Tag Archives: Best Rock Photos 2012

A Few of My Favorite Rock Photos from 2012 (Photo Gallery)

Philana.
Strong Killings.
Don't Talk to the Cops, man.
Kithkin.
Hounds of the Wild Hunt.
Fred Cole, Pierced Arrows.
Foxy Shazam, Bumbershoot 2012.
Glenn or Glennda, Funhouse.
Hobosexual.
Eldridge Gravy.
Blitzen Trapper.
The Dirtbombs.
Super Geek League.
Brokaw.
John Cale.
Phantogram.
Hounds.
Curtains for You.
Oberhofer.
Reignwolf.

Seattle soul songstress Philana burned up the Nectar for her Spring CD release party. (photo by Tony Kay)

Call them The Sonics, with a spike of new wave: Strong Killings at Columbia City Theater August 3. (photo by Tony Kay)

djblesOne and Emecks of Don't Talk to the Cops, not talking to the cops at Bumbershoot. (photo by Tony Kay)

Ian McCutcheon of Kithkin gets rhythmic at Doe Bay Fest, August 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

Hounds of the Wild Hunt's Ryan Devlin, getting all Hard-Day's-Night at Columbia City Theater, August 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

Portland rock godpapa Fred Cole, pulling out all the stops with his band Pierced Arrows, West Seattle Summerfest July 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

Foxy Shazam's Eric Sean Nally, grooving on the colors, Bumbershoot 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

Skull-faced drag queen sees the Funhouse out: Glenn or Glennda, Halloween 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

Ben Harwood of Hobosexual, Columbia City Theater, August 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

Eldridge Gravy getting busy with his Court Supreme, April 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

Blitzen Trapper's Eric Menteer, Doe Bay Fest, August 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

Mick Collins of The Dirtbombs, being badass at Bumbershoot 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

Super Geek League: Shirley Bassey in Hell, on one lulu of an acid trip, Bumbershoot 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

Brokaw trash the Funhouse on the venue's second-to-last night on Earth. (photo by Tony Kay)

I never get tired of looking at John Cale's face: Showbox, December 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

Photogenic Phantogram, Capitol Hill Block Party 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

Johnny of Hounds of the Wild Hunt makes his guitar not-so-gently weep: Sunset Tavern, August 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

Matt Gervais of Curtains for You, Neumo's February 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

New York power pop kids Oberhofer are all right: Bumbershoot 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

Reignwolf, carefully choreographing his shit-eating grin, Bumbershoot 2012. (photo by Tony Kay)

Philana. thumbnail
Strong Killings. thumbnail
Don't Talk to the Cops, man. thumbnail
Kithkin. thumbnail
Hounds of the Wild Hunt. thumbnail
Fred Cole, Pierced Arrows. thumbnail
Foxy Shazam, Bumbershoot 2012. thumbnail
Glenn or Glennda, Funhouse. thumbnail
Hobosexual. thumbnail
Eldridge Gravy. thumbnail
Blitzen Trapper. thumbnail
The Dirtbombs. thumbnail
Super Geek League. thumbnail
Brokaw. thumbnail
John Cale. thumbnail
Phantogram. thumbnail
Hounds. thumbnail
Curtains for You. thumbnail
Oberhofer. thumbnail
Reignwolf. thumbnail

One of the great things about year-end retrospectives is that they give you a great excuse to bust out all those odds and sods that may not have found a proper home during the preceding 11-plus months.

I’ve only been shooting rock shows for about three years now, but a combination of dynamic subjects, an innate knowledge of my very low-budget camera setup’s strengths and weaknesses, and dumb luck enabled me to snag a few good rock shots in 2012. Some of the photos ended up here at the SunBreak, or elsewhere. But there were plenty of leftovers. And they were pretty good leftovers.

Some of them came from shows I never got a chance to write about. Others sprang from a surplus of shots that I really liked, from shows I’d already covered. But I sorta fell in love with all of the enclosed pics, for all sorts of reasons–whether they captured the subject’s personality, sported colors and composition that grabbed my eye,  or just conveyed the energy of the moment despite/because of their imperfections.

Needless to say, this isn’t some grand, overarching year-end summary of live music in Seattle. It’s just a lot of musical lightning captured in a bottle. Happy Holidays, everyone.