My friend Cindy hit me up a few weeks ago and asked if I would take photos of her brothers band. Usually shooting shows is something more of a personal project for me and somehow I have become a snob for professional million dollar lighting and a huge stage. That is all good and great for making technically good images, but it also allows a photographer to play it safe. Anyone can take a decent image at say the House of Blues in San Diego or the Cricket Wireless Amphitheater in Chula Vista. Shooting in a bar with a small stage and no lighting is the challenge I was missing from shooting shows. I was also missing the energy that only an intimate smaller venue can provide. Now...throw in the energy of a band like The Fooks!
I have seen quite a few Irish rock bands in my time. It is a cool genre of music infusing traditional Irish music with a punk rock ethos. and beer. It is great to see a band that just straight up rocks without buying into the "look" of the genre of music they are playing. It is refreshing to see very talented musicians going off to their music and truly into entertaining the crowd. I got the sense that they were playing for a group of friends rather than just going through the motions and sticking to a set list and going home. I loved watching not only their participation with the crowd, but also how they communicate together as a band. I was a musician myself a long time ago. There is a difference between a band and a group of musicians playing on stage. A band is a monster of it's own. The musicians can feel what one another is doing and can feel where a song is going. It takes a lot of talent and even more hard work for musicians to accomplish that and then do it effortlessly. The Fooks have it completely dialed in.
Check out their Facebook fan page for show dates. They play quite a bit of shows at the best Irish bar's in San Diego. If you are out, make sure you check them out!
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