The “HellPop” Tour with In This Moment 11/10/13

November 11, 2013November 12, 2013 Derek Soto All Hail The Yeti, Best Buy Theater, best buy theatre, Canon, Canon 6D, hellpop, hellpop tour, in this moment, Kyng, Live Concert, Motionless in White, Sinestra, Sinestra Studios

Sunday Night in Manhattan, NY was where the BLOOD called. Century Media Recording Artist’s “In This Moment” fronted by female powerhouse Maria Brink roared into Times Square for a show like no other. And I mean that in a good way, if of course you like obscurity and flare with your stage presence of course. The “HellPop” tour dating on the middle of October (and just announced its second leg with dates below) brought in allies such as Scranton, PA’s own “Motionless in White” of Fearless Records, “Kyng” of Razor & Tie Records and also “All Hail The Yeti” of A.F.M Records who are both from Los Angeles, California. The show was rather peaceful overall with barely any crowd-surfing and not a lot of mosh-pitting. Half of these bands (Motionless In White & In This Moment) I have shot in the past with the LA duo of Kyng and All Hail The Yeti as newcomers to my photography collection. However, in my honest opinion, while all bands exceptional and talented, Kyng and All Hail The Yeti did not fit this bill. I could see both of these bands with other classic bands such as “High on Fire”, “Clutch”, “Tomahawk”, but not Motionless in White or In This Moment. The play styles and demographic are all different. The music was very good as each band was unique, but I could not see others enjoying themselves. I clearly saw who was there for what band, but those fans did NOT enjoy the other bands on the bill. IT was disappointing to see that occur. One more note to add, the crowd was intensely quiet, barely getting into All Hail The Yeti or Kyng, even Motionless In White had trouble as their lead singer Chris Motionless told the audience and I quote “This is the most quietest audience we have had on this tour, ANYWAY WE CAN CHANGE THAT???” The only time the audience was truly alive was for “In This Moment” obviously because the headliner is usually the main attraction.

All Hail The Yeti opened up the night at 7pm sharp with a very nice stage setup. But, it was squandered by horrendous lighting. The imbalance of darkness and the red/blue highlights from the ceiling lights gave much of the photographers a run for their money. The darkness mixed in with shadows made it extremely difficult but, our saving grace were the occasional strobe lights that lit up the stage. The sound and unique prowess of this band was substantial. I wish they would tour NYC more often with crowds who are more welcoming than what they were given that night. There was no set-list for this band on stage as they only had a 20 minute set to begin with.

L.A duo #2 band Kyng was up next and just like their L.A brothers in A.H.T.Y, they also had a short 20 minute set. Managing to play 4 to 5 songs, the band managed to somewhat sway the crowd. Having met Eddie, the bands lead singer and guitarist, I kept getting drawn into the time I photographed Tomahawk at the same exact venue in the Summer of this year. To me, Kyng has the EXACT same feel as Tomahawk and I definitely felt the vibes in the music played. Much like the Summer set with Tomahawk, this set too, had little to no lights. I ALWAYS run my Canon 6D at 2.8 F stop but even with high ISO levels it was still difficult to manage a clear cut shot. Results were fair, complaints…yes. However, satisfied with my results considering the set times for the L.A duo.

Now we take a trip down memory lane, or back to July 21st from the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival. Motionless in White gave me incredible shots for my first time shooting them live. They were energetic, engrossing and capable of intensifying a crowd with little to no problem. This night, only half of these facts stood true. Not only were the fans completely different from the demographic of the first two bands, but the show turned around altogether in a sense where I almost forgot what show I was attending as a photographer. Motionless In White did NOT have the best lighting as I was warned by many of my peers, but the strobes that assisted my endeavors in Kyng were now my sworn enemies. The bands set-list was visible and was the first to be recorded for the night. Their fans were in abundance and they energized the show (as it was necessary) until In This Moment came on stage. I made my three rounds and walked back outside and spotted fellow colleague Jose Mangin of Sirius XM Satellite Radio. We hung around for a little bit to chat as he brought his wife Melissa and their 2 daughters to the show. It was a nice time but I made my way back to see the rest of the set. Chris succeeded in hyping up his crowd and fans, it was a big difference considering how quiet the first half of the show was. I am sure the energy of MIW carried on to the headliner. Believe me, it did. Not only did it get louder, but it got more involving. Motionless in White’s set-list is below.

Motionless in White Setlist — Motionless in White Set-list

Me and Jose MAngin of SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio.

Memory lane trip #2 goes to my headliner of Century Media and In This Moment for making it a year and some months since Uproar 2012. Seeing the stage setup was REMARKABLE as the band has highly evolved since seeing them. The overall DRAMA that the stage created was beautiful. Full of smoke machines and harsh colors that filled a full spectrum, In This Moment KNOWS how to add drama to flare. Maria’s not so commanding in her performance, but she is entrenched and bound to her vocals. Ms. Brink is hypnotic and has such passion for her stage performance. She sings and conveys emotion with such grace, my best shots were the up close ones I have of her without her dancers. The rest of the band was almost inconspicuous as they took a back seat for some segments of the show. Chris, Randy & Travis were hidden through the thick smoke that Maria shot out of her canon and the stationary canons on each side of the stage. However, they made their presence known sporadically to the audience and the photographers who were ALL engrossed on getting the amazing shots necessary of Maria. Tom Hane was just nowhere to be seen, but you can hear him. His drum solo was filled with power, adding the strength that Maria poured onto the audience as she sang throughout the night. The harsh lights and smoke proved impossible for anything clear of Tom, disappointing to not get a photo of him but that man can drum his butt off. Impressive throughout and thorough, just gotta wait for a clear shot next time. Chris, Randy and Travis came on the stage set where Maria and her dancers were as they alternated to keep the entertainment flowing. I stayed for the entire show and even caught Chris’s guitar pick he threw into the audience once people began leaving. I was happy for that. I do intend on getting one of my photos autographed by Maria Brink. It is difficult to get, but not impossible. Here is the set-list as follows: “Rise with Me”, “Adrenalize” , “Blazin” , “Beast Within” , “Burn” , “Into The Light” , “The Gun Show” “Closer”, “Prayer/Next Life” , “Daddy’s Falling Angel” “Whore” and “Blood” as the encore.