Parkour

Turns out this was my last ever shoot with my camera, it broke right after the last few shots were taken.  In fact, the last photo in the Parkour gallery is the last photo I ever took with the camera that started ConcertsCaptured. Plus, the cool effect on that photo is all due to the shutter breaking, no Photoshop needed!

I did this shoot as I was intrigued by the idea of parkour/free running.  I heard about it after seeing a feature on John Morrison of the WWE who is big into the parkour scene.  So, after researching a little I came across a few people on Facebook who do it regularly in Birmingham and were happy to let me shoot their Saturday morning routine.

I didn't really know what to expect but suffice to say the guys I photographed were cool, down-to-earth peeps who were happy to go about their free-running business whilst I balance on high ledges trying not to take too many steps backwards.  The things I do for "the shot"!  I got in some good positions for most of the shots and once I knew what the guys were going to do it became easier to anticipate and therefore get a better shot.  I had to be really quick to capture the action as I didn't know if they would be doing some of the stunts again.

I took these shots with either a 28mm f2.8 or 50mm f1.8 lens.  Considering it was my first time shooting something like this, I'm happy that I captured some of the intensity of parkour in these shots and there's a few below that I'm REALLY pleased with.  I especially love the shots of Buggs Wabbit Runner leap-frogging the Birmingham balls and flying through the air whilst the little yellow man tells normal people where to walk :)

The full set, as always is on ConcertsCaptured.co.uk and you can share these shots on our Facebook and Twitter pages also.  A BIG thank you to Buggs Wabbit Runner for allowing me to shoot this.

3rd Time Lucky

I've never shot a band more than once but this week I ended up shooting Taking Hayley for the 2nd and 3rd time.  I chose to do this for a couple of reasons:

1) I'd never shot at The Flapper or the Temple room at the HMV Institute
2) The Taking Hayley guys are good chaps, play good music, put on a good show and could be destined for big things
3) I wanted the challenge of getting original shots even though I had photographed them before (I'll let you be the judge of if I accomplished this, all 3 sets are up on ConcertsCaptured.co.uk)

Biiiig crowd at the HMV Institute for, I think, 7 bands with Taking Hayley (Taking Hayley on Facebook) headlining.  They've got quite a following of youngsters but this was the first gig I had seen them play with a more mature audience taking up residence at the sides and at the back.

I won't review the music (heck, I'm a photographer, what do I know ;) ) so I'll just talk about shooting the show.  The lighting was terrible.  Yucky LEDs (I think) and the usual bad spotlights.  It was nice to be faced with this challenge and having to work my way through the crowd to get the shots I wanted though.  There was a photo pit but I don't think I would have fitted in it and would have just ended up with lots of up-crotch nostril shots so I decided to be that annoying guy who stands in front of you at the show (apologies to anyone if you were the one behind me at any point!!).

Had a drink spilled on me at one point, thankfully it was water (not cider like at The Streets) so that was quite refreshing.  Besides, water is no match for my camera :) Tried to get a few wider shots and some more atmospheric shots (that's my way of saying "the lighting was bad so I couldn't get good ones") and there's a few in the gallery on ConcertsCaptured.co.uk that look kinda cool.

It's also weird when the day after the gig loads of people say "ahhhh, I saw you last night" no Facebook.  People need to say hello more, I'm quite frugal with free drinks :)

Free parking after 6pm

Over two years ago (15th February 2009 to be exact) I was just starting ConcertsCaptured and had agreed to shoot two bands at The Flapper in Birmingham.  I drove into town to park up but didn't have any money for parking.  I also didn't know you could park for free after 6pm.  So, I drove home and apologised to the bands and wondered if this false start, stupidity and humiliation would get to me and put me off.  Turns out it didn't...

Two years of photographing in Birmingham and I had NEVER shot at The Flapper so I figured it was about time I sorted that out.  How can you validate yourself as a music photographer in Birmingham without shooting at The Flapper!?

So, on Tuesday 12th April I popped down to shoot Taking Hayley, Mimi Soya and Kids Can't Fly.  Soooooo much fun shooting in a sweaty, dirty, badly lit, crowded venue, honest! Met a few other photographers there including Andrea May (who runs AMCH Photography) who was a pleasure to chat with.  Also got chance to catch up with the boys from Taking Hayley who were having way too much fun for a support band, anyone would think they enjoy watching live music as much as they enjoy performing it... :)

Was chatting to Levi Keeling from Taking Hayley (who can you find more info about here at their official Facebook page) who, when talking about how some bands make my life easy by putting on a show and enjoying their music, said "that's why it's called a performance".  'Nuff said.

