This was my first time at St Andrews Hall, and I was as nervous as I was excited. Getting an opportunity to shoot Eluveitie and Tyr is not something that would come frequently, at least here in the states.
Arriving at the venue I was greeted with a parking ramp, which is always fantastic, as I’ve said before when I talked about things I look for in a venue. I waited until the doors would open because although I like to be early, I’ve found over and over again there is really no point in arriving before the doors open. Unlike the fans, I’m not in competition for a good spot near the stage. I’ll have the best seat in the house, for 3 songs anyway, waiting for me. I simply waited at the entrance next to security while the long line of fans who had been waiting made their way into the venue. When the last had gone in, it was my turn, and I made my way to will call.
Will call, had my pass which is always a big relief. I was a little disappointed to see it was in the form of a VIP arm band, as I’m always on a quest for some cool band laminate type of pass. However I complemented the young lady for not trapping any of my arm hair in the band, to which she smiled and replied, “I’m a pro”.
Entering the venue, I was a little surprised to see a band already on stage, it was the opening act with Metsatoll. None of us were late to the show, we had just gotten in. It seems like they must have gone on just about the time the doors were opening. By the time I had cleared will call I was already passed my 3 song limit, so I just took the time to enjoy the show. These guys were really good, had a great connection with the crowd and had an amazing selection of music. Anytime you see bagpipes at a metal concert, you know you’re in for a treat.
When they had finished, it was time to make my way down to the pit. Pit access at St Andrews was just slightly more difficult only because I really had to squeeze my way through the crowd to get down there, as opposed to having a separate entrance. Security was very friendly and courteous as they gave me the usual rundown on the rules and granted me access. The pit itself was very nice, it was quite wide and spacious. I even commented to the security guard that I’d never had so much room before. He said they didn’t expect the crowd to get too crazy so he’d be able to stay clear, giving me the most room. Excellent! I was starting to get the feeling this was going to be an awesome night.
After a couple friendly introductions to a couple other photographers, the lights went down and Tyr took the stage to the roar of the crowd. Time to go to work. When those lights come up, you have but only seconds to evaluate the light, make you adjustments in the camera, and get to shooting.
Tyr was amazing. They have a lot of great energy and are extremely talented musicians. I’d say they got shafted a bit on their lighting setup, which isn’t unusual for an opening band, however it is unfortunate. They were often heavily back-lite with most of the front lighting being of course, the red LED.
You can tell right away these guys look like they come from the blood of Vikings. They hail from the Faroe Islands and much of their music is based on Viking lore and similar topics.
Shortly after my 3 songs had ended, and I left the pit to look for other shooting positions. Started in the crowd, but quickly noticed just a couple people up in the balcony, which earlier I had seen closed off. I quickly headed to balcony entrance, under supervision of another member of security. I showed him my VIP wrist band and pointed to the entrance. He gave me the nod, and I let myself through the velvet rope trying to conceal the big grin on my face, this was going to be awesome.
Sure enough, the balcony was awesome. There was only a couple of people up their enjoying the show, I assume friends or family of the performers. I had the bulk of the area to myself, so out came the longer lens and I started to do some shooting from there, while also just enjoying the wonderful seats for an amazing show.
Next up was Eluveitie. I made my way down from the balcony back to the pit. There was a slight delay while the barricade actually had to be moved back a little to allow for the crew to tear down Tyr’s gear, and setup for Eluveitie. No big deal, I just hung out until the pit was clear, gave the security guy a telepathic signal to which he nodded and I was back in the pit and ready to go.
What can I say, these guys were awesome. Amazing energy and a real commitment to the performance. I knew ahead of time that with 8 band members I would have a hard time covering all of them. Sometimes that is just the way it goes, but I do my best to try to get good pictures of everybody.
The ladies of Eluveitie are amazing. They have this fair-skinned look on the surface, but underneath they play in a heavy metal band, and they show it. The heads were banging and the hair was flying with these ladies.
The crowd was really feeling the energy with these guys and was fully engaged. We had solid mosh pit going throughout the set, and the band even called for a wall of death, or “The Braveheart” as it is sometimes known. So while this was folk metal, there was a clear emphasis on the metal part.
Again I was back in the balcony after my 3 songs where I enjoyed the rest of the show. It was an amazing privilege to shoot all of the performers. I can only hope that our paths cross again on a future tour, because I will surely be there. If you’ve never checked out Tyr or Eluveitie, you are missing out. Go pick up a couple of their albums and be blown away.
