Do any of you remember the performance stage at Australia’s Wonderland? Hanna Barbera characters would bounce around singing and dancing, a surreal ventriloquist act of commercial cliches? Your friend’s mum would make you sit down and watch, as she’d reminiscence her lost youth, while the Bush Beast and Demon taunted you in the distance?

Well watching the back-to-back live performance of pop sensations, Ke$ha and (more importantly) Rogue Traders took me back there. A pastiche of all things cool in kids world, smacked together into one big musical extravaganza.

Mindi was very talented, a great dancer, definitely great to shoot, captivating and engaging with the crowd, but what with her pantomime dance moves and big cheesy grins, I couldn’t help but think, should a band clearly appealing to teenyboppers be so sexualised? But then hey, when I was that age I was doing dance recitals to Madonna’s Erotica, Salt’n'Pepper’s Let’s Talk About Sex. And my personal favourite, Prince’s Get Off! 22 positions in one night.

Ke$ha’s band looked like the Ukranian covers band of Peaches come Pirates of the Caribbean The Musical. Dressed up in a PVC Evil Knieval type jumpsuit, teamed with parachute boots, feathers and sparkles, it was a very now post-modern mish-mash of a sight, without any irony (or so it seems). But, them yankees can certainly put on a show. Despite being pushed away from the photo-pit by a monster of a security guard, and being somewhat disillusioned with the naive and blatant appropriation of so many pop icons and idols, I was impressed with the gusto at which they performed, coming to a bang of an end when hundreds of thousands of gold streamers were catapulted out into the crowd.

Anyway, perhaps these photos will show what I am trying to say….kid’s today!

And so we continue the epic saga that is Big Day Out #100.

The dapper young fellas who are the Horrors, impeccably clad in St Augustine Academy threads played a flawlessly effortless set. I did a shoot with the mastermind behind St Augustine last year for Academy for Men, you can check it out here.

And then the rain came. I would have liked to have been shooting Dizzy Rascal at this moment, but, what with $15000 worth of gear on me, I was stuck under shelter, photographing the wet punters.

Kasabian brought all the kids to the mosh pit, with less head banging, more screaming and swooning.

Mars Volta were on fire. You can tell these boys have had many years practice.

Powderfinger were up next. I shot their press shots a couple of months ago, you can check them out here. (I got a wave from a couple of the boys onstage; it made my day).

Muse were as epic as one would expect, if I closed my eyes, it was like playing Guitar Hero really really loudly. Damn fine musicians.

And lastly, Peaches. My Gosh Peaches, you are truly amazing. You are all good things Berliner, with a New York accent. You were the perfect way to end the 100th Big Day Out. You never cease to amaze.

And here are some other random pics, just in case I haven’t uploaded enough already.

My old mates Bluejuice, never one to disappoint on the performance front donned themselves in extra skin tight yellow jump suits. Like schizophrenic bees they buzzed around the stage, amping the crowd up for the rest of the day.

Karnivool took me by surprise. I really only went in to photograph the crowd, but as soon as the lead singer, Ian Kenny waltzed out donned in Avatar 3D glasses and a short sleeve shirt buttoned right up, looking very akin to the Mormans we all try to avoid at Town Hall. He was incredible. Mesmerizing. I couldn’t take my eyes, or my camera off of him. Later I saw Ian in the bar, he had his glasses off, and the Morman shirt was gone. No urge to take any more shots. Amazing act to catch if you can.

Mastodon was next. And as much as I wanted to fix my camera on the multitude of tattoos that adorned the aging metalheads, I couldn’t help but turn my camera around and focus on the incredibly captivated audience.*

Next up was Passion Pit. What with the hype they have received over the past few months, the crowd was hungry, and the young men from Massachusetts put on a great show. The guitarist stole the show for me, while the lead singer looked a little like a younger, shorter Nick Littlemore, without the crazy stage antics.

Lily Allen sauntered onto the main-stage donned in a tropical flourish, shaking her bootie across the stage, making all the photographers day. Apparently there was some nipple action later, however all photographers were gone by this stage….

Ah Devendra, wow, what a show. AND the voice. What an incredible combination of rich falsetto, impeccable good looks, home-made tattoos, nonchalant style. Not many men can wear skinny white jeans, sing like an angel and still have all the girls swooning. Devendra does it, yes he does.

And so part i comes to a close, here is a little teaser of what is left to come.

*It’s Mastodon, not Mastedon. Mastodon is not a Christian Rock band. Mastedon is.

This year’s BDO is very exciting, as on the second day of the Sydney show we will be celebrating the 100th show! No doubt something pretty cool will be lined up for this… my bet is as good as yours, but guaranteed I’ll be there to snap away when it is revealed.

