photo reviews

The first half of the year was jam-packed with musical adventures, and it only got better in the second half. July found us traversing the country to start the month with a pair of Phish shows in Atlanta and continued through September with the re-opening of Fitzgerald's in Houston, and along with it the rebirth of Houston's indie scene.

Check out my favorite shots from the third quarter of the year after the jump.

All photos by B "Café con Leche" Gutierrez.

This was my first year with BOT. After an awesome show at the end of March, HashBrowns invited me to write a review and post a couple of the photos I took that night. I was already telling everyone that came close to me about the show, so I decided to write it out and share it with everybody else who cared to read it. That was my first step as Café Con Leche, and from there, it's just gotten better.

I didn't cover as many shows as Eggs or HashBrowns, but my number of photos reached the thousands (I published over 1200 on my flickr, and those are just the ones that made the cut. I probably took around 8,000 shots.)

I covered shows in Fayetteville, Little Rock and at Wakarusa in Ozark, AR. But I also traveled a little and covered shows in Tulsa, OK; Kansas City, MO; Dallas, TX; and Los Angeles, CA. One of my most awaited shows was the Jack Johnson concert in Santa Barbara, CA; but I didn't get a photo pass for it, so I just stood in the front row and sang along every single song.

The best part of this journey has been discovering new sounds, bands and styles that I wouldn't seek on my own. So here's to a new year full of music and more awesome photos.

Now go check out my top 10 photos and a couple of extras after the jump. Click the date to view the full review behind each photo, in case you missed it.

The second of my year end photo review consists of shots I took from the beginning of April until the end of June. This is most likely the biggest chunk of pictures that will be featured as I went to a ton of shows in this time span. Included are shots from Free Press Summer Fest and the Houston International Festival as well as a plethora of photos from a grab bag of bands throughout the Houston area.

Check out my favorite photos from April through June after the jump.

I took a lot of pictures this year – probably somewhere near the one hundred and fifty thousand range, give or take a few. Because of that, I came up with several that I've grown a bit more attached to than others. Over the next few weeks, the BOT staff will be posting a host of year-end lists and reviews, so I thought I'd start it all off with a healthy look at the past year in photos. I've been fortunate enough to photograph some amazing bands, and the results are a grandiose caché of visual evidence.

For now, I'll bring you the first quarter of the year, starting with Yo La Tengo at Warehouse Live and ending with El Ten Eleven at Rudyard's. Also including in this batch is one of the best trips ever to Austin for SXSW. Check out my favorite shots of the first quarter of 2010 after the jump!

Words by Melissa "Sausage" Cox. Photos by Anna "HashBrowns" Vernon.

The first time I saw Dr. Dog was the last show I saw at the Gypsy Tea Room right before it closed, and a guy wearing a dog mask went on stage to dance along with the band. The last time I saw Dr. Dog was at the Gilley’s complex, where a drunk girl went on stage and unplugged the opening band’s guitar (The Cave Singers), and then took off her shirt. Just from saying that, you can tell the vast change in their fan base and the people that come see their shows. This would be my fifth time to see them perform. The first time I saw them play I had never heard their music, so from the beginning I have been aware of the pure awesome they emote on stage. They made quite an impression on me, and as with most bands that are genuinely good, they have made an impression on a lot of other people as well. The last time they came into town, I was quite shocked to learn that it had sold out.

So here’s a little bit about the band, and then I’ll tell you a little bit about the show. Dr. Dog is from Philadelphia and has been making music since 2001. It is currently made up of the following members: Toby Leaman (bass and vocals), Scott McMicken (lead guitar and vocals), Frank McElroy (rhythm guitar), Zach Miller (keyboard), and Eric Slick (drums). Their music is very 60’s style groovy rock that usually has a catchy bass line. Their first major album, Easy Beat, was released in 2005. In 2007 they released, We All Belong, which is my personal favorite album of theirs. Since then they have released Fate and Shame, Shame, which have a more polished sound, and have both gained them more and more popularity.

Read the rest of the review and see more photos after the jump.

Once in a great while, a concert is announced that you know is going to be great before you even see it. I grew up listening to the greats thanks to my parents, but whenever I picked up both of Pink Floyd's masterpieces, Dark Side Of The Moon and The Wall, I was stuck. Pink Floyd are their own genre, their own complete type of music, and they own it. I had the opportunity to see Roger Waters perform live once before this date, when he brought Dark Side to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion for a late summer mind-blowing performance. When I found out that Waters was once again returning, only this time bringing The Wall, I was immediately pushing to both my Houston Press contact as well as my Live Nation contact about getting into that show. I needed to photograph it – it was going to be the biggest show that I had ever had the chance to shoot. Well, call it dumb luck, but I was accepted to shoot the show in the month leading up to it. Let's just say that, even though I had a ton of great shows to catch in November, my mind was completely stuck on the thought that Roger Waters would be in Houston very soon. Well, the moment came, and I was standing in the photo pit with a few photographer friends, awaiting Waters' arrival on the grandiose stage that was set up for his show.

Read all about Roger Water's The Wall performance at Houston's Toyota Center after the jump.

The final day of Voodoo Experience 2010 closed with a bang, with headliner My Morning Jacket enthralling the entire remaining festival crowd. I also had the good fortune to photograph sets from several others including Preservation Hall Jazz Band ft. Jim James & Patrick Hallahan, Voice of the Wetlands Allstars, Paul Oakenfold, MGMT and Deadmau5.

Check out my photos after the jump!

We partied pretty hard on Saturday night/Sunday morning, eventually stumbling back into our hotel room at 7 in the morning just in time for continental breakfast. Our goal was to try and make it early enough for Janelle Monae, but those were pipe dreams. Strolling into the festival at 3:30 with a serious Four Loko hangover, we headed to the closest music we could find.

Read all about the final day of the Voodoo Experience after the jump.

It's been a pretty hectic couple of weeks, but now with the upcoming holiday I'll be finishing up on our festival experiences from a few weeks ago. Saturday of Voodoo was much more lax, taking our time checking out both new and old acts we've mostly never seen before. I ended up catching sets from River City Extension, The Whigs, Cage The Elephant, Die Antwoord, Buckwheat Zydeco, Street Sweeper Social Club, Crystal Method, Eagles of Death Metal and Paul Van Dyk.

Check out my shots from Saturday, October 30th at the Voodoo Experience after the jump!

The 2010 edition of the Voodoo Experience featured an array of performers in all genre's of music and a heavy focus on the city that lays host to the festival, New Orleans. With headlining sets from Ozzy Osbourne, Muse and My Morning Jacket, and standout sets from the likes of Weezer, Hot Chip, Metric, Jonsi, Galactic and Rusko among others on Friday, Street Sweeper Social Club, Die Antwoord, Eagles of Death Metal, The Crystal Method, The Whigs and Boyz Noize on Saturday, and Paul Oakenfold, MGMT, Deadmau5 and The Preservation Hall Jazz Band featuring Jim James on Sunday.

Waking up after a 6:30 am bedtime found the group to be a bit tired and hungover, but after stepping up our game with some brunch-time Four Lokos, we were all set to take on day two of the festival. Read all about it after the jump.