Mimi Soya were the main support band on this UK tour.  The comparisons to Paramore are everywhere but forget that, Mimi Soya's lead singer has a much better voice and her and the rest of the band are much more fun to photograph.  Check them out at their official Facebook page.

Kids Can't Fly are building up quite a following and this UK headline tour is certainly helping.  The Flapper was packed out by the time they came on and they even had a little skank-filled moshpit going!  They threw some pretty cool shapes on stage too and sweated their buttocks off and will no doubt continue doing the same in bigger venues soon, check out their official Facebook page for more.

Admittedly, I need more practice shooting bands in smaller venues with a flash-gun, just the excuse I need to go and see these bands again and pop down to The Flapper again soon :)

As always, higher quality photos and full sets are available at ConcertsCaptured.co.uk and you can tag, share, like and discuss more on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

This last photo is my favourite from the night and a proper ConcertsCaptured classic :)

Come say hi!

Been a bit quiet on ye olde ConcertsCaptured lately so I figured why not step it up a little by doing something every day?!  Got a nice busy few days coming up and here's what we'll be up to if you want to come and say hi (I'm pretty easy to spot, what with the ConcertsCaptured t-shirt and camera :) )

Monday 11th April: Art Exhibition - The Other Side, raising money for Breast Cancer Research.  A display of local artists' work, all for a good cause with free food and alcohol too.  Get more details here at their Facebook event page.

Tuesday 12th April: Taking Hayley @ The Flapper.  A good local band who are starting to gain momentum. Check them out on their Facebook page.

Wednesday 13th April: Our first ever model/fashion shoot in Wolverhampton.  A little nervous about this one but should be fun and a great learning experience.  It'd be boring doing the same thing all the time so I'm trying to branch out a little... fingers crossed!  Will also be heading back to good ol' Snobs in the evening for the usual mayhem of a shoot there!

Thursday 14th April: Was going to shoot the UTR Easter Rave at Gatecrasher but alas, it has been postponed until Tuesday 19th April.  Any suggestions or requests then?!

Got a few more things in the pipeline for the next few weeks, including shooting the whole of The Airborne Toxic Event's concert at Koko in Camden next Friday, my first proper gig shoot in London and it's the whole show! Very excited... :)

Any suggestions of where else we should be?!

Shooting McFly... with a camera.

If you know me, you probably know that McFly aren't really my "thing" but I knew that they'd put on a nice show for the cameras so I popped along to shoot the show for ConcertsCaptured.

Shooting at the NEC, sorry, "LG Arena", is always fun.  Stood stage-side watching The Struts entertain and warm up the crowd whilst trying to remember where I'd sat at all the gigs I paid to go to at the LG Arena for in the past, ahhhhh, being old is fun.

McFly were as expected... entertaining, lively and fun which, I presume by the crowd reaction, is what people wanted.  They did seem to be having a genuinely good time which I always like to see in a band.  Us photographers were informed before the band came on that the show would start with a bang/explosion.  I had visions of The Stotts coming out but turns out McFly could afford proper pyro (check the video below at 1:15 if you are confused at this point):

I only use one camera at a shoot so I have to change lenses if I want to get different types of shots.  This led to me running in and out of the photo pit like a loon to strap the zoom lens on but I reckon it was worth the jog.  I was REALLY happy with the few shots below.  The first one is my favourite and was complete luck that I was in the right place at the right time for it.  I would love to say I planned it but no, complete fluke! (Should I have admitted that?!)  The second one took a couple of goes to get but I think I finally nailed it on the last jump he did (well, the last one during the first three songs anyway).  The third shot is one that has annoyed my friends due to the singer's Springsteen stance... surely you see the resemblance too?!

As always, the full set is over on ConcertsCaptured and you can interact with myself and ConcertsCaptured on our Facebook page and on Twitter.

She Wants Revenge return...

Good news!  There's new music on the way on 23 May from American rockers She Wants Revenge as they release their third full-length album Valleyheart.  The band look set to continue their creativity with this new album and are embracing their links to the SoCal skateboard scene with the first single's video for "Must Be The One". There's some interesting background on this over at the Valleyheart blog.

