So I got invited down to shoot Rabbit Ear Records Launch Night down Sanctuary Live in Basingstoke. Always love shooting gigs merging my two passions in one. Just like to say big shout out to Christie at Rabbit Ear for putting on such a great event, with lovely like details such as disposable cameras and pop out CD cards of a compilation of bands. Great CD has been playing in my car since. Now I have played Sanctuary many time with my band and even headlined but I have never shot it before. Lighting wise its a very dark venue, a floor show and quite a intimate space. Luckily they do have multi-coloured park hands producing the light. Which is good for mood but a killer when they go red. Shooting I mostly was bouncing between my Sigma Art 35mm and my Nikon 85mm 1.8. I did bring out my new addition, my 17-35 2.8 but it was too dark, I could resort to flashing harshly but it would kill the mood of the shots.

The three bands that played were Redwood, Atiptoe, and Signals. Was a great blend on music? The atmospheric space of Redwood, the bluesy grooves of Atiptoe and the math poppy jams of Signals all blended into a great night of music.

Was my first time in a while shooting a floorshow. Remembered how little room you get to move and a lot of it being spent crouching looking up at the bands, and trying not to hinder the view of the audience. No big problems my end, temperamental focus due to lack of light at times and dodging Alex of Signals stabbing me with a headstock. Alex is one of my favourite people to shoot just purely cause of how much he moves.

All in all a great night, I’m happy with the shot and so were Rabbit Ear Records and the bands. What do you think? Check out the shots below

- Charlie Bluck