“Who’s Willa Rah Rouge,” you may ask? Oh, they’re great! Only, they’re three separate bands: Willa, Rah Rah, and Dear Rouge, who played a fantastic triple bill this past Saturday night at Distrikt.
Willa’s festival debut was earlier this year at Rock the Shores and, having connected over her photos in the days following, she was kind enough to say yes when I asked her for a rockstar portrait before the show.
Canon EOS 70D · Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM · 35 mm · 1/250 s · f/1.8 · ISO 100
Strobist: Canon 430EX II, 1/16 power, softbox diffused, remote triggered
Tyson Elder (the OG Rocktographer) was kind enough to join me on another rockstar portrait shoot, and helped me figure out some spots for great light.
Fuji X100S · 23 mm · 1/500 s · f/4 · ISO 1600 · Photographer: Tyson Elder
Despite her slight fear of heights, I managed to coax Willa two and five storeys above ground. She was a champ.
Canon EOS 70D · Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM · 160 mm · 1/250 s · f/2.8 · ISO 320
The set times at Distrikt were already early, but then moved up half an hour the week of the show, meaning that Willa opened the stage at 6:30 pm. Oddly early, but it was a strong performance from Willa nonetheless, with some amusing banter between her and the sparse crowd.
Canon EOS 70D · Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM · 108 mm · 1/250 s · f/2.8 · ISO 1600
Willa’s band — Mike (on bass, w/ a guest spot as drum trigger pad tapper, hence the stick), Chersea (on keys and alien light beams), and Johnny (on drums, but drums are always super-horribly lit; sorry Johnny!) — helped her to pound out a tight performance, including her cover of The Cardigan’s Lovefool and her single Stay the Night which, awesomely, she opened with. I love that.
L: Canon EOS 70D · Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM · 70 mm · 1/180 s · f/2.8 · ISO 1600
R: Canon EOS 70D · Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM · 200 mm · 1/250 s · f/2.8 · ISO 1600
Up next were Rah Rah from Regina, Saskatchewan. A five-piece I’d not seen or heard before, I would’ve initially described their music as happy/indie/party and, for the most part, it was. Songs of love and loss with many vocalists, great harmonies and upbeat (see happy/party above) melodies.
Canon EOS 70D · Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM · 19 mm · 1/250 s · f/1.8 · ISO 3200
There was also this animatronic cat.
Canon EOS 70D · Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM · 23 mm · 1/250 s · f/1.8 · ISO 3200
However, when Erin Passmore (keys, keytar, guitar, and special guest drummer, seen above with the cat) took up vocals for their song Surgery, I was hooked, and I went straight to the merch table after their set to buy their new album, Vessels.
I’m fine ‘n dandy with the happy music, but my heart is always drawn by the serious intensity of songs like Surgery, and it’s the song I replay most from their album, closely followed by the album’s final track, Space.
Canon EOS 70D · Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM · 18 mm · 1/250 s · f/1.8 · ISO 3200
Now back to Willa! =)
Canon EOS 70D · Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 · 165 mm · 1/250 s · f/2.8 · ISO 200
And whatta light that sun is, eh? Especially combined with red hair.
Canon EOS 70D · Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM · 35 mm · 1/250 s · f/1.8 · ISO 320
When Dear Rouge toured through Victoria with Phantogram in 2014, I had some good hangs with Danielle and Drew McTaggart, and they told me that one of the most mind-blowing parts of watching Phantogram’s show was the next-level lighting.
I’ll have to admit, I was not prepared for what I saw (or felt; those were WARM light beams; something I’ve only ever felt during arena-level light shows) that night: some of the most highly-focused light beams, bounced off of mirrors situated around the stage and, at one point, Sarah Barthel’s mirror cloak. Check out photos from that amazing show here.
So, how did the Phantogram experience rub off on Dear Rouge? Pretty dang well . . .
Canon EOS 70D · Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM · 35 mm · 1/750 s · f/1.8 · ISO 3200
One of the main challenges of being a concert photographer is light, or lack thereof.
Dear Rouge solved that problem handily by bringing their own lighting rig, including four colourful light cannons which shot powerful beams to the back walls, four panels of light bars for crazy silhouettes (seen below) and even backlighting, and a large box stage left with a single sealed beam inside, pointing straight up . . . its purpose unknown before the show started.
As you can see, Dear Rouge was a gift to shoot. This level of light makes my job that much better.
Canon EOS 70D · Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 · 70 mm · 1/750 s · f/2.8 · ISO 3200
And that lightbox? T’was a platform for Danielle to glow upon.
Canon EOS 70D · Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM · 18 mm · 1/350 s · f/1.8 · ISO 3200
❤️❤️❤️
Canon EOS 70D · Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM · 18 mm · 1/350 s · f/1.8 · ISO 3200
Inexplicably, Danielle seems to be putting more into her performance as time goes on. Her direct eye (and sometimes, hand) contact with audience members, her crazy passionate facial expressions, and her full-body energy is a joy to watch.
Canon EOS 70D · Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM · 18 mm · 1/350 s · f/1.8 · ISO 3200
Lookit every face in this photo. SUCH love and passion for the music and the people, it hurts.
Canon EOS 70D · Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM · 18 mm · 1/250 s · f/1.8 · ISO 3200
On behalf of all music fans and concert photographers: thank you, Dear Rouge, for upping your light game x100. Your final show on this tour was spec-freakin’-tacular.
Canon EOS 70D · Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM · 20 mm · 1/350 s · f/1.8 · ISO 3200
Two last moments with Willa before we go.
Canon EOS 70D · Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM · 18 mm · 1/180 s · f/2 · ISO 320
Strobist: Canon 430EX II, 1/16 power, softbox diffused, remote triggered
The Sussex and parkade rooftop we visited were perfect as the sun set (at —he says, looking at his watch, shocked— 4:00 pm), and I’m grateful for Willa’s time.
Canon EOS 70D · Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM · 18mm · 1/250 s · f/2.8 · ISO 100
Strobist: Canon 430EX II, 1/16 power, softbox diffused, remote triggered
=)