⚡️ "Justice for all, champagne on ice and helmets for everyone." – Things don't get any more iconic than this line from a song by Finland's greatest live band. A band that sometimes meant just a little bit too much to me. ⚡️
You know that feeling when your all-time fave band announces their final tour? It's a shitty one and all my favorite bands seem to have called it quits in the past two years. I get it, the business ain't the same as ten years ago. So I secured myself photo-passes for some shows of the band's final European tour. And... This is what happened, I suppose...
In case I didn't make it obvious in the very first paragraph and the photograph above, the band I'm talking about is Disco Ensemble. I don't really wanna talk about the music here – Me and the editor-team of yourdeadpartner.com are currently working on a detailed article about their work. Should be out sometime in December.
I'll just add that this band has been pretty much a part of my life since the release of their third album called "Magic Recoveries" in 2008. Ten years. That's a long time.
During those ten years I've definitely seen them five times and had the chance to photograph their shows three times. It was always a blast. And I'll never forget the impact the release of their single "Second Soul" had on me, but I'll try to save all those feels for that other article...
Knowing that I'll never get to their last shows in Helsinki this December due to work-related reasons, I decided to make a small roadtrip and travelled to Vienna and Munich – If I wouldn't be a depressed asshole, I'm sure I'd follow them on the whole tour through Germany. After all, I was on vacation cause of this... Talking about dedication.
Woman on a mission:
I used to make day-trips to Vienna when I was still living in Salzburg. It was fun and Vienna ain't too far away from Salzburg after all... Come on, it's just 300 km! But things change drastically when you move across the country. So the usual three hours to Vienna became five. And I knew that this is gonna be a long, cold and lonely night.
I stacked up on RedBull and cigarettes for the trip and had the time of my life on the road – And oh, this happened too: https://steemit.com/music/@stacyisacoolcat/i-covered-a-song-in-a-car-and-this-is-what-happened
Arriving in Vienna always feels magical even though I know that I'll never belong there. I lived there for a few years as a kid, but now it just feels way too much like Berlin. Not sure if I like it.
Anyway, I parked my car somewhere, hunted down some dinner and headed out to the venue. Turned out that this show was one of the most rewarding ones ever – Guess I was just too worn out after the long travel. Of course I broke down in tears after being finished with the photography-part of my mission... And of course I cried during the majority of the show... As if my life would be over after leaving the venue...
But I know you're all here for the pictures... Here they are:
Moving on! In Vienna I made friends with the supporting act, they learned that I'll be in Munich the next day shooting for another media outlet, so I guess I happened to be on that guest list twice? – Fine by me if that was the case, I'm an VIP-bitch after all.
(They're called Weiland and they're using my live pictures pretty much everywhere. You can check them out on your fave social media sites... Haha. Did I just say fave social media sites? There's no such thing! I'm such a joker...)
Knowing I'll have to drive those five hours back home, I had to fuck off quite early, departing the streets of Vienna with tears in my eyes, being still moved from the concert and the fact that the actual last time seeing Disco Ensemble is about to come in a few hours. In a different city though.
Driving all the way home turned out to be a fucked up idea in the end and I should've booked a hotel or just asked someone to crash at their place... More like the first option... I don't have anyone who'd voluntarily let me sleep at their place. Somebody please tell me if I get too carried away, ok?!
So... The rest of this story will be quite boring. Very boring. Feel free to skip this paragraph. DO IT.
Anyway, I imported my photographs into my Mac as soon as I got home and called it a day. Since Munich is like one-hour-something away from the place I live, I didn't have to rush as much as it was the case the day before and I even had time to edit the first pictures and send them out for publishing.
A fellow co-editor of one of the websites I contribute to joined me on the Munich-adventure and I guess that's what made the pain bearable that evening... I know, you're still here for the photos... I am sorry.
Let me just add that the Viennese show was infinite times more intimate and badass than the one in Munich. Blame it on the venue! Munich has dozens of better places than the infamous Backstage. 🤷🏻♀️
If you feel like it, you can check out more pictures from these two evenings on festivalphoto.net. I'm out and I'll promise myself to move on soon. I'll try not to miss this band as much as I miss that Swedish one that disbanded in 2016. I told you music sometimes means more to me than my own life... It's a curse.
