5 Seconds of Summer: Rock With Your Socks Out Tour 2014

Ashton (2014)

In honor of today being the third year anniversity for the band, 5 Seconds of Summer, I want to share some of the photos I took during their first ever area headlining show. 5 Seconds of Summer is a pop rock band from Australia and consists of members Luke Hemmings, Michael Clifford, Ashton Irwin, and Calum Hood. They have opened up for One Direction during their Take Me Home Tour and most recently the Where We Are Tour. During this time, this band has released their self-titled debut album and multiple Eps, landing them on the top of the charts around the world. After some time as openers and doing small gigs, the band is now doing their first ever headlining world arena tour. The concert took place on November 13th, 2014, in Phoenix, Arizona and boy was it great! The set list consisted of many fan favorite songs off of their debut album such as Good Girls, Heartbreak Girl, Don't Stop, Out Of My Limit and the chart topping She Looks So Perfect. Other songs included Voodoo Doll, End Up Here, Wrapped Around Your Finger, and covers of What I Like About You and Rejects. In addition, to great music, the band had a pleasing stage with large video screens, many laser lights and a lift that rose Ashton Irwin, the drummer, up and down. The show was packed with rock music, sick guitar solos and drum solos and killer vocals. These four guys not only put on a great show, but they also had fun up there. You could see the boys smiling and laughing and thanking the crowd throughout the show for this. The crowd, mainly female, screamed and cried tears of joy and excitement. The area was electric with almost 20,000 in attendance. During each song, you could hear the crowd singing and roaring with cheer. At one point in the show, they even brought up a guitarist from a local arizonan band, Dynasty Three, who shredded on the guitar. During the encore, things go even wilder as Ashton Irwin came out shirtless and played away. The show was a great time and the closest thing to punk-rock we have in the pop market. I hoped to capture the boys passion and some of the cool staging. If you have a chance to check out 5 Seconds of Summer live, you should.    

Michael and Luke (2014)

 

Calum (2014)

Luke (2014)

Shirtless Ashton (2014)

One Direction Where We Are Tour

Group Sing (2014)

Ready To Go (2014)

Harry (2014)

For this week's post, I want to share some of my photographs taking during One Direction's latest Tour, Where We Are. One Direction is a music group that came from the wildly successful british singing show, the X Factor, and are currently the biggest boy band in the world. They have released three albums and have sold over 45 million records worldwide with a fourth album titled Four on its way this November. One Direction also known as 1D, consists of four brits: Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik and Liam Payne, and one irishmen Niall Horan. Their Where We Are Tour is one of the year's biggest and hottest concert tours and is officially coming to an end. One Direction played across the world in sold out stadiums. I attended the show in Glendale, AZ, at the University Of Phoenix Stadium. This stadium had a capacity of over 65,000 concertgoers in attendance and the show was wild. With the roof closed, the hoards of screaming and crying from the mainly female audience, was blasting.

Liam (2014)

The show started out the one of the biggest up and coming rock bands, Five Seconds of Summer. These four Australians brought a great rock element to the night and did a wonderful job gearing up the crowd for 1D. 5SOS, pronounced as 5 Sauce, performed songs from their recently released self-titled debut album. Such songs performed included She Looks So Perfect, Heartbreak Girl, and Amnesia. I will be posting some of my 5SOS photos next week.

Niall (2014)

Once 5SOS finished performing, the screaming intensified as the band for One Direction came on stage and starting playing Midnight Memories. The boys soon came on and electrified the air in the stadium. The stage was massive with mulitple screens, a long catwalk, and many rows of lights. The concert was well designed with fun color schemes and pleasing visuals that changed every song. Their setlist consisted of 23 songs, performing such hits as One Thing, Kiss You, You & I, Live While We're Young, Story Of My Life, and What Makes You Beautiful. The boys did a fantastic job providing an entertaining and satisfying show. They also took time to talk to the crowd and dance and make jokes. Highlights of the show including a massive firework show during Best Song Ever,wonderful solos including beautiful high pitch notes from Zayn Malik, well tuned harmonies, and streamers flying from the roof.

For my photographs, I wanted to capture some of the cool lighting effects and portraits of each of the boys. Each member has not only a unique voice but a performing style. I hoped to capture this and each of their personalities. I hope you all enjoy!          

Harry and Zayn (2014)

Louis (2014)

Nick Jonas On Tour 2014

Hand On Heart (2014)

Hey! I've been really busy, so I haven't posted in a while. This are some of my latest photographs I have taken. Last night, I saw Nick Jonas on his fall tour. Nick Jonas is the youngest member of the wildly successful pop group the Jonas Brothers. This November, Nick is releasing a new solo album self-titled Nick Jonas. His hit singles Chains and Jealous have been playing on the radio. The show was done in a small and inimate theatre. Nick played several new tunes such as Push, Wilderness, and Jealous, as well as some Nick Jonas and the Administration favorites Stay and Olive and Arrow. He also did covers of Crazy and Stay With Me. Nick did a wonderful job performing. His vocals were spot on and his voice was packed with such emotions. He did a great job connecting to audience members and commanding everyone's attention. He also has a talented group of musicians and back up singers supporting him. I would definitely recommend seeing him and be sure to buy his new album coming out! His new sound is much more mature than his previous music with a little bit of RnB influence. Some of his new songs are beautiful ballads about love, others will make you want to get up and dance. With my photographs, I hoped to capture his emotions and how into the music he is. When he performs, he gets deep into the music and has such a strong focus on getting every note perfect. Nick Jonas is a talented musician who is only getting better and better with age.    