No doubt they'll be playing their new material when they hit the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival on April 17 and I would love to see them head back over to UK shores soon.  I'd love the chance to photograph these guys, they have a real atmosphere and mood to them that would be an intense experience to capture.

I love the way that the band are embracing the wider concept of "the album" too with Adam Bravin taking photos of San Fernando Valley landmarks that are important to him and the band. It's always fascinating to see photos that are important to people and to hear the reasons why they mean so much.   The band are also shooting short films for each of the songs on the album to visually represent the stories in the songs.

The full tracklisting is as follows:

1)      Take The World

2)      Kiss Me

3)      Up In Flames

4)      Must Be The One

5)      Not Just A Girl

6)      Reasons

7)      Little Stars

8)      Suck It Up

9)      Holiday Song

10)  Maybe She’s Right

Back to the front...

Every now and again I like to get back to basics and go shoot smaller bands in smaller venues.  It's always nice remembering where I started when it comes to photography and I feel that it's important to always remember where it all started.

So, I popped into The Crown in Birmingham on Thursday to see a friend's band.  Got a pleasant surprise from the support band Vault of Eagles with their mix of grungey dirty groovy rock.  Once they had actually sorted out the sound so that we could hear the singer I realised that I actually quite liked them with some of their slow songs really REALLY hitting the spot.  Check 'em out here at their Facebook page.  I just wish I could afford all the guitars the singer had!

Stranger In Death were up next with their mix of guitar heavy metal.  With a stage so small that the lead guitarist had to stand on the floor (gave him more room to pose though :) ) the band were limited in their visual performance but still played a set of Metallica/Crue inspired metal.  They put on quite a good show for only their 2nd ever show and they're playing LOADS of gigs in the next few months... check their Facebook page for more.

As for the photography side of things, it was refreshing to be able to walk around and shoot what I liked, where I liked and when I liked.  I actually found myself a little confused at times because it's been sooooo long since I was able to do this.  I also realised that I need more practice using flash when shooting live music, looks like I'll just have to go and see more bands to sort that skill out.  Got a few funny looks from people too, almost like they didn't know who I was... the audacity of some!

Shooting Snobs

Me and Snobs have a long history, a very VERY good one.  Snobs might now know it but I do :)

Snobs has been, and always will be, THE place to be in Birmingham on a Wednesday night.  Queues stretch round the block from opening time.  I remember standing in that queue when I was younger, now I'm older and get to stroll straight in.  Makes me feel like a big man :)

Shooting Snobs is tricky.  It's a small place and doesn't have a massive lighting rig with lasers and strobes and fog and all that stuff that is standard in most places.  It does, however, have an atmosphere that is unrivalled.  From my experience it has the friendliest atmosphere of anywhere in Birmingham.  People love each other when in Snobs, everyone hugs everyone and dances with everyone like it's some kind of paradise world where everything in the universe is hunky dorey!

Because of all the above, I absolutely love shooting there.  It's a real challenge but there is nothing more fun than shooting Snobs with a 50mm f/1.8 (damn, now I sound like a photo geek!).Maybe it's because that was one of my first nightclub photography experiences or maybe because the shots you can get with it really capture the mayhem of Snobs, whatever it is I know that I end up walking round Snobs with a stupid grin on my face every time I shoot there.

My latest set of photos are from a Friday night.  Snobs on a Friday is competing with the big boys of Propaganda at the O2 Academy and Supersonic Vague at Gatecrasher.  Saying that though, it still pulls in a crowd and is a guaranteed awesome night out.  I also had the pleasure of sitting back and letting a guest photographer, Sammy Cole, take some shots.  She did a mighty fine job!

Dear Snobs, do not change, I love you too much!

Get more Snobs at their official website, http://www.snobsnightclub.co.uk/

Birmingham's Bieber Fever!

I will not lie to you. I am not a fan of Justin Bieber.  That's not to say I didn't enjoy photographing his show in Birmingham at the NIA on Saturday 5th March 2011 though.

In fact, it was one of the most enjoyable shoots I've ever done.  Justin is arguably the biggest pop star and one of, if not the, biggest celebrity in the world right now. The fact that I got to go photograph him, stand at the foot of the stage and watch him do his thing was, honestly, quite awe-inspiring.  Then, when you turn around and see 13000 people losing it, and I mean losing it, that's pretty awesome.  The fans were CRAZY, screaming, jumping, crying... and that was when the 10 minute countdown clock started!  (Now I know what I look like at a Metallica concert!)

