tift & jte @ cat’s cradle

A co-headline show, and it was magical. Tift plays so well at home, and JTE is such a gift, such a great songwriter and performer. It was a warm and fantastic night. Full set here.

final 2012 show at the FARM

A quietly beautiful show at the FARM for 2012; Des Ark and the Tender Fruit both such heart-stopping songs about heart-stopping feelings, and the company, though a smaller crowd than the last show, was warm and funny and full of people I love. I ate a quesadilla and warmed my hands over a bonfire and…

grant hart @ slim’s

It is always a pleasure and a privilege to shoot Grant Hart, and see him play; he’s a genius songwriter, he’s one of the weirdest and most interesting people I’ve ever met, and as a photographer, he has one of those gorgeous, odd, sharp-angled faces that are fascinating, endlessly, to shoot. It was a lovely…

heartless bastards @ haw river ballroom

Erika Wennerstrom is a badass. The wall of guitar and bass that Heartless Bastards produce is enough to rattle your fillings in the best possible way. Haw River Ballroom is one of my favorite places to shoot in the Triangle, if not my favorite, because the lights are so perfect and dramatic. Futurebirds are more…

old 97s @ cat’s cradle

Okay, look, let’s just get this out of the way: if you’re touring the anniversary of Too Far To Care, and thus are playing the record start to finish, and thus are opening every show with “Timebomb”, I don’t care that you’ve been using it as your closer for 15 years, since the album was…

admiral fallow @ local 506

A double shot of Admiral Fallow photos today; Speakers in Code had the pleasure of hosting the charming Scottish indie rockers for two shows in Chapel Hill over the weekend. The first was Saturday night at the 506, and we had a great turn out including people Matt and I didn’t know. I really expected…

youngblood hawke @ disco rodeo

First: I refuse to call Disco Rodeo “the Ritz”, even if they have big stupid red letters on their building calling it that. Disco Rodeo is a big old cave of a venue in an old storage building in an office park, and it is not the Ritz. Jesus Christ. Second: I have spent seven…

yep roc 15

Full set from all three nights of Yep Roc 15, a celebration of Yep Roc Records’ 15th birthday party, is here. Write-up will be on Speakers In Code tomorrow or Tuesday. Thanks for inviting me to your party, y’all. It kicked ass. (I shot every band on the lineup but Liam Finn — who I…

frontier ruckus @ local 506

I’ve spent the last two years, since I discovered Frontier Ruckus’ astounding record Deadmalls & Nightfalls, trying to figure out what, for me, and for so many other people, makes them stand out. Partially it’s Matthew Milia’s voice, which doesn’t sound like it should come from him; it’s haunting and eerie and grounded all at…