Veil of Maya 12/7/13

I’m going to start this article off fair and square. When this tour was announced, the first words that I uttered were “HOLY S**T” and I am going to explain why. My very first concert of my career was at Gramercy Theatre for a little tour called “Crush Em All II” back in 2010. It was my first outing altogether. Not only a photo pass in tow, but an all-access badge. Not only that, but there were NO OTHER photographers in the photo pit that night. It was a completely stacked line-up with bands like “Veil of Maya”, “After The Burial”, “Misery Signals”, “Within The Ruins”, “I The Breather” and more. I never shot Veil of Maya on a headlining tour even if that first tour was a “Co-Headliner” I never classified it as one. It was to me “okay, they are last, so they headline”. But, I learned as I went along. Now, over 4 years later and a home to call my own, The Gramercy Theatre and Veil of Maya of Sumerian Records, return back for probably one of my greatest reunions of 2013. The show started quite early with local New York band “FXZERO” opening the show. I spoke to many of the band members and I felt their nervousness before hitting the stage. It was refreshing to see a band take such enthusiasm and pride in a show of this caliber. Although I did not witness their performance, there was not only a sense of relief, but one of accomplishment when they returned backstage. New York City has had many bands open up at Gramercy this year. “Yander Realm”, “Winter Nights”, “Spectral Voices”, “FXZERO”, “Sensory Defect”, “Anaka” and so much more. The local community strives and to see one of us make it is quite a sight of achievement in a city with a dying music scene.

Mexico’s own “Here Comes The Kraken” was up next. I spoke to some of the guys backstage who also had photographers of their own. All band members and the photos were really nice people and the performance was quite impressive for the first time seeing them. The light was generally simple, mostly red though once again. The venue has had a nice habit of utilizing their side-stage lighting rigs which was out shadows with ease. Their bassist, Alexa, was the most photogenic one. I stood by him as my safety zone and he gave me really detailed shots. There is an energy that cannot be denied by these people. Aguascalientes & Mexico City have birthed something quite powerful here that cannot be denied.
After their set I congratulated them and told them how I felt about the show. Alexa came over to me and handed me their CD, which I got autographed by all the band members. It is one thing to enjoy doing photography, but its a whole other realm when a band respect’s your line of work and the creativity behind what you see in front of you. To be recognized by them was a memory I won’t forget. Now, I have to do an album review. There was no set-list visible on the stage.

(Side Note: NO BAND had a set-list on stage the ENTIRE night).

Vildhjarta, a name I couldn’t spell correctly or say for the life of me. It was so bad, I had band members Daniel, David and Vilhelm teach me in the Veil of Maya green room. I felt so embarrassed that all I could do was learn to get it right. Which, I probably still don’t even as I type this article. Never the less, I didn’t appear until the 2nd song of their set. Looking from the HD-TV’s in the lounge area, I saw utter madness on the stage floor. Kids joshing so aggressively and the crowd jumping to a point where I stopped to be grateful for how I am NOT IN THERE. The crowd was extra rambunctious in the front row. Swinging fists and head banging, the crowd surfers almost made it seem highly unsuitable to shoot in. After two and a half-songs the security team kicked us all and not even with my all-access pass I couldn’t stay inside or shoot to the side. I was upset, but grateful for what I got. After their set the band gave me a poster to which all members autographed it. I intend on framing this with pride and maybe, just maybe getting some prints done to be autographed. There lighting was so challenging. Extremely bright white fluorescence which was giving my camera high burn out even when the ISO level was nominal. Burn out is when the photo has too much light in the frame. Even when you edit it, the highlights become disgusting and the whole shot is ruined. Considering I also had very little time, I took my chances more so than before. There set-list was typed out by the band, and here it is: “Benblast”, “Shadow”, “Eternal Golden Monk”, “Dagger”, “Mist forstandet” and “All These Feelings”.  I intend on shooting this band again regardless. Great people, ridiculous music and a crowd that was just getting warmed up.

Now, onto the bad news. The next 3 sets including Veil of Maya were all cut extremely short. Northlane, Structures and Veil of Maya had photographers being removed from the photo-pit. Not only that, All-Access passes were being revoked as those who had them were being escorted out personally for breaking rules. Luckily for myself, I not only know the security team at the venue, but I respect their decisions even at times I disagree. I am not special, but I earned my keep. I managed to sneak some photos of Structures on-stage by the entrance to the floor along with Veil of Maya. I was highly upset when nobody was allowed in the pit, but I did my best. Lighting was excellent for all bands considering I only got 5 or ten good photos from Structures and Northlane. There crowd experience was very scary. Fans crowd-surfed like tomorrow was not coming, and the mosh-pits were aggressive and full of no-holds bar swinging. At one point during the show, I walked out to discover a young man be treated by EMT’s as he bled out of his nose while sitting at a bus stop. It wasn’t appealing as I believe music is suppose to UNITE and not DESTROY. Veil of Maya got a lot more photos and a crazier mosh-pit when they arrived on stage. V.O.M opened up with their new single “Subject Zero” and then went on to play classics like “Winter is Coming Soon”, “Resistance”, “Mowgli”, “Dark Passenger”, “Vicious Cycles” and others. There was no set-list for this event either, but I remember a majority of the songs played. The actual show was pulse-pounding. There has always been a reputation for this band to uphold as many of my colleagues consider Veil of Maya one of the top 4 bands under the Sumerian Records roster. It is a continuous reputation to continuously be better, something that comes simple for them to achieve. Brandon Butler is commanding on stage. He interacts with fans often and gives off really good photographs (When the lights cooperate). Marc Okubo on guitars is NEVER seen live. He always seems to position himself in the darkest parts on stage when he plays NYC. And, his photos are beyond a pain to capture. I honestly haven’t gotten a good photo of him since 2012, no fooling. Sam and Danny are photogenic and highly interactive on stage. They play with tenacity and such ease. Fluidity is so profound with these Chicago brothers that it needs to be seen to believe. Afterwards the band was kind enough to take photos with me and give me a new video-bite for my collection. I also got my first photo of Danny Hauser, their bassist, autographed in tow. It was an excellent night and a way to cap off 2013. Only thing is, this isn’t my last show of the year. I implore you to check all of these guys out because they have worked diligently to sell out every venue they have played at. Every band was hospitable and showed so much respect for me as a photographer in my profession. We are all cut from the same cloth once everything is said and done and there is a deep bond indeed for my brothers in Veil of Maya and myself. I am proud that I can come back to where it all began and hang out with people who mean the world to me as musicians…and family. That is how you cap the Start to an amazing December and to one potentially amazing holiday season.

Check out the photos below and thank you for reading. Until next time!

—Derek Soto—
Sole Proprietor of Sinestra Studios

Full Hi-Res Flickr Gallery Available here: Veil of Maya 12/7/13

Here Comes The Kraken Gallery

Vildhjartha Gallery

Northlane & Structures Gallery

Veil of Maya Gallery