Mark Morton @ Mayhem Festival 2010

Mark Morton @ Mayhem Festival 2010
Originally uploaded by Tormentia Photography

So it has been a while since the Mayhem festival and I have totally ignored posting any of my shots.

I really felt that I had to try and make every post to this blog EPIC and really.. I should just be sharing some of my favorite shots and be as casual as if I was talking to a friend about a shot that I liked.

There are soo many shots from Mayhem that I love. Lamb of God is obviously one of my favorite bands, so I naturally love my pics of them the best. Mark and Randy are so much fun to shoot because they just have that energy that translates well into a still. I really feel like I capture something special when I shoot this band, so here is one of the pics I like from the PNC show. Enjoy!

The Mayhem Festival

To say that the day was a hot one, is the understatement of the year. My good friend Fern and I headed down to Camden midday and were ready to see some amazing music. The lineup this year was a great one, and I couldn't wait to snap away. We got to do it again 5 days later at the PNC in Holmdel. We were lucky to be able to go to the after parties and I got to chat with some of my favorite musicians. And well, yeah I took a ton of pics.

Understand that these festivals are EXTREMELY tiring. It not only sucks because the heat is unbearable, the pavement that you stand on just amplifies the heat. Add lots of added on weight of a camera/lens or two, and that calls for a long day.

I grabbed a bunch of shots from both shows. I think that the final count was about 2800 pics from both dates. I have only posted about half of the shots right now on my site. Of course, the first band I posted were my friends in Lamb of God. I was sad to have them play such a short set. I really forgot what it was like to see them play for less than an hour.

I got to see Korn and White Zombie again. I have not seen them on a big stage before and they did not disappoint.

Check out the pics of Lamb of God, Chimaira, Shadow's Fall, and 3 Inches of blood. The first 3 bands listed have both sets from both dates up. I only got to catch 3 Inches of Blood down in Camden.

I am chugging along with the other bands, so be patient with me. I unfortunately have to work a day job that eats up most of my time. One day I will be able to afford to do photography full time, and I will be quicker about my upload times!

Job For a Cowboy, Gwar, and Lamb of God @ The Wellmont

Let me start this blog by saying this was one of the most entertaining shows I have been to in a while. What a line-up. Job For a Cowboy jump started the show. This was my third time seeing them this year, and they have not disappointed in the slightest. I am happy that there are more death metal bands out there. It is making quite the comeback and I am glad. When I was in college at the University of Florida, I remember spending many of my weekends down in the Tampa area seeing some great death metal acts. Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Dying Fetus were only a few. Job For a Cowboy take it into the next century and bring a modern flair to a music I grew up loving.

Job For a Cowboy

I will admit that I was a Gwar virgin before this show. They were everything I thought they were going to be. I was so scared that I was going to soak my camera, but alas, I just got some blood or other bodily fluid on it. What a fantastic subject to take pics of. I have to say that Oderus' Cuttlefish of Cthulhu was a little intimdating at first, but made a fascinating subject. I think I got some kick ass pics of it. Blood, guts, cum.. sprayed all over the crowd and myself. Now I call that a show.

Gwar

Then last, but not least, Lamb of God hits the stage. Mark Morton did not play a few dates on the tour, so Doc from God Forbid filled in for him. What a fun fill in that was! I was joking around with friends calling the temporary line up Lamb Forbid or God of God. I think Doc did a great job of filling in for Mark, which is not an easy thing to do. I got some great shots of the band and I had fun jamming out with them. I have to say I took one of my best shots at this show and it happened to be of Doc

Lamb of God

Lamb of God- Oh My God

So let me just tell you that never in a million years would I ever imagine that music would move me the way that it did at this show. Lamb of God opened up with the first few songs off of their new album, Wrath, in the exact same order as on the CD. The intro got me all excited as my heart began to pound in my throat. I had 3 songs to get this right, and of course I was worried I was not going to do well. This was my first concert where I could bring my DSLR camera, and I am still learning how to use it, so I was not sure what to expect.

Well LoG came on and it blew my mind that I was lucky enough to be in the photo pit. My jaw dropped open as they exploded into their first song, In Your Words. I had to remember the reason I was there, to take pics! I jammed out and had a hard time keeping my body still enough to take the pictures properly.

Now this part is a little personal, but I have to share so that you can appreciate and understand the feeling that washed over me. Around 3:50 seconds into this song, the boys begin to jam. The last minute in a half of this song has no singing and no words, but it speaks to me in a way that I can't describe. The way all the instruments meld into this melody brings tingles throughout my body, gives me goosebumps, and makes my hair stand up on end. Now I had a visual to go along with this feeling that this song brings out of me. The spotlight shines on Mark as he plays this part of the song and I thought I was on another plane of existence - me with my camera and him with his guitar. It looked a little like this:

The morning after the show, I was able to review my shots and I was pretty impressed with some of the shots I managed to land. They were good, but I didn't feel that I "captured" that feeling that I was describing above. By the grace of God, or of an amazing friend on this tour that I will be forever grateful to, I was able to figure out what I didn't do right the night before and correct it for the next stop on this tour. These shots that I got at the Electric Factory capture how that minute and a half felt for me and I am happy that will be able to enjoy this moment again and again:

The rest of the pictures from these two shows can be found here

Roseland Ballroom- May 8th 2009

Electric Factory- May 9th 2009