I only got to see the first 3 songs and it was everything I expected, other than the crowd who were louder than anything (in a very high-pitched kinda way :) )  Bit of dry ice fog effect, bit of dancing and then BOOOOOOM! The roof disappears as Justin emerges through the fog.

It was great fun to photograph, although the 10ft stage and 2ft deep pit meant I was shooting vertical at times, as the lights were gorgeous and made for some truly nice shots.  It was bizarre to realise how much people do love him and there's lil' ol' me, getting looked at, waved at and danced at, all a few feet away from me.  I imagine a lot of people would have given up anything for that experience.  I do feel very fortunate and humbled sometimes.

I also reckon I got some nice shots considering my favourite lens broke in half about 2 minutes before the show and I had to go with the back-up. Still, turned out alright though I reckon :)

Some people really hate Justin Bieber.  At least 50% of the comments on our Facebook page have been requesting we do very, very bad things to him. If you don't like him, just ignore him and listen to different music. He's a 17 year old with almost everything people dream of having, I'm sure there's no jealousy... yeah right!

Some people are comparing Justin Bieber to The Beatles with Bieber Fever being the new Beatle Mania.  Not being around in the 60s I can't really comment but I can say this: the passion and hysteria from the crowd was like nothing I have ever seen.  Justin said barely a few words to the audience and they were in tears.  I don't know how long Bieber Fever will last for, I personally don't think he'll still be headlining stadiums like Sir Paul McCartney does in 50 years time.  But for the time being he is the biggest star on the planet and he has power and influence that is hard to fathom for us mere mortals.  Forget politicians, football players, company leaders and in some cases even parents.  Justin Bieber is in charge, you better listen up...

As always, you can get ALL our photos at ConcertsCaptured.co.uk, you can follow us on Twitter @concertscaught and find us at Facebook.com/ConcertsCaptured

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Is Nikki Sixx after my job?!

I was never one for looking at photo books until I got gifted one at Christmas.  Now I'm addicted to them! I had forgotten how much fun it was to look at photos AND physically hold them at the same time.


I've always been a rock n' roller at heart.  I've always been a photographer at heart, too, so it was a pleasure to hear that other people like the same thing, let alone that other person being Nikki Sixx.  Now, I don't know if he is actually after my job or not (I wonder if he'd like to come and shoot for us?!) but I am intrigued to see his work.


In his upcoming book, "This Is Gonna Hurt" we will get to see his take, in photographs, prose and music, on what he does for a living.  I've always been a big fan of "behind-the-scenes" shooting of rock bands, e.g. the work of Ross Halfin shooting Metallica, so it'll be great to get a perspective from someone actually in the band rather than just around the band.


Us photographers are an interesting bunch and we all see things in different ways.  It would seem that Nikki is no different, saying “I’ve always had an eye for the oddities in life. Even as a kid I saw the world in my own way and thought most things that were different were beautiful and magical. Even things that other people thought were horrifying and disgusting and weird. . . . People say I have a distorted lens. I think I see things as they really are,”.  He continues, “I felt the need to bring my visions to life.  This project is raw, it’s what I see and feel through writing, through photos, through video and through music.”


I'm always up for a bit of new music but have never really put music to slideshows or tried to capture a photographic moment with a musical score.  Nikki, on the other hand, has created a soundtrack for this project with SIXX: A.M., which consists of Sixx, Dj Ashba and James Michael.  I can't wait to hear this and try something new.  If it works, I may have to borrow the idea (although I don't think I could assemble such a cast of musicians so I may just give it a miss!)


There's gonna be singles, videos and all the usual crazyness surrounding this so go get some sneak previews now at SixxSense.com


Plus, this little teaser reminds me of Alton Towers adverts, which is a good thing :)

What?! You need Facebook and Twitter links as well?!

Nothing like those hometown Streets

In all fairness, I was never a massive fan of The Streets.  I probably won't listen to them by choice either.  However, their show at the O2 Academy on Friday 25th February was one of the most electric performances I have ever seen.

This was the first time I ever believed a singer who said "you guys are the best crowd on the tour, no-one will ever beat this"!  We hear that at every gig from every band in every city.  Tonight, I actually believed it.  I have never seen or heard a crowd like it.

Mike Skinner was on top form and openly admitted that this'll be the last time he does the "old stuff".  Well, that "old stuff" went down better than anything I have seen in a LONG time.  The crowd were wild from start to finish.

