Aleks & The Ramps @ The Jade Monkey

[BJWOK]

Any band that puts in as much effort into their stage presence as Aleks & The Ramps do deserves attention.

Before tonight I had not heard a thing about these guys from Melbourne, but as soon as they hit the stage in ridiculous apparel they had my undivided attention! Musically, I was reminded of The Beach Boys and Mr. Bungle - two bands covering most genres of music not often mentioned in the same sentence.

Not only did these guys play the part and dress the part but during their set they swapped instruments will nilly and even at one point got off the stage entirely for some line dancing and general crowd interaction/humiliation. Certainly not something I had expected to see on a quiet Thursday night!

Photographically, for the second time ever I was forced to shoot using flash at a gig. Apologies to the band, as they had meticulously decorated every possible mic stand with fairy lights, which looked amazing from the floor, but not even at 1600 ISO and f/2.8 would I be able to catch anything.

01. http://www.bjwok.com/photos/event/aleks&theramps/aleks&theramps01.jpg

02. http://www.bjwok.com/photos/event/aleks&theramps/aleks&theramps02.jpg

03. http://www.bjwok.com/photos/event/aleks&theramps/aleks&theramps03.jpg

04. http://www.bjwok.com/photos/event/aleks&theramps/aleks&theramps04.jpg

05. http://www.bjwok.com/photos/event/aleks&theramps/aleks&theramps05.jpg

06. http://www.bjwok.com/photos/event/aleks&theramps/aleks&theramps06.jpg

07. http://www.bjwok.com/photos/event/aleks&theramps/aleks&theramps07.jpg

08. http://www.bjwok.com/photos/event/aleks&theramps/aleks&theramps08.jpg

[BJWOK]

09. http://www.bjwok.com/photos/event/aleks&theramps/aleks&theramps09.jpg

[roman_t]

amazing folks
flash is really a killer but what you can do
thanks for sharing

[BJWOK]

yeah, i had no option here.
funny too, i mentioned to the singer i would need to shoot with flash and he was worried about me killing the ambience of the fairy lights. he was right. i tried dragging the shutter like i do in nightclubs but at this distance from the subject i was getting a lot of motion blur.

is there any other approach i could've taken do you think?

[roman_t]

i guess its a place you cant do anything about. from shot i see you were limited too much. those guys are crazy :-) reminds me group from fatboy slim video praise you.
imo, shooting them with ringflash would fit that performance well.

[BJWOK]

yeah ringflash would have been cool. the gizmo copy is available here for cheap also. maybe i should grab one!

[leitch]

Saw these guys play up here in Brisbane a couple of weeks ago, and the venue and lighting were very much the same. Killer stage act, though, and a LOT of fun.

[BJWOK]

cool andrew! did you shoot the show?

[The Moose]

For using flash the shots aren't that bad. Clean and sharp. How was the flash used? Bounced off the wall/roof or straight up with a bounce card? Looks like bounced off the roof to me but just thought I'd ask :)

[BJWOK]

thanks glenn, correct mate. these were with diffused 580EXII bounced off the ceiling :)

[johnstoy]

Must say, # 9 is particularly good... well done.

[BJWOK]

thanks mate :)