Into It (2014)

Out Loud (2014)

Looking Out (2014)

Holding On Mic (2014)

A Little Smile (2014)

 

Lady Antebellum Take Me Downtown Tour

Togetherness (2014) 

Blue Mist (2014)

After some time off, I have been a little behind on posting new blog posts. For this post, I want to show off some photos I took during the Lady Antebellum Downtown Tour. I saw this tour at the end of March and it has recently been back to my state this June. This was the first time I have seen Lady Antebellum and it was quite good. Lady Antebellum is a country pop group consisting of Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood and Hillary Scott. They first appeared in the music world in 2008 with their popular hit Run To You from their self-titled album. They have released a total of four albums with well over 10 million album sales. They have also won 7 Grammy Awards and countless other music awards. The Take Me Downtown Tour is currently touring the US and the group plans on releasing a 5th album 747 sometime in September of 2014.

Deep In (2014)

Their tour is definitely one to see. The show was exciting with massive screens projecting them performing and other videos. Each song had a visual on the screens and a lighted color scheme. The stage was also quite massive, with a full band supporting the group. The group also engaged the audience and had an additional small stage away from the man stage. What made this show exciting was how well planned each song was performed. The group's performance  told stories. For example, during American Honey, the screen displayed images of the three of them as teenagers and little kids. This made the show feel more personal and connected directly to the lyrics of the song. This performance also allowed fans a glimpse into their personal lives.

Stripped Down (2014)

The group put on a full show with over 20 songs including Need You Now, Just A Kiss, We Own the Night, Golden, Goodbye Town, and covers Wake Me Up and Cups. The trio did a fantastic job getting the crowd dancing and singing along. If given the chance to see them again, I would in a heartbeat. Country singer, Kip Moore opened the show with his country songs such as Something About a Truck and Beer Money, and got the crowd energized. He went off into a funny conversation with a fan in the front row about stop filming and instagraming him the entire time that got the crowd laughing. Kip Moore was an entertaining performer and a good opener. One of the best qualities he show in his performance was his complete comfortably on stage. He did not show any nervous but instead, he looked like was having fun. With Blue Mist and Deep In, I wanted to capture this.

Massive (2014)

In my photographs of Lady Antebellum, I wanted to capture the different moods the show consisted off. Stripped Down shows the raw talent the trio possess. In this shot, Lady A simply has one red guitar and is singing; no effects, no elaborate staging. Massive shows the how big the main screen is. This wide shot also shows how big the stage is and how there are many musicians on stage. With a big screen, fans will have no problem seeing them from far away. In Blending and Togetherness, I wanted to show how Lady A does a great job performing with each other. The group has great stage presence and harmony. Lastly, Confetti shows the energetic encore. The group comes back on and confetti shoots out.              

Blending (2014)

Confetti (2014)

Rixton

Me With Rixton (2014)

Charley (2014)

Jake's Passion (2014)

For this post, I want to share some photos I took when I saw the new and upcoming British band, Rixton. Before their successful song Me and My Broken Heart hit the radio waves, Rixton toured the U.S. Rixton is made up of Jake Roche (lead singer), Danny Wilkin (piano/bass), Charley Bagnall (Guitarist) and Lewi Morgan (drums). I saw them perform at Tempe Marketplace in the beginning of March. The radio station, Kiss fm 104.7, hosted the event and Rixton performed some songs and met the fans in attendance. The performance was scheduled to be outdoors but that day there was rain and the stage was flooded. Instead, the concert was held inside the Dave and Busters. The performance was acoustic and quite intimate. These guys are great musicians and have a wonderful pop sound. Due to its intimate setting, I had to photograph around the crowd and unfortunately could not get a photograph of Lewi. I did get to met him and the other guys though! I got selfies with Danny and Lewi and a group photo will all of them. When photographing the show, I wanted to capture the guys personalities. Charley is the mysterious one, very focused on playing music. Jake is the crazy, outgoing one. Danny is the sweet, musically driven one. Lewi is the one with the beat. All of them together though are very kind, talented and great performers. They sang originals and covers. Their first ever EP, Me And My Broken Heart EP, is officially out and sold in stores and on iTunes. The band will soon be on a headlining tour through the US and Europe starting in July. Make sure to check them out!    

