Noise Damage

The Vita.mn Vth Anniversary Party: The Hold Steady, P.O.S. and more

Erik Hess — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 06:16:50 +0000

Vita.MN's Vth Anniversary Party at Epic in downtown Minneapolis brought a great variety of bands into a space that doesn't often see rock and roll these days. Having only been to Epic to shoot two shows so far - P. Diddy and Duran Duranback in April - I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the musical and fashion extravaganza that Vita.MN had planned on Friday night. Fortunately, the mix of Minneapolis artists didin't disappoint! No Bird Sing, Night Moves, P.O.S. and the Hold Steady proved to be a potent combination. Check out some technical notes and a bunch of seriously celebratory photos after the jump.

The Goondas “Chud” 7″ Release Show at 7th Street Entry (09/24/2011)

Erik Hess — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:23:21 +0000

The Goondas, admittedly one of my favorite Minneapolis bands, tore up 7th Street in front with a sold-out crowd and some killer openers, including Pink Mink and Bloodnstuff.

You might realize that this is the first post in awhile on Noise Damage. While my freelance work - lots of photography for the City Pages Gimme Noise Blog and some video work for MPLS.TV, among other things - has kept me busy I don't intend to let this blog languish. Get ready for more regular photos of Minneapolis bands this Fall and Winter!

Har Mar Superstar, Slapping Purses and Seawhores at 7th Street Entry (05/05/2011)

Erik Hess — Wed, 11 May 2011 00:01:07 +0000

Har Mar Superstar, Slapping Purses and Seawhores performing at 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Seawhores Slapping Purses Har Mar Superstar

P.O.S. at Spring Jam 2011

Erik Hess — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 01:32:06 +0000

Minneapolis, Minnesota's P.O.S. (with Plane Ole Bill DJing) performing a "noon-ass rap show" outside at the University of Minnesota's Coffman Union as part of Spring Jam 2011.

SXSW 2011: Vita.mn Are You Local Day Party

Erik Hess — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:42:40 +0000

Dozens of photos from seven of the eleven bands that performed at Vita.mn’s Are You Local day party at Beauty Bar including The 4onthefloor, Mayda, The Book of Right On, Idle Hands, Doomtree, Haley Bonar and Pink Mink. Despite the fact that I had shot two of these bands already (Doomtree and Idle Hands) I [...]

SXSW 2011: Asobi Seksu

Erik Hess — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:51:40 +0000

Asobi Seksu performing at the Luster Pearl for the Dickies day party during SXSW 2011. I took a short break from the vita.mn day party at Beauty Bar to hop on my trusty bike catch up with Asobi Seksu at the Luster Pearl about a mile to the south. Something about bands and performers that lose themselves in their music totally captivates me - particularly music with wave upon wave of distortion, delay and reverb. Live performances from bands like NYC's A Place to Bury Strangers and Minneapolis' Gospel Gossip tend to leave me breathless and wanting more. Even with their decidedly lighter, more airy sound, Asobi Seksu is no exception to that. After seeing a stellar show in at 7th Street Entry back in late '09 I've been wanting to catch another one of their sets. I was worried that the transition from a dark, hole-in-the-wall bar to a sunny outdoor tent would dull their impact but the slight etherial side of their music went pretty well with an early afternoon outdoor slot. Worth biking over for, for sure.

SXSW 2011: Hollerado

Erik Hess — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:28:27 +0000

Hollerado may be one of the most outright fun rock and roll bands out there. My first time seeing them, when they opened for Free Energy at the 400 Bar the mix of fun-times rock flavors was so awesome that the 400 Bar almost collapsed in on itself. See my dusty old photos with Leslie Kruempel's great review) at the TC Daily Planet - it was awesome. When fellow MSP photographer Stacy Schwartz told me they were playing a bunch of shows at SXSW (some of which she shot very well) I knew I had to make it to at least one. I'm so damn glad I did. Hit the jump to see why.

SXSW 2011: A Place to Bury Strangers

Erik Hess — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 23:05:18 +0000

A Place to Bury Strangers performing at SXSW 2011 in Austin Texas as part of the Rumble Room day party. Or: A case study in ultra-wide, high-shutter-speed, guitar-swinging, brutal-shoegaze mayhem.

Uncapped Live: Birthday Suits, Teenage Strangler, Bombay Sweets at 7th Street (04/09/2011)

Erik Hess — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 22:32:36 +0000

On Saturday, April 9th, Vice Magazine and Vitamin Water brought their Black Lips curated Uncapped Live series to the 7th Street Entry. The ‘Lips picked some Minneapolis ragers to perform – Bombay Sweets, Teenage Strangler and Birthday Suits – and they didn’t disappoint. The branded rock party thing is pretty unusual in Minneapolis, particularly in [...]

