Welsh-based band Holding Absence made their LA stop on a rainy Saturday night at the Echoplex in their first week of “The Noble Art of Self Destruction” tour. It is the first tour they are headlining in the US & Canada since their formation in 2015.

Arriving and getting in had its challenges. The rain didn’t make it easy as we had to wait in line a half hour before doors opened. I made sure to get there early to get a good spot because the Echoplex does not have a pit to get free range in the front to shoot. The plan of the night was to take some photos at the front in the first 30 minutes and then some from the back with my 70-200mm but more on that in a little bit.

This was my first rock shoot since Death from Above 1979 back in early December - I was eager to get back in the groove. I knew this time not to underestimate my shutter speed from the last show I shot - I chose to set it between 500-800 for the show because I expected fast movements from lead vocalist Lucas Woodman. Lighting was challenging for the show. The Echo can be hit-and-miss sometimes when it comes to lighting. I shot on an ISO between 3200-6400. As for the environment of the show, it was pretty crazy. The crowd pushed around a lot and I involuntarily got pushed into a spot right at the stage.

I knew I was locked in that spot and couldn’t move anywhere else for the rest of the show. I had to stay there and get the best of what I could. I was in a position where I could not change lenses with my one body (Canon Mark IV 5D) so I settled with the 24-70mm. I wonder how it will be when I pick up a Nikon Z9 this summer and have two bodies at once at shows like this with limited space to move around. I’m looking forward to how it will improve my work in my second year as a live photographer.

There was a point in the middle of the show where fans crowd-surfed to the stage. Frontman Lucas pulled them in and handed them to security to escort them off. When Lucas announced there were two songs left, I took the opportunity to head out of the challenging front but I took a couple decent shots with my 70-200mm lens.

The back was just as busy as the front. I’ve shot about 5 shows at the Echoplex so far and this was the most packed show I’ve ever been at the house. What I got out of the show was to relearn the exposure triangle again (ISO, Shutter, f/stop) now that I’m learning to not underestimate my shutter speeds and to learn how to handle noise in my photos. I also need to learn how to handle very tight crowds once I have obtained more lenses and bodies and not distract the audience at the same time. I always believe you want to be invisible to the audience. My skills are slowly but surely improving just a little bit at a time.

HOLDING ABSENCE