Charley Singing (2014)

Danny Clap (2014)

Danny (2014)

Jake (2014)

 

Me With Lewi (2014)

Me With Danny (2014)

Emblem Three and MKTO: #Bandlife

Emblem Three (2014)

Last March, I saw the band Emblem Three during their first ever headlining tour called Bandlife. Emblem Three is a pop rock band from Sequim, Washington who moved to Los Angeles. The three members are Drew Chadwick and brothers Keaton and Wesley Stromberg. In 2012, the group auditioned on the US X Factor. They ended in 4th place. Soon after, Simon Cowell singed the act on his label and they started to work on their first album Nothing To Lose. The album had descent sales and a solid fan base forming. In 2013, the album was released and they toured with Selena Gomez as an opener. Just recently, they are working independently on a second album. It will be released soon and a second tour, Fireside Story Sessions, is currently on sale for this summer. Emblem3 just released a rerecording of some of their songs called Songs From the Couch Volume 1 that is available to download on iTunes now and was number 2 on the charts. The group is very talented and has a california beach sound. It's upbeat, rocking, and passionate. During the Bandlife tour, the pop/rap group MKTO was one of their openers. MKTO is a new pop/rap group that consists of Tony Oller and Malcolm Kelley. MKTO has released their first album and has major success with their song Classic. They will be doing their first headlining tour this summer with tickets now on sale. MKTO did a great job opening the show. The two were energetic, excited and goofy. During the other opener Jackson Guthy, the two poped their heads out on the side of the curtains and waved to some fans. During their set, they got the crowd pumped up and singing along. Malcolm Kelley can rap so fast and Tony Oller has a great range. The two together make a pop sound that will make you want to dance and sing. They left the crowd wanting more. Then Emblem Three came on the stage and the crowd was roaring with screams and tears of happiness were seen all around. The three rode in on skateboards and went up a ramp. They then bursted out into song and everyone was singing along. Throughout the show, they played songs from Nothing To Lose, such as One Day, XO, Chole, and covers, Can't Hold Us and Hotel California as well as songs Indigo and Riptide from before the album. The three all have different styles of singing and performing. Drew raps, sings, plays the guitar and will lock eyes with a certain fan for long periods of time. At the show, my friend Leticia and I wore lighted necklaces and Drew kept staring at us. It was a cool moment and one I will never forget. Drew has such a big heart and is a singer I really like. Wesley, also know as Wes, has a unique loud commanding voice that he can belt out and hit high notes. He also plays the guitar and likes to run across the stage. During the show both Drew and Wes climbed on top of the speakers and towered over the crowd. Drew was even brave enough to crowd surf. Keaton plays the bass and also sings, but not as much as Drew or Wes. Keaton has a softer voice that is only used here and there, but he sure can growl. Keaton jumped off the stage to the barriers to try and shake fans hands also. All three guys connected to their fans as much as they could and tried to reach out to as many fans' hands as they could. The staging gave off a relaxed, laid back mood. Their was a couch, in which they invited a few fans to sit on for part of the show, skateboard ramps, christmas-like lights, lava lamps, surfboards and a huge E3 sign. Overall, the show was exciting, passionate and pure fun. The show ended with the group's popular song Chloe and a beautiful cover of Hotel California. In my photos I hoped to capture the different personalities and styles of performing. Enjoy the photos and go see MKTO and Emblem Three if you have the chance!

Tony (2014)

Drew Strumming (2014)

Keaton (2014)

Drew (2014)

Malcolm (2014)

Wesley (2014)

Stromberg Brothers (2014)

               

Little Mix

Pushing to the Limit (2014)

Confident (2014)

For this post I wanted to share some of my Little Mix photos I took during the Neon Lights Tour. Little Mix is a british girl group who came from X Factor UK. Little Mix is composed of four girls: Perri Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Jade Thirwall and Leigh-Anne Pinnock, who all audition as soloists on X Factor. During the show, the judges felt the four girls would sound great together and so put them in a group. They ended up winning X Factor in 2011. Since then, they just recently released their second album called Salute. Their first album was called DNA and had the globally successful song "Wings" in 2012. This past year, Little Mix opened for Demi Lovato during the Neon Lights Tour in the U.S. and  started their first ever headlining tour in the UK. The girls will be headlining their first tour in the U.S. this fall. When I saw them, these girls really got the crowd pumped and singing. They were energetic, fierce, and confident. They sing about independence, believing in yourself, and love. They were quite empowering and enjoyable. Their vocal ranges were also great. They each have unique voices and personalities to bring to the table. They sound best however, when they harmonize. Every note is beautifully sung and blends well. I did not hear any of the voices drowned out or masked. Pushing to the Limit and Group shows the power of their voices and respect they have for one another. They do not try to out sing each other or steal the spotlight. These girls genuinely care and respect each other. Confident shows the girls' lack of stage freight while performing. Little Mix also radiates happiness with everyone. The members joke with one another and smile at fans. On top of everything, they are also great dancers. They are choreographed well and give an entertaining performance. Dancing and Together shows this. While I got plenty of group photos, I also got some individual portraits seen in Leigh-Anne, Jesy, and Perrie. I was unable to get an individual portrait of Jade but I am seen them again in September so I will then. If you have the chance to see them this fall, go see them. They are way better than openers.      

Leigh-Anne (2014)

Jesy (2014)

Perrie (2014)

Group (2014)

Together (2014)

Dancing (2014)