Yeah!

Photos by Nick Zinner.

Photo Credit: Modular Facebook

Yeah Yeahs Yeahs are heading back to Australian shores this summer, but so far no New Zealand shows have been announced. I'm holding my breath, but we're kinda running out of time here. And looking at their touring dates on myspace, they don't have much time to pop across for a gig or two. Not good, not good.

I would love to see my favourite band again. Back in 2006 I entered a competition to win a ticket to their Auckland show. I wrote a detailed essay which linked Gold Lion (in very, very loose ways and completely tongue-in-cheek) with some kind of treasure hunt to find the meaning of life. Or something. It's hard to explain. Anyway, I was told they read it and loved it. I'd love to actually sit down and talk to them about it.... well, a girl can dream.

Hobo Gestapo: Afternoon delight

I have featured Hobo Gestapo and its brilliant gang of photographers on In Ghost Colours a couple of times before - if you still haven't added the site to your bookmarks yet, I suggest you change that quick smart! 

Is Hobo Gestapo's Artemis working for Rusty? How else could you explain the styling in these photos:

Anyone have any answers?

This House is a Circus

Nat Lynn Photography

Cold After Midnight

By Darren Mc-Donald, here (be sure to check out all the amazing Hannah Glasby photos too)

Carpe Diem

Photo from The Cobrasnake

I Put a Spell on You

As soon as I heard the first dial tones of U.R.A. Fever and the Kills walked on stage, I knew that the gig was going to be amazing. Stalking and circling each other like feral cats, VV and Hotel put on a performance that was one of the best I have seen in a looong time. The crowd was electric, everyone was dancing and having a good time. It had been four long years since the Kills last visited our antipodean shores and Melbourne was definitely glad to have them back, even if it was just for a night. The drought was over! Let's celebrate. I would say that the show was phenomenal, but I could tell that it was nothing out of the ordinary for the Kills who put on an extraordinary show every night. 

Their rise in popularity has been gradual (and perhaps even further boosted by Jamie's relationship with Kate Moss) but all their successes are well deserved. Before Cut Copy's In Ghost Colours came out, Midnight Boom was my favourite album of 2008 and I still listen to it regularly. I might even go as far to say it's my favourite of their albums. Key word being might. Their live performance is renowned for being rock n roll at its best: it's all about the intensity, the grit, the drugs and the sex. You really don't know it until you see it. 

Alison whips her hair around, clearly still enjoying the songs they must have played hundreds of times by now. She lit up a cigarette numerous times throughout the night, sometimes only having the chance to take two puffs between songs before she had to stub it out. What is it about beautiful girls and cigarettes that makes smoking look so darn (dare I say it?) ... cool?

Jamie was standing closest to me and I really enjoyed watching him distort the sounds coming out of his guitar. Sometimes he rapped on the guitar with his knuckles so hard that the strap fell off. 

No doubt the highlight of the night was in the middle of the set when they put their mic stands in the centre of the stage so they were facing each other as they sang. It was clear that this was a regular part of their show, to play up their reputation and to stir rumours, but the crowd loved it none the less. The best part came at the end of Last Day of Magic when Alison leaned over and kissed Jamie on the lips. I nearly died.

It was interesting seeing a band play without a drum kit, but the drum machine thingy worked well and I was so focused on watching Jamie and Alison that I never really noticed its absence anyway. There's no room and they don't need it. All of that sexual tension takes up the whole stage and a drummer would only feel left out as the two front people teased and flirted with each other. 

Now that I have seen them live, I know that next time they are in the same city as me I will do anything to see them perform again. I really wish I hadn't let a small thing like being underage stop me from seeing them last time.

Because I was on the far left of the stage, the side lighting often thwarted my attempts to take a photo. But sometimes they made a cool effect, like this one.

Moments before the kiss...

I love this moment. Jamie played the wrong part, again.

When I saw Alison come back onstage wearing this floral blazer, I knew I had to find one for myself.

