Night Lights: Weekend Wrapup Jan. 14-17
It’s going to take a while for the afterglow from the Tool concert to wear off. They’ve been one of my favorite bands for years, and I’m well aware that it was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me to cover, photograph and attend one of Tool’s famous live shows. It was relatively tame in terms of crowd reaction, though, and I heard that a lot of people were kept in line so long they missed part of the concert. (If you want to read my live tweets from the concert, take a look at my @chant808 feed on Twitter.)
All weekend, I’ve been getting people coming up to me or writing and saying “I couldn’t go, but I was living the concert vicariously through you” or “That was a hell of a show, wasn’t it?” Even during the concert, there was a surprising response on Twitter. I think I got commentary from at least five people in the building, with many others who weren’t at the concert responding. On the one hand, it kind of begs the question of whether Twitter distracts from or enhances real life experiences. On the other… it was just neat to share a simultaneous real-life experience with so many other people I may have never met.
The concert experience itself was satisfyingly intense. It’s obvious Tool is a punctual and professional touring band; they started precisely at 8:30 p.m. and played until about 10:30 p.m., no openers, no messing around. We did get to see a special guest, Metallica’s lead guitarist, Kirk Hammet, tear it up with a mind-blowing guitar solo in the middle of “Lateralus.”
The two professional photogs (myself and Jason G. from the Star-Advertiser) were only allowed to shoot for the first song, but it was enough to get some good pics, and capture the amazing visuals:
Tool @ Blaisdell Arena
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A mesmerized crowd filled Blaisdell Arena Friday evening for a concert with Grammy Award-winning rock band Tool. The band, known for their mind-blowing visuals and intense live shows, opened with little fanfare and played for two straight hours.Photos were allowed for the first song only.
Still basking in the afterglow of the Tool concert, I headed downtown to Mercury Bar, where Atlanta, GA band Black Lips were playing a sort-of secret show in conjunction with Sailor Jerry’s anniversary, hosted by Better Brands. Word had gotten out via Facebook earlier, though, and the place was packed.
That show was pretty tight too, with the band delivering over an hour of their catchy brand of “flower-punk,” and despite their reputation, not throwing up once. Here’s the gallery:
Then I headed over to BambuTwo and The Venue, and found out The Deadbeats were just about to go on. I couldn’t miss those guys either… they’re still on my list of “sexiest bands in Hawaii.”
The boys from The Deadbeats had a busy weekend, with this concert at The Venue and opening for Common at Blaisdell.
Saturday afternoon, I went shopping for some white pants. Although it’s my prerogative as a photographer to wear black all the time (har har), I felt like if I didn’t dress up for Flash & Matty Boy’s Final White Party, it’d be rude. Especially with so many sexy people going all-out in theme:
I still remember 2009’s White Party at The W. It was absolutely packed, DJ Graham Funke was spinning, and the energy was just incredible.
Maybe it’s a sign of the times then, that Saturday’s White Party wasn’t nearly as well-attended, and the crowd not quite as excited as I had expected.
I asked Matty why they had decided to officially end the White Party. “Theme parties with a strict dress code aren’t such a big deal anymore,” he said. “Everybody’s doing them, and that’s why we decided it was time for this one to end. But we wanted to go out with a bang.”
He made it clear though that he and Flash aren’t done with theme parties entirely. They’ll still be doing their Glitter & Glamor parties, and some other special events you should keep an eye out for.
Sunday I had to check out the Lei-Over, a much-hyped party at thirtyninehotel hosted by promoters from The Do Over party in Los Angeles. Known for their epic parties and surprise special guests, it’s no wonder that they’ve got such a good following, or that such a big crowd of mixed LA and local peeps showed up on a rainy Sunday evening. The party really got going around 5:30 p.m., and continued for the rest of the night. Turns out the special guests were soul singer/rapper Aloe Blacc and Los Angeles boogie funk legend DJ Dam Funk, but one of the coolest highlights of the evening was a marriage proposal. Congrats to the happy couple, who met at a Do Over party in LA five years ago, and got engaged at one!
Awwww!
Here’s the rest of the gallery, including a rare shot (it’s somewhere in there) of the ENTIRE Nocturnal Sound Krew together in one place at the same time:
Thanks for reading, guys! A couple things coming up this week: SOJA live in concert at The Waterfront, The Mercury Bar’s 7th Anniversary… and more!
