Wow, what a night! I was thrilled to see Australia's rockabilly/punk powerhouse The Living End kick off their US tour at Mesa's Nile Theater. It's been over a decade since the trio has performed in the Phoenix metro area and much of the West Coast.
I know it's rare for me to post photos the night of a show, but I wanted to get these pictures up ASAP, because I'm sure folks who are going to see TLE perform on this tour are eager for some feedback.
The band played a good balance of old and new songs. The first batch of songs was "Second Solution," "Roll On," and "Pictures in the Mirror," which was pretty amazing. My only complaint was that Chris Cheney's vocals seemed to be a little low compared to the rest of the mix. I've seen this happen a lot with bands kicking off their tours in Phoenix then heading to California, though, so I wouldn't be too concerned!
PEARS: Photo by Melissa Fossum
I did something crazy at this show. PEARS and Direct Hit! were playing in the basement, so I ran back and forth between both shows. I had seen Direct Hit! live before and I am consistently impressed. This was my first time seeing PEARS and it was a good reminder as to why I got into punk photography in the first place. It was amazing to stand near the singer and capture the moment as the crowd went wild for the band's Ramones cover.
Without further ado, check out my slideshow!
Now I'm looking forward to getting a few hours of sleep before work tomorrow. Was it worth it? Absolutely. If The Living End has not sold out their tour date in your city yet, I would highly recommend getting tickets.
See you in the photo pit.