when I get to see them perform – I think the drummer is 17 or 18 years old? It’s stupid. If you like strong & dynamic vocals and ripping bass lines, give them a listen and let me know what you think.
Bye!