Here is a link to my BDO pics from 2008. It’s always an epic day, racing between the 8 stages, 3 songs no flash etc etc, it’s a real work out!

I am lucky enough to have a two day pass this year. Thinking of dedicating one day to the crowd, and the second day to the music.

And some respite from all that ass….

Anyway, here are some shots of the boys at Homebake, the Take40 gig at the EQ, followed by a couple of the press shots I took of them up in Queensland in September. Hope you enjoy.

This shot is our homage to the above shot, with the addition of me

Oh, and this is a shot of Bernard and Daniel (Silverchair) for my first Jmag cover, 2 years ago.

So, when they announced their tour in Australia, I got my pals at Drum to hit me up with a photo-pass. Here are the shots from their highly theatrical show at the Manning Bar in March. Sadly, they did not play Wraith, so I went home, put my camera down, pressed play, closed my eyes and danced around the house like nothing mattered in the world.

I swear my beautician has these exact same slippers.

And fur stole

This girl was incredible. Rigor mortis crow perched on her sailor hat, her silhouette dancing to the obscurity that is Of Montreal. A very artistic crowd indeed.

I had the pleasure of shooting the lovely Lily last week. Firstly for MCM Studios, where she had an interview with Ruby Rose for MTV and performed a few of her latest songs, and then the next day, across the road at the Horden Pavilion for her live show.

The last time I saw her play was some 4 years ago, at a secret gig at Club 77. Since then she has kicked off her sneakers and slipped into slinky heels. Although I resent her glamming it up a bit (i loved her sneakers and frocks, and fuck-off attitude), I guess we have all grown up sometime. She was a sweetie in the interview, very witty, and that voice of hers is just as juicy as ever.

Anyway, here are some shots from both events.

I don’t think I should write anything for this blog. She seems to have a pretty serious crew of heavies and lawyers surrounding her, so…. enjoy the pics.

Love her or hate her, she puts on a good show.

Shot @ Live Lounge, Sydney 11th May 2009

The SCG was filled to the rafters with a particularly friendly crowd. There were your die hard fans squished at the front of the pit, but there was minimal pushing and shoving. The crowd-surfers weren’t your standard larrikans or first aid patients, but teen-bopper girls smiling away as they were hand delivered within spitting-distance of their idols on stage.

Speaking of idols….

Coldplay started the day. Which was great, the whole crowd was there as soon as the concert kicked off.

John Farnham joined Chris Martin on stage to sign “Your the Voice.” 40 000 people chanting along, I was surprised the kids knew it! None the less, they loved it. Sentimental for an era long before their time.

Wolfmother followed, with their new line-up. Andrew Stockdale pulling the same charismatic Zeplin moves as before. They really amped the crowd up.

The keyboardist had a rather Jesus-like look about him

Hoodoo Gurus. My oh my! The way they held the crowd and moved on stage was incredible. I can only but imagine them some 20 years ago. On fire. The guitarist was like a Fabio of the rock world. Tight white pants, red shirt and some of the oldest and greatest moves in the books.

Architecture in Helskini were as quirky as always. There was a flood of girls crowd-surfing and doing the whirlwind.

You am I followed. Tim Rogers was looking mighty fine. Though something was wrong. I turned around, and the kids who had been screaming two minutes ago were standing there, staring at the ripped Tim, mute. I asked them if they had heard of You am I, and they harmonized a no. Unbelievable. After a bit of encouragement from me, the girls started cheering and dancing around, screaming ‘we love you!’ that was my good deed for the day.

The gorgeous Josh Pyke came out next, excited to play to the largest crowd he had ever performed to.

I actually spent more time wandering around the crowd shooting whatever caught my eye…

And then suddenly the sky opened up and the entire crowd ran for shelter (bar the 50 die hard fans of Marcia Hines who stuck it out at the front).

The clouds then parted as Taylor Swift pranced on stage.

At first clad in loose jeans and t-shirt, I thought that I would try and look past her music, and give her a chance. But then, off with the modesty and on with the show….

I turned around and spoke to my teen friends whom I had earlier educated in You am I, and asked them what they thought. They said they loved her. I asked why. They said she was sweet. I asked them if they knew what feminism was, and lets just say, I did my second deed for the day. Budding little Germaine Greers I made out of them. Swift’s fanbase is down by ten.

Then some great Aussie rock started to heal my ears and eyes.

Jet were restyled and looking as great as they sounded.

And Eskimo Joe seemed to have the same stylist on board; Kav wearing a gypsie vest and white jeans with rocker finesse.

All in all it was a great day. The crowd was one of the best crowds I have ever come accross (might have something to do with the ‘no alcohol policy’ in the pit, and I still have a treasure chest of shots to upload. So keep tuned.