An evening you can only dream of.........

In my top 5 of In Session Live evenings was last Sunday thanks primarily to the Van Susans but also because of Steph Stephenson and Matt Bentley.

What a perfect, perfect evening of stupendous talent and tunes.

Let me set the scene: Half term week was looming, so people were in and out of the Forum and we were starting to build a bit of momentum. The Van Susans had arrived earlier than anticipated.

How to describe Van Susans?- Professional, lovely, hard working. They had driven all the way from London for one night to play at In Session Live and had to then drive back the same night. We couldn't have asked for any more, well except that they be good at what they do. They were more than good at what they do.




I don't think my boss will mind me saying but after the band's first warm up and line test at the beginning of the evening, (which they got a random round of applause from the crowd for & proceeded to look very confused by) my boss then and there pounced on them to ask if they'd come back to be our guest band for the Yorkshire Unplugged finals. That's how good they are.





















Anyway, i shall depart, for a moment, from the Van Susan love in that this is turning into and talk a little about two other artists who I had not come across before but who are totally note worthy.








Steph Stephenson and Matt Bentley have an incredible dynamic on stage. They play both together and individually and I was so impressed with them both.







I especially enjoyed their song 'The King of Leeds' but there was something about Matt's individual performance which was very emotional and from the heart and I'd pay to see those guys again. You have to check them both out when you can.




So we were all extremely happy with Steph and Matt's performances and not knowing at that point what the Van Susans were going to add to the mix we were already having an enjoyable evening, boosted by the extra numbers of half term stragglers and people come to see our London based Van Susans.




......then they play. Yowsa!

 
 Its difficult to describe but we were mesmerised from start to finish in lyrical and rhythmic abundance. They were so together and their tunes so catchy, helped by Olley the lead singer having one unbelievable voice.

Let me tell you, I've been listening to their EP 'We could be Scenery' all week as well as assorted album songs from 'Paused in the Middle'. When I went to hang out with some of the guys from In Session Live last night I noticed they had the Van Susans playing in their car and it tuned out we'd all be hooked since Sunday. This doesn't happen often!

http://www.vansusans.com/   (just sayin)

#ChaChaBang and #Plans a couple of my fave from the EP.

Beards, Beauty and the Beats

I missed a blog!....yesterday's pre In Session Live blog to be precise and now I feel all discombobulated having to write about the week that proceeds last night when last night is so very fresh and awesome in my mind!

If last week's In Session Live hadn't been a particularly good one I wouldn't put myself through this but I feel you guys need to know how it went so here we go.

For the night of the 10th of Feb 2013 the acts were as follows:

Andy Stewart - http://www.myspace.com/myscreamingbrain
Emily Stancer - http://www.myspace.com/theemilystancerband
Adam Pond - http://adampond.com

Firstly there were no photography disasters this eve :) Two acts stood upright and one act sat to play which gave me some good variety for the photos.

Andy Stewart was my wildcard this eve.

 

Take a peek at his bio and you'll see why:

How to describe our first In Session Live artist ANDY STEWART? Maybe as: 'A reckless series of cautionary tales accompanied by a ukulele driven at speeds of up to 100 miles an hour. Bring your own seatbelt'? Well our favourite way is 'Unmissable': 8pm, The Forum Sunday..... and if you can't wait try and bit of this:

Stewart needs a receptive audience as he likes to joke with the crowd amidst performing his songs which he does to the timeless tones of the Ukulele  It was the second time I've seen him perform and he did not disappoint.

Emily Stancer was our beautiful musical angel that eve. 

She has a very lovely tone to her voice and there is nothing so sexy as a girl who can sing and play the guitar well. I just loved having a luminous, good looking lady to photograph to break up the beardy man photos from the evening.