My photographing started off with a pint of cider thrown in my general direction.  It's a good job Canon make cider-proof cameras!  1 and a half songs later a fight kicked off in the mosh-pit, another interesting event to photograph.  As the night wore on the crowd actually got more energetic and even louder, with choruses to the last few songs being belted out by thousands of crazy Brummies loving their hometown heroes.

I was a bit annoyed at the people who didn't know how to mosh.  I guess if you don't go to rock and metal gigs you don't know mosh-pit etiquette (keep the punches low, look-out for your fellow mosher and help people up when they go down).  A few people obviously got confused and started fights instead.  One of the funniest concert moments I have ever seen occurred when Mike stopped the second song and offered to fight the guy who, moments earlier, had decided to start his own fight.  I will never forget the look on that guy's face when he realised that the whole Academy was watching him get called out... and then watched him humbly apologise and shrink off into the crowd, tail firmly between legs and without the friends he'd been trying to impress!

When the reunion tour hits, I'm there! (But not in the mosh-pit...)

As always, higher quality photos are over at ConcertsCaptured and on our Facebook page

Beavis and Butthead return!

Couldn't quite believe it when I read today that Beavis and Butthead will return over at Rolling Stone.

Had to go online and watch a few videos to remind myself of their awesomeness.

After watching a few I remembered how much I was into them when I was a teenager.  I had the album, t-shirt, every comic, hats, CDs, (in fact, the first CD single I ever bought was Cher w/Beavis and Butthead doing "I Got Your Babe"... I paid £4.29 for it).  Sheeesh... and now it's the turn of this generation to do the same all over again, fair play to MTV and Mike Judge for going for it, I for one can't wait to see it!

Marli Madness - Coming Soon...

Hopefully this talented little lady will soon be getting a lot more exposure over the next few weeks and months.  Immensely talented, hard-working and likeable, Marli Harwood.  We hope to see more and more unsigned artists get exposure as Marli proves there's a whole host of talent out there we just don't know about yet...

Get a free copy of her new single over at http://marliharwood.blogspot.com/ and be sure to spread the word!

Full news story as follows:

Unsigned artist Marli Harwood got the surprise of her life month when she found out that her song ‘It’s Called A Heart’ has been made Radio 2 Single of the Week.

It’s now well covered in the UK press that this success comes ironically, just six months after giving up her lifelong dream of pop stardom to start a family.

Not only is this her big break after 16 years of false starts, but it is thought this is the first time in Radio 2 history that an artist without a record deal has been awarded the ‘Single of the Week’ accolade.

Now Marli Harwood is offering her loyal fans, who have stuck by her through 16 years of hardship, a free copy of “It’s Called A Heart” to thank them for their support.

Marli Harwood commented:

“I want to say thanks really. It’s all a bit of a shock this Radio 2 business and I’m not in a position to release the song now anyway, so it seems to make sense to give back to my fans & radio 2 & give it away.”

Marli will be distributing the track on the 21^st February to members of her mailing list.

New fans can get the free track by signing up to mailing list by clicking here or visiting her website.

http://marliharwood.blogspot.com/

For more information & interviews please contact:

Doug Hall / doughall@pprpublicity.com / 020 8746 4600

More info:

The song ‘It’s Called A Heart’ was a track on an album that was completed over a year ago, in November 2009, but was never released due to the recession impacting on the music industry.

This was one blow too many for Marli whose musical rollercoaster began in 1995 when she was signed by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell.  During the recording of her debut album, Blackwell decided to sell Island Records, the home of Bob Marley and U2.  Marli’s album was never released.  In 1999 she recorded an album in the US for Richard Branson’s V2 label. The album was shelved.  In 2002, her hopes were raised when she entered reality tv’s Fame Academy and despite being voted out in round 5, secured a record deal with Sony Music.  Once again the album was never released, but during the recording, she met the love of her life, producer Michael Harwood.  A subsequent deal was done with an independent label and true to form, a fourth album never saw the light of day.

In 2009, newlywed Marli signed to a small record label and recorded her fifth album, which included ‘It’s Called A Heart’. As she geared up for its launch in June 2010, she was notified that the album was on hold indefinitely. This was one disaster too many for Marli and she decided that enough was enough, the pop crown would never be hers.   Since then, Marli has earned a living from voice coaching and temping and was shocked when her former manager contacted her to say he thought they should try again with the album.  Marli, having already made her career decision said “Release it without me, I don’t want to be involved”.

