Ever gone to see a band in an enormodome, after spending your week’s wages on the ticket? You get there to find that you need a loan for a beer and a mortgage for a t-shirt; The light show is amazing but you can’t see the band; And when you leave you can’t help thinking ‘I remember them when they rocked’.

If you ever go to a Supersuckers or a Nashville Pussy show, it’s inevitably in a grubby little club where you can get up close and sweaty with the band (I once saw a drunk guy from the crowd rolling around on the stage clutching Eddie Spaghetti’s microphone and trying to sing), the beer is cheap (and nasty), the tickets are too, and if you don’t buy a t-shirt the band probably won’t be able to afford the petrol to take them to the next gig.

And you leave knowing that you’ve well and truly had your ass kicked!

I was lucky enough to catch both these bands playing the same night…

You can’t really go wrong if you copy Alice Cooper’s stage show and Kiss’ songs, can you?

You can see a review of the show on Goldenplec.

Saxon have a handful of songs that I really like. This was the third time for me to witness them live and, unfortunately, the third time for me to be totally uninspired by them.

You can also see the images on Goldenplec.

Stupid question really but I would have thought that a dip in the water at that time of year would kill you. On my return visits I’ve come to realise that a quick dip in the water is popular with the locals. I saw a man strip to his shorts, plonk himself into the water off one of the ladders, swim in a small circle, and head back out of the water quickly. As he trotted past me he said “Now I’m awake”.

These images were taken in the dawn as I wanted a blue sky but no shadows. Plus I wanted to be the only person there. Although while I was idly looking around as my camera made an exposure, I spotted a man on the beach taking a photo of what I first took to be me – but I reasoned must be the diving platform – on his mobile phone. I wasn’t expecting him and I must admit that he scared me a bit.

…the one in my head is a far more tumultuous affair. The image below involved keeping a close eye on the weather forecast and waking every morning at 5am for a week to stick my head through the curtains to check the conditions. Capturing the one in my head is going to involve also keeping an eye on the wind and tide direction, and luck.

A shame since I was looking forward to it. I haven’t shot Shoctopus since the 7th of May 2011 (since they’ve been through a few upheavals and then were busy with their new album) at what was called the Acropolis show. I thought I’d post the images from that show, since they’re my favourites. Half of these guys aren’t in the band any longer, and I still haven’t seen the new incarnation of the band play. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to shoot them again.

An Tra Bheag in Furbogh, Galway. I set off in my car for a lake that I saw on my map that I thought might be good to photograph. I took a wrong turn and ended up in Na Forbacha. So I parked by Padraicins pub and took a walk along the beach. On my way back I stopped to take this shot. I had my gear set up and was waiting for the sun to pop out from behind the clouds to light up the foreground, when I turned to find that tide had come in and my way back to the car was under water!

I quickly scooped up my gear and legged it. I didn’t actually know that I had this shot until I downloaded the memory card after shooting something else the following week.

I’ve recently moved from Dublin to Galway and this old building is five minutes walk from my front door. There was a wonderful diffuse light that day – due to it being overcast – which gave an even exposure. I did one process in colour and one in black and white. The monochrome image is my favourite but I’ve posted both for you to see.

This is the gig that convinced me that I should be wearing ear plugs. You know when a band plays a small venue just before they break big and then everyone you meet claims to have been at that show? Well, this was one of those shows. Although, it’s likely that these people aren’t lying because Whelans was absoloutely rammed that night.

I managed to find a space to the left of the stage, from which I was unable to move for the rest of the show. My left ear was pressed up against a speaker this whole time. Airbourne blew the roof off the place and at the same time, blew my ear drums asunder.

Support: Hudson Taylor

That Jake Bugg is one cool kid. Doesn’t smile. This despite the fact that the venue was full of young girls shouting his name. Managing to stay aloof while that’s happening is serious dedication to the cool cause.

See the images on the HotPress website or in issue 3703 of the magazine.