 

Finally, Adam Pond was our headliner. If you don't know Adam and you're from Yorkshire or Manchester then I'm shocked! This is Adam:

For our headline act this evening we are extremely lucky to have Adam Pond. Described as one to watch in 2013, Adam reached the semi final of Open Mic UK and won best original song.
He has been regularly championed by BBC Radio Sheffield Introducing &
he'll be performing his latest EP 'She Likes Birds' tonight. Come and say hi- 8pm this evening the forum.

A poor Adam turned up full of cold yet like a total pro he was lovely to everyone and just got on with his job. It was the first time I'd heard him play live and I was very impressed. What a stunning voice, stage presence and what emotion!

You need to go and see this guy if you've not already.


I was extremely pleased with the outcome of the evening as everyone seemed to really love the acts and more importantly my photos. Adam has even asked for the high res files to put  a little album together, as has Emily :) 

In Session for the boobies

Last week's In Session Live was a beaut!

To start we regretfully had an act pull out which did not go down well with the big man......but to my mind I think this was serendipity as I don't think they would have pulled off the acoustic, paired back set we had asked them for and this would have made more than just the boss quite unhappy. Plus we got more time and emphasis on our two stars of the evening.

Before I continue I do want to say that our no show band are meant to be the business when they play their high octane socks off and I personally look forward to catching them performing in Sheffield soon. So if you know who I'm on about I'd  look them up.

So, the evening was still awesome and that was entirely thanks to two truely talented male singer songwriters, the first Sam Harrison and the second Nathan Brumley.

I do love it when we get some real talent on the go. Both men had gorgeous voices and sang with real emotion and the two things don't often go hand in hand.

Whereas Sam's songwriting and singing was passionate yet serious in tone, Nathan was a bit of joker with some comedy songs and together they gave us a diverse night of music.

One of my highlights being Nathan's 'in it for the boobies'.

https://soundcloud.com/zappnath/in-it-for-the-boobies


Tonight should be an absolute classic and I don't shy away from calling you an absolute moron if you miss it:

https://www.facebook.com/events/334959376609040/

8pm and free!!!
The Forum
Division St
Sheffield




..........................................................photos.................................................
Sam Harrison

https://www.facebook.com/samharrisonofficial?fref=ts

Nathan Brumley

http://www.myspace.com/zappbrannigans

My Favourite In Session Live so far

In Session Live has been running since September. I've attended most of them as a photographer and enjoyed all of them without fail.

There is however one In Session Live that has to be my favourite so far. It was November the 18th and we were extremely lucky to have the legend that is Steve Papa Edwards curate our show.



Briefly:

"Steve Edwards is simply, one of the most successful singer/songwriters in electronic dance music today. Steve is considered to be one of the truly global voices of house music. As one of the few artists in house music worldwide to enjoy massive & sustained crossover success, Steve has had many worldwide top 10 & number 1 hits which include Watch The Sunrise, Sound Of Violence, Listen to the Voice Inside, DYOT, Together, Helter Skelter & of course World Hold On. Steve has received 2 US Grammy nominations & won the award for the biggest selling dance record at the World Music Awards in London 2007"

....anyway, Steve picked his favourite artists from the Sheffield music scene to perform that evening and support him. It was here I was introduced to the immensly talented and lovely Emily Irleland aka: See Emily Play and one of my now favourite artists Ian Britt who I have been lucky enough to do some photo shoots with recently.


 


Why was this night special? Well it just had rhythm, I mean artist after artist is was alive! Everyone was happy and smiling and it just rocked! It was also packed out which gave a great atmosphere. 

Although I include a number of the photos here it really doesn't do justice to the atmosphere created. I am yet to see Emily or Steve play again but guaranteed the next time I can I will.



You have to check out Emily Ireland. She is a prodigy of sorts and doubt anyone who's seen her in action would disagree:

https://www.facebook.com/see.play.5?fref=ts

http://www.seeemilyplaymusic.co.uk/

.....and Ian Britt; regularly played on Hollyoaks and US TV shows he has a growing UK fan base and a huge one in  Holland. He is currently recording new material.  His music has been my album of choice for weeks now:

http://ianbritt.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ianbrittmusic?fref=ts