Whitechapel/Upon A Burning Body – Burning The Gramercy Down 11/10/14
Mondays are ALWAYS weird for concerts. Regardless of what event it is, its just WEIRD. Monday nights Whitechapel, Upon a burning body and Glass cloud show at Gramercy Theater proved yet again, just how bloody WEIRD Mondays can get.
Unable to shoot Glass Cloud, we are just going to get right into Upon a burning body. The maniacal tendencies of Danny Leal and company have not unleashed their brand of Texas hell in New York City since their last tour with Attila last year (also around this time of year). Their show then was sold out and the crowd was unbelievably wild, that show was also on a FRIDAY. With security gearing up for what might have been a repeat of last years crowd surfing madness, the band came out full swing. With a sigh of relief, the only people really swinging were the ones in the mosh pit. Crowd surfing was minimal and Danny, who doesn’t tolerate sloth in the mosh pit, had a lot to say to those Monday babies out there who consistently made a New York City mosh pit look like a broken blender. As someone who has been shooting Gramercy for half a decade now, it was truly a WTF moment as UABB completely destroyed Gramercy. The moshers woke up and continued to participate, especially singing along with Danny and pulling out the Red, White and Green album classic “Texas Blood Money” At the end of my stay in the photo pit, I was thoroughly aggravated with the lack of lighting. Outside the pit, checking out my material, I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of quality material I pulled out with the right timing of the lighting systems co-existing with Danny’s movements on stage. After the show, I explained this to Danny personally. Being able to be a photographer is always more than just taking a picture. Like any musician or anyone in a profession in certain industries, there is more than meets the eye to completing a full persona or piece to be displayed. As a photographer, I have to look at lighting patterns, band movement, individual musician movements and be aware of my surroundings within the photo pit. There’s also this thing about KNOWING the music. You have to know breakdown patterns, emphasis on screams/shouts, solos, personality traits that carry onto the stage. Danny smiled at me and thanked me for being more than just a fan. I know, having the weekend I spent working alongside him and his bandmates, that I had an ally who I can consider a friend and someone who just might be music family in the future. We are masters of our craft, and as we grow with age, it only gets better. Special thanks to the fellas for autographing my photo I brought with me that night. It’ll go down in history. Check out the photos and the set-list below.
Upon A Burning Body Set-List:
1. Red Razor Wrists
2. Pledge Your Allegiance
3. Mimic
4. Texas Blood Money
5. Scars
6. Middle Finger to the World
7. Sin City
8. Intermission
Upon A Burning Body Photos:
Whitechapel was the headliner. The Tennessee Titans of metal come out swinging with their barrage of strobe lights and high influxes of dark colors that engulf the shadows of all corners of the stage. Their disaster of a show at Stage 48 in the middle of this year was NOT my favorite. I say disaster from a photographers standpoint. Musically, the guys are barbaric. People go absolutely bonkers for Whitechapel and maneuvering outside the photo pit is a mission all on itself overtime just for the simple fact that the mosh pit can start ANYWHERE. The last show was nothing but strobes and dark colors. The depth of the stage to the space we have in the photo pit is proportionally incorrect. Top that off with the placement of lights and lack of crown interactivity being captured in the venue and you have yourself a clusterf**k. Gramercy Theater however, was the redemption I craved for this band. Their light was phenomenal. Even when the strobes were on, I already know which would be kept and which would be burned. I did have some focusing issues as I had to plan my timing with the lights to correspond with the band members. I had instances where I had to focus in the dark just to get that shot with that little glimpse of light on whoever it was I was capturing. it was pure insanity, then the normal lights came on. fluorescent white lighting from the ceiling that shimmered down, sky blue lights encompassing the entire stage and moments of orange influxed with white. ALOT of photographers have gripes shooting Whitechapel, but this was a huge achievement for the photo pit. I felt like we won the Super Bowl, hell I know I did because of the material I captured. Whitechapel opened up with the top three songs for the photo pit, Our endless war, Saw is the law and Section 8. Since I blast the music religiously, I know what was about to go down. Outside the show, the wall of death appeared with amazing crowd lighting and a sea of green immersed the stage immediately after. The light guy was on point when it came to adding dramatics. I love Whitechapel. The music is sick, the live show at its current time is a full on power trip and the fans that stand with them are some of the craziest I have seen. After the show, I got to meet Phil Bozeman, the bands lead singer, who autographed a photo I took with me and the band for signing a massive poster I received from the venue. Their VIP meet and greet filled the 2nd floor of the venue, with fans of all ages coming to meet and take photos with the band they love. It was a smooth transition as they knew how to handle the crowd. Check out the photos below and the set-list as well.
Whitechapel Set-list:
1. Intro
2. Our Endless War
3. Saw is The Law
4. Section 8
5. Let Me Burn
6. Possession
7. Darkest Day of Man
8. Prostatic Fluid Asphyxxiation
9. Mono
10. Worship The Digital Age
11. This is Exile
12. I, Dimentia
13. Faces
14.. Possibilities
Encore: Diggs Road
Whitechapel Photos:
This tour is a power trip, a full on eardrum massacre that was everything a concert should be. I got my time worth and the fans did. 100%…
See you on the flip side rockers!
—Derek Soto—
