Articles

Wall of Rock 2011

Chris Milne
Published on 05 January 2012

The Wall Of Rock is an event concentrating on music of the local youth community.  Currently in its second year and expected to continue on as an annual event it has seen large success in an area devoid of much live music.  So with my cousin playing in one of the bands and me looking to attempt gig photography for a first time I was looking forward to the event with anticipation!  After all, music and photograhy are two of my favourite hobbies in life.

The event is held over two days, the Friday evening and all day Saturday.  There is one stage, which is divided into a main stage, and a smaller acoustics stage on the back of it.  Then after a band has finished playing, an acoustic set it played to hold a fluency of music throughout the event which worked very well and kept the audience entertained - which they were!

So I got down there early to see my cousin's band's set - Peruvia as they kicked off the main stage at 12.30.  The sun was shining and for such an early start there were plenty of people down there!  I was quite nervous about doing the photography as I didn't have a pass and my Tamron 70-300mm can struggle in places which are dark (stages) and places which suffer from a large exposure different (stages/outside) so I bumped up the ISO and hoped for the best.  I had taken my Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 with me for once as it seems to work on everyone else's camera except mine!  Fortunately, luck would have it that the shorter range you are the less that problem existed so for this event - it worked!  I had a renewed faith for the shots after find out that and started firing away!  I had also used my Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 VR during this set to get another different take so half an hour in I had already used all three of my lenses.
  
 
 
Next up was an acoustic set, and with this side of the stage being very open and the sun shining the ISO plummeted and made for much easier shooting!  It was also much easier to get different shots from because you were so close.  After that, it was back to the main stage to photograph the next band and by this time I wanted to gain access into the bit in front of the crowd to manage to take better shots so luckily for me I managed to get a pass and for all the bands after I could get unobstructed photos - excellent!
 
 
So for the next couple of hours it was back and forwards between the multiple bands and acoustic sets played firing away!  The drummer's were the hardest to photograph because they were at the back of the stage and much less light was reaching them!  Apart from that, the natural light was making it relatively easy at the high ISO I was using!  I went home for tea and to clear my memory cards before returning later for the next set of bands and for the light show which came with them!
 
 
 
When I arrived back there was a DJ set on by some locals giving the decks a bash, so I sat with a couple of friends I had bumped into it and waited till the next band came on.  In the process of waiting the natural light began to fade and the show lights started to ignite the stage with colour!  Soon enough, a band came on and with a mixture of natural light and artificial light it gave a good mix of colour and detail!  There were four bands listed to play the evening - Bittersuite, 3DR, Team Kapowski and the headliners Be Like Pablo.
 
 
 
 
After Bittersuite's amazing set of heavy rock 'n' roll spelled the end of natural light as stage lights began to take control!  And the lighting show - a mixture of intense and soft colours, a variety of colours and lazers -  which was twinned with the excellent music on display set the scene for an excellent show!  With 3DR playing a superb set of covers which sent the audience crazy we arrived at our final two acts - Team Kapowski and Be Like Pablo.
 
 
 
 
Unfortunately, technical problems came into play and delayed the show for about half an hour and Team Kapowski and the Wall of Rock staff tried their hardest to get the show back on the road.  Fortunately Team Kapowski managed an improvised set which was full of crowd interaction but the delay had had an impact and took away some of the crowd.  However, those who lingered about for the Team Kapowski and a Be Like Pablo were treated to a superb show!  Be Like Pablo, an excellent band from Forres which have even played at Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival 2011, and who were limited in both time and instruments managed to pull off a 4-song climax end in style what had been an excellent two days for all present.
 
 
 
 
 
 
A big well done really has to go out to the event organisers, and the many staff present over the two days to ensure it all went to plan.  Also to the police who successfully helped provide a trouble-free atmosphere and praised the event for its excellent nature.  The bands all also deserve a notable mention for entertaining people with their own free time and putting on an amazing show!  Finally, to all those attended who made sure that the show had success and will hopefully make a return next year - well done!
 
So, till next year!
 
 

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