As always, feedback, upvotes and love-comments are always very much appreciated and I hope to see you around soon. My next post will most likely be related to music photography again. You've been warned. 🤷🏻♀️
Love, Peace and so on,
– Stacy, the cool cat.
I am sorry to hear about your favorite band. I will have to honestly say that I don't know them though.. I had a similar experience in September when I went to a huge party in Germany that was being held each year for 15 years and this year was the last one. It was so emotional and people actually.
I have a friend who loves Depeche Mode and when they are performing in Europe she would 'follow' them on almost all their concerts. I thought she was the only one doing it :D Now I see that there are more fans like this :)
Your photos are spot on and I understand that people use them on their FAVE social media sites ;)
PS: Can I ask you which camera do you use?
Thank you for sharing!
Thanks a lot!
I gotta admit that Depeche Mode is very high on my “must see/must photograph” list too, I just seem to miss out my opportunities though. Maybe someday... :)
As for the camera, I use a Nikon D750 with the Nikkor 24-70mm 2.8 lens for all concerts.
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Finally someone using Nikon!! Would you mind to contact me on discord delishtreats#6850? My camera broke last week and I would need some advice..
I’d love to help you out on this, but I didn’t quite figure out how to use Discord... 😅
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If you don't mind I can ask you here.. how do you like your camera? And which other lenses do you use?
It's a solid workhorse for the fact it's already 4 years old! The colors are dynamic and it was definitely a huge step up from the D7000 I used before. Sure, Nikon brought out the D850 last year which I think could outrun the D750 in terms of performance but I don't really know – Need to test it out for more than a few hours.
The company I work for has a few of the D750's in all of their photo studios in Germany & Austria. So yes, it's a very reliable camera.
Besides the 24-70mm I also use Nikon's 50mm, but I can't recall the last time I actually used it...
D850 should be a bit better but I'm not sure if it justifies the change in price. It's overly pricey in my opinion. Are you happy with video on D750 as well? I will need to take a few..
I've heard that many people use 24-70 and it's kind of an all-rounder so I might just settle for this one as well..
Very emotional shots!!! its an awesome thing to be able to photograph your favorite band.... maybe someday i'll be able to photograph mine!!
Thank you so much! 😊
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Same like other people from the comment zone, I am sorry that your favorite band is going to quit. I felt the similar emptiness when my favorite club from my hometown announced closing after more than 20 years of hosting the biggest electronic music parties in my hometown. Lucky for me, after few months owners re-opened this club and in the next week they are going to have their 22th B-Day Party. Perhaps Disco Ensemble will also step into the suspension time and after few months or years in silence they will drop a bomb !
I also really like your photos, the one which you posted here and also on the festivalphoto.net and as a music supporter on the steemit I am waiting for the promised article about their music. I hope it will be also on the same level as this one ! Greetings
Fantastic music photography! Your photos are quite spectacular. I've watched many of my favorite artists come and go, and it often still hurts many many years later!
I think is great how you capture the energy of your favorite band. How many photos you take? tell me something. how you move through the people in the concert?
Thank you very much! Honestly, it depends on the concert and the rules the promoter gives you. Usually for the acts in big venues, you are allowed to photograph the first three songs and you also have a photopit right in front of the stage available, where you can move around freely.
For small club shows the rules are more relaxed. And how do I move through the people? Screaming “EXCUSE ME” turned out to be a good tactic. They see it when you’re carrying a huge camera and step back. 😉
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that's the must hilarious answer i ever received. the part of "screaming EXCUSE ME" LOL... Now I got the image of you taking pictures and screaming. omg! thank's for take the time for answer me. and again , nice photos...
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STOPThank you for this post about the farewell concert of Disco Ensemble group,it is obvious that you are a great fan of them and of course once you know that your favorite group is going to perform the last live concert many real fans would like to be there like when we send someone to retirement or so. But as we know many groups after few years then may give one or two concerts. So you still have a chance to see them again.
You have some beautiful pictures, I believe the ones in Austria are better, at least in my opinion I prefer the one from Austria to Munich one. But it must be also difficult to get the pictures as they are all the time inaction and I presume many shots probably not so good like you wanted. Nevertheless it was interesting to read your experience and of course thank you for these beautiful pictures :)