Marianas Trench / Oct 17 2009 / Dalhousie University / Halifax, Nova Scotia

The first time I saw/shot Marianas Trench was at this bar appropriately titled The Basement in April 2007. I wasn’t with any publication and was only armed with my 1973 Minolta camera and jittery nerves. The place was packed with about 150 (maybe? I suck at estimating)  enthusiastic fans and it was impossible to get a decent shot of the stage from anywhere beyond the front row because, well, there really wasn’t a stage. So I timidly approached Josh Ramsay (the lead singer) and asked him if I could get sidestage during their set to snap some photos.

He immediately gave me a yes without asking who was I shooting for or who the hell I even was for that matter. So I grabbed my camera, my friend Lex, and crammed myself between a speaker and some expensive guitars. It was an insane show and the first show I ever got to shoot sidestage. It gave me my first taste of concert photography and I’ve been hooked ever since. The guys sang with perfect harmonies while interacting with crowd and even throwing me some goofy poses during the set.

(By the way, here are the hilariously bad shots from the show. )

Fast forward two years and they’re playing a sold out show for a crowd bigger than 150 people in a venue at Dalhousie University. They have security guards who AREN’T kids from the local high school, lights that DON’T look like they were stolen from a Christmas Nativity scene, and an actual photo pit.

And they still delivered a perfectly played set, interacted with the crowd (it felt like 50% of the show was them answering the girls screaming ridiculous thing, dressing each other in random shit thrown onstage and reading the notes tossed up by fans) and, in three songs, each member had taken the time to strike a pose for me.

I didn’t think that any of their shows could beat the one in Saint John because of how personal and interactive the band was. This show proved me very wrong.

Please check out their website and give their music a listen! www.marianastrench.net

Click the link below to check out some photos from the set:

Check out the other photos here.