Boudist » great escape festival

Sugartime at The Great Escape

Daniel Boud — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 02:38:22 +0000

My last mention of the Great Escape Festival is some pictures of Sugartime Cabaret. They’re a troupe of cabaret and burlesque acts who entertained the bunker stage each evening.

Great to watch and to photograph.

The Great Escape Festival – Day 3

Daniel Boud — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 22:37:56 +0000

Day 3 of the Great Escape was when i finally got to go up in the helicopter. It had been postponed for two days because of the weather, but it cleared up enough to do the trip on the final day. It was still pretty miserable weather but loads of fun.

One of the highlights early on in the day was Ryan Shaw, the first act on the main stage. I’d never heard of him but he put on an incredible performance.

The final day of the festival coincided with Easter Sunday. True to the family friendly nature of the event there was an official easter egg hunt for all the kids.

There was an impromptu ‘sax party’ in the early hours of the closing night. Security had shut down all the music, so this fella from Waiting for Guiness dug out his saxaphone and started playing for the crowd who were all still in the mood to party and dance. A chant of "sax-ama-phone" started up and the party continued down the street with just this one guy on sax providing music to the crowd.

More closing night antics with leftover sausages.

There was some music played too. Among the acts were Gomez and The Living End

See more photos from day 3 of The Great Escape festival.

The Great Escape Hay Fight

Daniel Boud — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 05:03:25 +0000

Deserving of it’s own post from the Great Escape was the hay fight on day 2. Because of the wet, organisers trucked in extra hay bales to soak up the mud. After John Butler finished his set on the main stage the crowd stuck around down the front, hurling hay into the air and at each other.

Security just looked on bemused by what was unfolding. It continued for about half an hour before everyone grew tired and fresh hay supplies dwindled.

Good old fashioned fun it was.

The Great Escape – Day 2

Daniel Boud — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 18:23:10 +0000

Day 2 of the Great Escape Festival saw a bit of rain, but it didn’t dampen people’s spirits.

On the main stage Little Birdy entertained in the afternoon, Ziggy Marley played the dusk set and John Butler Trio headlined.

In one of the food tents this fella played the bazouki to a techno beat which proved quite popular. He appeared to just play the same tune over and over all night.

As usual the non-musical entertainment proved popular – including a performance art type thing called Pork in the Rafters.

The Great Escape – Day 1

Daniel Boud — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 22:44:14 +0000

As i wrote previously, i was the official photographer for The Great Escape Festival two weeks ago. It was so much fun – both the festival itself and the job of taking photos.

It’s a three day festival, which makes for lots of photos. First up is pictures from Day 1.

The Vines were a popular act as the sun set on the main stage. As usual Craig trashed the stage during the last song.

I was excited to see my perennial favourites Wolfmother headline Day 1. They’re still playing the same tunes they were at the little venues of Sydney 3 years ago, but they translate well to a big stage and the crowd adores them.

One of the great things about a AAA pass is getting to shoot the angles you can’t normally get from the pit. I love getting the audience in the same shot as the performer.

Kaki King was in a world of her own, head down playing guitar. She finished her song, saw me and gave me a cheesy thumbs up.

One of the best things about The Great Escape is the wide range of non-musical entertainment on offer.

See more photos from Day 1 of The Great Escape.

Angus and Julia Stone and more

Daniel Boud — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 18:28:05 +0000

This is Angus and Julia Stone at The Great Escape festival.

Normally to take pictures of an established band or artist you need to go through a convoluted trail of publicists, managers, labels and assorted others. And if you’re not doing it for a publication of some sort then you’ll usually be out of luck.

In this case it was a simple case of getting a friend of mine who knows them to ask if i could take their photo, bypassing the usual rigmarole. They were happy to do so and i quickly snapped some pictures between their publicity commitments.

The following are some other acts i grabbed photos with at SXSW.

This is Yo Majesty from Florida, photographed out the back of a club they were performing at. I casually asked one of them if i could get a photo, she excitedly gathered the others to mug for the camera.

Badly Drawn Boy was having a pint by himself while another band played before his set. I politely asked if he minded having his photo taken, snapped 2 frames and let him get on with it.

Saul Williams was chatting with some people outside a venue. I politely interupted to ask for a photo and he happily obliged. I asked him to shuffle along a bit in order to get a better background, but all up it was done in 20 seconds. There’s another shot of him smiling here.

Each of these encounters were very brief. I made sure i was prepared (right lens, right camera settings, picture in my head of what i wanted) before approaching the person and did so in a friendly manner.

It goes to show that you don’t need to always go through the official channels for these things – just have the balls to approach people when the time is right. And of course be nice about it and respectful if they say no.

The Great Escape Festival photos

Daniel Boud — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 20:39:54 +0000

I’m loving my four day weekend, what a great idea it is to take Monday off. A good opportunity to finally post some more photos from the Great Escape Festival.

Femi Kuti was new to me but very impressive, not least the dancers/backup singers.

This fella from the Afro Cuban Allstars had the most infectious smile.

I’d never heard of Daara J but they were a surprise highlight. So much energy, and they had the massive crowd jumping and dancing like no one else all weekend.

Unkle Ho

Sigur Rós – lush Icelandic soundscapes

Something for Kate

The Beautiful Girls

Zombie Ghost Train

And finally The Black Keys.

You can see 200 odd more photos in the Great Escape Festival gallery.

Triple J (Matt Booy) and Luke also have some great shots.