SXSW 2011: Odd Future at MWTX

Erik Hess — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 06:35:28 +0000

Odd Future performing at MWTX during SXSW 2011. This was unexpected. Odd Future were originally slated to play the smaller stage at Mess With Texas but got bumped to the big stage at the last minute. The chaos of the insanely hyped up (and notably older) Dead Milkmen fans filtering out while Odd Future’s rude [...]

Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. and Shilpa Ray and her Happy Hookers at 7th Street Entry (04/05/2011)

Erik Hess — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 18:57:05 +0000

Japanese psych rockers Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. performing at 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis, MN. Shilpa Ray and her Happy Hookers opened. This odd pairing turned into a remarkably good show. Acid Mothers Temple and the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. melted the faces of their many hard-core fans quite appropriately, given their [...]

Dom at 7th Street Entry

Erik Hess — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 19:49:00 +0000

Dom performing at 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis, MN on April 7th, 2011. Fort Wilsion Riot opened. Fort Wilson Riot Dom

SXSW 2011: Dead Milkmen at MWTX

Erik Hess — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 16:27:55 +0000

The Dead Milkmen performing at the East Side Drive In as part of the Mess With Texas (MWTX) festival at SXSW 2011. This was insanely fun to shoot. Also, a tad dangerous. Thankfully the crowd up front had an extremely positive attitude, helping to pick up fallen comrades and whatnot. I did miss getting photos of a few insane things around me - like a kid climbing the speaker tower to my right and jumping into the crowd from about 20-25 feet in the air, only to land face first in the dirt when a gap appeared in his landing zone. Ouch. There was just so much stuff going on and the failing light of the day, combined with a huge red spike in the lighting on stage, conspired to make this one of the most difficult shooting experiences I've ever had. While there wasn't a photo pit, thankfully I was shoved against the stage, leaving room for my camera bag on the edge of the stage. Of course that meant that I had literally zero range of motion once the show began - no hunting for novel angels at this show. Also, any lens change put me at a pretty substantial risk of having gear knocked out of my hand and into the Texas sand. That wasn't something I wanted to have happen. All that risk was worth it though, in the interest of documenting a show by these living legends and their legendary fans.

SXSW 2011: !!! (Chk Chk Chk) at MWTX

Erik Hess — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 04:22:42 +0000

While Surfer Blood before it had an unexpected circle pit or five and the Dead Milkmen afterwards included some serious professional crowd surfing, the !!! set brought an insane funk-fueled energy to the 4,000+ crowd at the East Side Drive In for Mess With Texas 2011. This is one band I’m going to go far, [...]

SXSW 2011: Surfer Blood at MWTX

Erik Hess — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 05:22:44 +0000

Surfer Blood performing at the East Side Drive In as part of the Mess With Texas (MWTX) festival at SXSW 2011. After a quick visit to the hotel I hopped on my bike and headed out to Mess With Texas, a festival unto itself that coincides with SXSW. With two stages and nearly two dozen [...]

SXSW 2011: Chimera Music Night with Plastic Ono Band, tUnE-yArDs, Fig and more

Erik Hess — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 02:35:35 +0000

Sean Lennon’s label, Chimera Music showcased some of their artists and collaborators – along with a single-song performance by tUnE-yArDs and a rare performance by the Plastic Ono Band – at Elysium during SXSW 2011. I stumbled in (quite literally) after being slammed against the stage during Odd Future, Dead Milkmen and !!!’s MWTX performances [...]

SXSW 2011: Recap and City Pages Coverage Roundup

Erik Hess — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 16:44:43 +0000

Things have been pretty quiet around here at Noise Damage during this cold, snowy Minnesotan winter. Things are thawing out though and that means there’s a blast of imagery coming your way! First, though, SXSW – the biggest event of my photographical year – has come and gone. This calls for a quick retrospective and, [...]

PVT and Waxx Maxx at 7th Street Entry

Erik Hess — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 22:55:01 +0000

Sydney, Austrailia's PVT (formerly Pivot) performing at the 7th Street Entry with Minneapolis, Minnesota's Waxx Maxx opening.

Chuck Prophet at the Turf Club (10/15/2010)

Erik Hess — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 01:51:17 +0000

Chuck Prophet performing at the Turf Club in Midway, St. Paul, Minnesota on October 16th, 2010.

Astronautalis at the Turf Club

Erik Hess — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 20:44:00 +0000

Seattle, Washington’s Astronautalis performing at the Turf Club in Midway, St. Paul, Minnesota on October 21st, 2010.