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Last Saturday we had a whole bunch of performers and speakers come through Lethbridge for the Ignition event at the ENMAX Centre. The performances were organised by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada and as well as a line-up of great bands and illusionist Brock Gill, Will Graham was there to talk about the gospel.

First onto the stage to open the night was Eyes of Isis, the only non-christian band of the night. Then another local act, Phao took the stage. They were followed by illusionist Brock Gill and then rock band Stellar Kart. After an inspiring message by Will Graham, the headlining band, Kutless, played their set.

There was such a positive atmosphere during the night it’s awesome to see larger Christian rock acts coming through Lethbridge. Last year saw a real growth in the Lethbridge music scene, thanks to smaller venues such as Henotic, The Slice, and others, and hopefully this is also a sign of more good things to come for Lethbridge’s Christian music scene.

As well as this quick blog post I wrote an article for the Lethbridge Living Magazine blog—which will launch later this week—to compliment their printed article on Eyes Of Isis in their current magazine issue. In my article is a whole bunch of behind-the-scenes info and more photos of Eye Of Isis. When their blog goes live I’ll come back and update this post with a link to it for you to check out. Meanwhile, here are a handful of very hastily-edited images from the concerts, posted in the order of how they appeared. I have a ton of images from this event, so if any of the bands want to see more, please Contact Me. Also, a personal thanks to the film crew from Miracle Channel and to Romi from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association of Canada for being so easy to work with. There’s not a lot of room up front!

EYES OF ISIS:

Last Friday I went along to check out Eyes of Isis playing live at Lethbridge’s Moose Hall. The band had invited me to come by and hang out, but I brought my camera just for kicks. These guys put on a really good show! I’ve been to quite a few concerts and at most of them I’ve been kinda bored, because the band didn’t get into it or develop any rapport with the crowd. Live playing is a skill that not a lot of studio bands have. It takes a lot of on-stage energy to keep a crowd pumped up past the first three songs. What I really liked about the Eyes of Isis performance was that they really had fun on stage. I’ve seen too many bands spend all their time trying to look cool and just end up being boring. Even though the images I chose for the blog are the more rockin’ out kinda shots, there were lots of times when the guys were smiling and just enjoying themselves. I think that’s pretty cool, especially for a band that plays fairly heavy rock. These days hardly any rock bands know how to have fun on stage anymore, but I remember way back (showing my age now) when Van Halen, for example, would be running around the stage and having tons of fun. Of course, they also wore spandex, and we really don’t want to see that again.

Here are a handful of images from the concert.

Recently I had the pleasure of doing some band photography for local Alberta band Eyes Of Isis. I love working with other creative people! Even if we aren’t in exactly the same field there is often a kind of understanding between us. Plus, creative people are always willing to go the extra mile to get the best results. These guys were certainly up for anything I threw at them and they endured the cold so that I could get my ideas. You’ll see what I mean when you scroll down. That beach scene? Yeah, they’re lying on snow in sub-zero temperatures with their shirts open. And, yes, we did that particular image fast.

Actually, while we were out there getting that shot another local photographer, Ian from the Lethbridge Herald, happened to pass by and wondered what the heck we were doing. I’ve met him before and he came up to say hello and then tagged along for a bit, getting some photos of the session. If only I’d had one of my assistants with me, then I could have got photos of Ian taking photos of me taking photos of the band!

Speaking of the band, let me introduce them:

Jordan – Lead vocals and guitar
Chase – Lead guitar
Aaron – Drums
Joey – Bass

They were a really fun bunch to get photos of and I think they’ll go far. You can tell that they’re committed to their music and, listening to their songs, they’re very mature for a debut album from such a young band. There are a range of influences you can hear, with nods to the 70s as well as more modern bands, such as Nickleback, but they definitely have their own sound and vision. You can check out their music and see when they are performing by going to their MySpace page. They have CDs for sale there, too, and I recommend them to anyone who is looking for some new rock.

Last night I had the pleasure of experiencing a fantastic concert! Well, two of them, really. The concert was held at the Yates in Lethbridge with proceeds going to support the charity organisation Bridges of Hope, a very dedicated organisation of people who raise funds for the care of people in need in Africa, especially in Burkina Faso.

To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t really looking forward to this concert. I had arranged to take photos for the concert on a professional level, but I thought the music would bore me. I know, I know, how could I be such a cultural Philistine? But my main prior exposure to world music was listening to a friend’s new age music CD. And the music sounded like whales farting. So, armed with this utterly inaccurate view, I slunk off to the Yates Memorial theatre with my cameras.

Noumoufassa was supported by Joshua Reuben, along with vocalist Bridget Yarwood and percussionist Kurt Langrud. These guys opened the night and they played both original compositions and cool reworkings of recognisable tunes. They were a great start to the evening, blending virtuoso performances with a light, fun mood. They were joined near the end of their set by keyboardist and percussionist, Rex, from Noumoufassa, who added some funky bass to their songs. Then, after the intermission, Noumoufassa exploded onto the stage with highly energetic playing and acrobatic performances. I have to say that this was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to in my life, and as a lapsed musician, I’ve seen my fair share. These guys put everything they have into their show and it really comes alive in the most incredible-sounding and visually-entertaining way.

Twice during the evening Daniel Zopoula, the founder of Bridges of Hope, came and spoke quite briefly about the organisation and their goals. He is a passionate and well-educated man, but not someone who rants or bludgeons you with emotionally manipulative speeches. One thing he said really struck home to me and that was this: when the 2004 tsunami struck the nations around the Indian Ocean, around 200,000 people died and many people in the world rallied to provide aid. Yet approximately 150,000 people die in Africa every month. To learn more, please head over to the Bridges of Hope website.

You can still catch the show at two more locations in Alberta, in Red Deer and LeDuc. For more information check out this link. There is also a little YouTube video you can watch there to give you a bit of an idea of the music. However, with no offense to the people who made the video, it really doesn’t come close to capturing the energy of the actual performance. You really have to see them live to appreciate the show. If you’re anywhere in the area, go. You’ll have a whale of a time.

These images are not really edited, because I haven’t had the time, but I wanted to get something up on the blog right away. Most of them are shot at around ISO 6400, with some at ISO 8000.