Marli said “I’m just so overwhelmed and grateful to Radio 2.  I’ve recorded over 100 songs and never heard one of them on the radio, it will be such a thrill when I do.  But I’m three months pregnant and my head’s in a different space now, I just don’t think I can go through the stress and commitment that the promo trail entails”.  

‘It’s Called A Heart’ was bought to the attention of Radio 2 in January 2011 and Jeff Smith, Head of Music at the station promptly made it ‘Single of the Week’. 

Fisherman's Friends for the fish

Hello all!

Been a while since we'be blogged and what-not on here but will be doing much more stuff about things we like, things we've shot and all manner of bits and bobs in between.  Remember you can get all our high quality photos over at ConcertsCaptured, friend us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @concertscaught

Good to the Fisherman's Friends getting a bit more work out there.  Even better to see that nice people who like (should that be love?!) playing music and enjoying themselves actually get some recognition for doing so...

Free souvenir wristBand of Horses...

Always nice to get a freebie at a gig and this time around it was a supposedly limited edition collectible Band of Horses wristband.  I reckon that every band and venue should do this just to see if people keep them on for decades like the festival ones!

Quite interesting to shoot a band that a lot of my friends (yup, I have more than one) were talking about but I'd never heard any material of.  The stage set-up looked suitably South North American (think country/rock n roll bar in Georgia/Florida) and was a quite a change from the usual full-on wall of amps at rock and metal shows.

It's really easy to tell when a band are enjoying themselves and this is obvious by the huge smiles from their lead singer before the first note is even played (more photographic evidence over at ConcertsCaptured).

The bass player was great fun to watch (and reminded me of an old Uni friend too!) and was the epitome of being "in the moment" and/or "one with the music"!  The lead guitarist was a cool cat, although way too tall to photograph properly, I will have to have words with his parents about that.

Quite an easy gig to shoot really although for the real action shots I had to be on the ball as these were few and far between.  That's not to say it wasn't fun to shoot and it was great to shoot something a little different (bearing in mind my last two shoots were Drake and JLS)

Some absolutely amazing sounds were screaming out of the guitars throughout the whole show proving that you don't need a massive set-up and oodles of effects and what-nots, you just need to know how to play.

I can see these guys being a massive hit on the festival circuit as I imagine they are the closest most people will get to folk and country music.  The band have done a great job in bringing these genres, which are still negatively perceived by some, to a mass market.  Let's hope that this opens up doors for others, past, present and future, to do the same.

Don't forget to add us as a friend on Facebook to tag, share comment and get all the latest updates.  Check us out at http://www.Facebook.com/ConcertsCaptured

Jolly good Light Show...

Got the chance last Wednesday to photograph the JLS show at the LG Arena Birmingham.  I think it's about the 42nd time they've played there in the last few months so there were only three photographers there which made for a nice relaxed atmosphere.  Also bumped into one of the few photographers I know, Dave Musson, and got the chance to catch-up with him, discussing mostly how we only ever seem to see each other at gigs that are the complete opposite of the music we like!  Check out some of his work over at his official website.

Got a little forgotten about by the security and had a mad dash down to the front amidst the screaming (and I mean SCREAMING!) fans.

I knew they had a flying car (yes, a flying car) to start the show and was a little apprehensive of how to get good photos from underneath such a vehicle.  Turns out it actually makes for some pretty cool photos...

Once we were allowed in front of the stage (not allowed under the flying car, maybe they hadn't quite tested the anti-grav properly?) the boys didn't disappoint in putting on a show.

Now, JLS are not my thing (both sexually and musically) by a long shot but I do understand now why they are popular.  Loads of energy, non-stop smiling, moving, dancing and everything else that makes those females in the audience scream at a pitch that I should have got some specially designed earplugs for!

They even took time to pose for a photo or two knowing that their image is just as important as their music.  That's not a bad idea in the current climate where nobody is paying for music anyway and there seemed to be as many signs in the crowd as there usually is at a WWE show.

I got enough photos to show a variety of what JLS are so good at and the full set can be seen over at ConcertsCaptured . The lights were fantastic (yes, us photographers actually care about stuff like that!) and I wish all artists would pay as much attention to that.

I didn't stay for the whole show but saw enough to know that JLS could play about another 50 dates and probably sell out each one.

You can also check out the full set over on Facebook to tag, share, comment and do all that other Facebook stuff with :)