Digital Diversion

I sat down with with Taking Dawn front man, Chris Babbit, backstage at the Warfield in San Francisco before the first night of their tour in support of rock legend, Slash. Only months past the release of their Roadrunner debut, Time to Burn, Chris comes across as amped for the show, but not nervous, despite lamenting about their lack of sufficient rehearsal time.

With Slash’s sound-check echoing through the back-stage halls, I hit the record button as Chris unleashed his unrepentant and irreverent views on musical influences, touring and pretty much anything else that came to mind.  Watching Chris doodle away with his guitar while talking, it was clear that this guy possesses more energy than your average human.  Originally intending to type this interview up, after listening to it I decided that without the full, unedited audio in all its glory, you will not be able to truly appreciate the whirlwind that is Chris Babbit.

Check out the interview here:

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© 2010 Alan Snodgrass | www.digitaldiversion.net. Please do not use without express permission (contact). If you like what you see, leave a comment below and subscribe so you can be notified of new posts.  You can also become a fan on Facebook for access to exclusive photos.

Setlist:

• Ghost
• Mean Bone
• Nighttrain
• Bucker Train Blues
• Back From Cali
• Beggars & Hangers On
• Civil War
• Rocket Queen
• Fall To Pieces
• Dirty Little Thing
• Nothing To Say
• Starlight
• Watch This
• Godfather Theme
• Sweet Child O’ Mine
• Rise Today
• Slither

—Encore—

• By The Sword
• Communication Breakdown
• Paradise City

© 2010 Alan Snodgrass | www.digitaldiversion.net. Please do not use without express permission (contact). If you like what you see, leave a comment below and subscribe so you can be notified of new posts.  You can also become a fan on Facebook for access to exclusive photos.

The day after Thanksgiving is best known for door-buster savings and the start of the holiday shopping season.  This particular Friday, an extreme lineup of nine bands playing for eight and a half hours of blistering metal redefined the meaning of “Black Friday!”

I didn’t get to the Warfield until 6 pm by which time 4 bands had already played but I did not go home disappointed.  I was previously unfamiliar with Unearth but they put on a great performance including an on-stage beer bong by the guitarist.  Not able to finish it, he blew the remaining beer into the crowd.  Thankfully I was far enough away to be spared the shower.  Up next, Chimaira nailed a short but blistering set to be followed by Cannibal Corpse whose extreme black metal had the crowd going more nuts than over any other band.  Maybe the crowd needed a much-deserved rest because things seemed to thin out up front for Trivium’s co-headlining set but they were still fantastic … certainly the highlight of the night for me … and announced that they’d be taking time off to work on a new album next year.  A special treat for tonight’s crowd was a performance of Sepultura’s Slave New World with Corey on vocals.

Last on the line-up were Hatebreed.  Where ever the crowd had gone during Hatebreed’s set, they were back in force.  Hatebreed fans may not be the prettiest of people but man are they fiercely loyal to their band.  While no match for the insanity during Cannibal Corpse’s set, the crowd was singing along and moshing hard.

Enjoy the photos and, as always, feel free to register and leave a comment.

Edit:  You can see the Hatebreed and Trivium set lists all the way at the bottom of the page.

Unearth

Chimaira

Cannibal Corpse

Trivium

Hatebreed

Trivium Set List:

• Rain
• Drowned and Torn Asunder
• Pillars of Serpents
• Ascendancy
• Down from the Sky
• Throes of Perdition
• To The Rats
• Detonation
• Slave New World (Sepultura, sung by Corey Beaulieu)
• A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation
• Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr

Hatebreed Set List:

• Everyone Bleeds Now
• In Ashes They Shall Reap
• Smash Your Enemies
• Merciless Tide
• Perseverance
• To The Threshhold
• Live For This
• Last Breath
• Doomsayer
• Before Dishonor
• As Damaged As Me
• Tear It Down
• Ghosts of War (Slayer)
• This is Now
• Empty Promises
• Defeatist
• Proven
• A Call For Blood
• Destroy Everything
• I Will Be Heard

Despite the crap neighborhood, the Warfield in San Francisco is always a good place to see a show.  It’s a 20’s era art deco theater than holds maybe 2,500 people tops.

This is my second time shooting at the Warfield, the first time being the Offspring, and I was looking forward to it for a couple reasons.  First off, the stage is pretty low so all the photos don’t look like you’re shooting up the artist’s nose.  Second of all, having seen Marilyn Manson several times, I knew it was going to be a visually interesting band to shoot.   Lastly, it’s going to be my first chance to shoot an indoor show with my new Nikon D700. (continue reading…)