Tonight I did this...

We Are Scientists at KOKO.... after mistakenly turning up at The Roundhouse (hope my assignment editor doesn't see this!  oops!).  Anyway I made it in plenty of time, phew!

The crowd was heaving, full of screaming girls which was kind of hilarious, and the band were on really good form.  They seemed genuinely excited and having a good time, and they sounded great - thankfully they played "Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt" on the third song so really made my time there worthwhile (yeah yeah unoriginal but it's such a bloody good song).  Took me right back to 2007 and meeting a certain someone...

And the best thing?  FABULOUS LIGHTING!  Oh what a breath of fresh air it is to go to a gig that has thoughtful, exciting, flattering lighting... and you can almost always count on any band playing at KOKO having good lighting.  It made my job so much more pleasurable tonight, rather than standing there throwing obscenities under my breath about "whoever the f*** decided this lighting would be a good idea" etc etc.  Sometimes I do wonder if people stand back and take a look at what they have created - sometimes there is barely any lighting, and I wonder are the crowd - the paying gig going punters - as pissed off at me that they are standing there unable to make out the people they have come to see (and hear, obviously).

Anyway - this is my favourite shot of the night.... enjoy.

yeah you know the score, it's all copyrighted 'n shit.  Leave it alone x

NME awards...

Last Wednesday was the NME awards at the Brixton Academy, and I was lucky enough to be there shooting for IPC Media along with Red Bull and Carling.  It was an absolutely amazing night, and got me all "fangirl" over PJ Harvey, Warpaint, Liela Moss, Juliette Lewis and of course, the incredible Dave Grohl.
Actually I did thankfully managed to suppress my excitement so as not to embarrass myself, but, it was a room full of greatness in my eyes!

I was able to have access to the tables where all the guests were sitting which ensured a good view of the stage when there were performances - great to see PJ, Crystal Castles and The Foos playing - it also meant getting crushed in amongst a heaving mass of sweaty musicians - everyone was having a great time and it was good to see a distinct lack of egos in the room, everyone was just there to party and have fun.

The best moments had to be getting a great shot of Juliette Lewis and Dave Grohl together - both of whom are incredibly nice people, and of course watching the Foos play an enormous 2 hour set and seeing every body going crazy dancing on tables.  I was shattered by the end of a 6 hour photography stint but it was well worth it, here are some shots from the night...

ALL IMAGES © ANNABEL STAFF PHOTOGRAPHY 2011.  NO REPRODUCTION PERMITTED.  Thanks!

Rob Zombie...

Well, could work get more varied than this?!  Last week shooting a brilliant and beautiful night for All Walks at the National Portrait Gallery, this week huddling up with 30 other photographers in the pit at the Brixton Academy to shoot Rob Zombie!

After a 12 year UK hiatus Rob returned to England for a sell out show, not only that, I believe that this was the first time that Rob had brought over his entire stage - which was, frankly, a mind-blowing spectacle!

The stage, and all us photographers, were in a heavy cloak of smoke from the start - which was simply impossible to shoot through, but somehow it didn't matter since I was in awe of the whole thing!  We were warned prior to the show that Rob loves red lighting - and he didn't disappoint - which was another hurdle to over come, as anyone knows who has to shoot under red (or blue) gels, it does not translate well in camera...

The pyrotechnics were so fierce I could feel the heat permeating around me, the whole set up was really incredible - the outfits, the make-up, the stage, the GIANT metal robot with glowing blue eyes - which Rob came out of to start the show, the grotesque skeleton mic stands, video projections... I could go on for ages.

But, as they say, a picture can tell a thousand words...

(oh and Arsenal beat Barca - what a night!)

ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT ANNABEL STAFF / REDFERNS / GETTY IMAGES