I seem to have developed quite the gift for getting set lists. I thought I saw the girl next to me brace herself to jump on stage and as the Kills were walking off stage so I told her if she wanted it, I would give her a lift up. She looked at me, horrified by the idea and said I could have it. I didn't hesitate, and crawled across the stage to get it, pissing off the roadies on the way. I probably should be embarrassed by my actions but hey, I really wanted it and I wasn't going to let anything stop me.

From where I was standing, I could see straight into the backstage area. Louis XIV (who were not noteworthy) stuck around after their set, a couple of beautiful girls were making them laugh. I recognised the bassist from the Killers amongst the people backstage and I told a girl next to me, "The Killers are backstage!" She looked at me as if I was the stupidest person ever and said, her words dripping with animosity, "... The Kills." Before rolling her eyes. "Uuum, no I just saw the bassist from the Killers... "

The Ladies of Dogtown

More beautiful photography from Hobo Gestapo's Artemis:

Are they the same girls from these Cobrasnake photos?

You can read their blogs here and here

I Want you to be Crazy cause you're Boring Baby when you're Straight

Last Wednesday the Kills played at the San Francisco Bathhouse in Wellington. A lot of my friends went and told me of how good it was later. It hurt my heart knowing I was unable to party to this fantastic band with some of my favourite friends. In the lead up to the gig, I heard from numerous people that Kate Moss was rumoured to be coming to Wellington for the gig. I laughed it off, saying it was impossible because of the opening of the New York Topshop store, but secretly I hoped it wouldn't happen otherwise it could have been my first strike against Melbourne! I will be going to see them this Friday in Melbourne, but it would have been cooler to see them in Wellington, with my closest friends and at a relatively intimate venue like SFBH. I could almost imagine I was there, thanks to some photos that were up on Neon Sleep.

This photo reminds me of one time a few years ago when I was being lead through the back corridors of Auckland's St. James, only to come across Nick Zinner smoking in his dressing room. The law had just gone through a few months previous, but he didn't care. Nick Zinner and Alison Mosshart: Quintessential rockstars.

I have been searching for that perfect leopard print coat for years now. Turns out VV had it the whole time. Yeah, she's a minx.

I know they're not actually kissing but still, Kate who? I hear there is some intense on-stage chemistry that goes on between these two. Meow! I can't wait to hear No Wow, Cheap and Cheerful and Black Balloon live.

Dark of the Matinee

These days it's rare to go to a gig or high-profile party without there being at least half a dozen photographers on hand to capture the night's revelry. Buzzing around like flies, the photographers bring light to the dark corners and seedy characters, take snapshots of beautiful girls on the dancefloor and help remind the drunk of the previous night's activities. Some of these photos end up in a blurry and overexposed facebook photo album, others surface on public 'party photography' sites for the whole world to see.

Since The Cobrasnake first became popular, there have been hundreds of imitators. Some point and shoot in a mechanical fashion, others have evolved past the Cobrasnake comparisons and are creating art with their night time photography. Australia's Hobo Gestapo would be of the latter. 

Created in late 2006, a group of photographers set about capturing the happenings at Sydney and Melbourne's best club nights and gigs. Now with 10 photographers contributing to the site with photos coming in from around Australia and also New York City, what sets Hobo Gestapo apart from the rest is that each photographer has their own signature style. Hobo, the site's founder and New York photographer told New York Magazine: "We want to steer clear of taking party pictures and being labeled like that because this is more about documentation. We don’t just toss anything up there; we have a real editing process to create a consistent narrative." This is evident in each night's album, where only a handful of photos are uploaded, thus eliminating the tedious task of scrolling through amateurish shots before finding that one good photograph (as is common with many party photography sites).  Hobo Gestapo is more like an art gallery than their contemporaries - I want prints of each photo. And as for their name, Hobo adds: "I know the name Hobo Gestapo seems like it could be offensive, but it’s not meant to be. It just sounded completely nonsensical, so I went with it." 

Here are some of my favourites that were uploaded on the Hobo Gestapo site over the summer:

Photo credit: The Kid

The Kid

The Kid

Photo credit: Carlito

Carlito

Photo credit: Artemis

Artemis

Artemis

Artemis

Artemis

Artemis