Live House (ライブハウス) by Glen Snyder
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I first learned about Tokyo Live House performances from a street musician in Shinjuku. As it turns out, after that I’ve bumped into performers here and there and have visited a number of Live House venues. It seems that they emerged in Kyoto and Tokyo during the 1970s as an alternative to cabaret halls of the time, hosting a variety of indy music bands where occasionally talent scouts would discover new musicians. Generally, Live Houses have a cover charge for the audience; although musicians may also be charged if they do not have a certain quota of patrons. As such, it is not uncommon that friends and family are invited. Live Houses today also tend to specialize in one genre or another, including garage band music, Beatles music, and a variety of tribute bands; although original music is also performed. On a given weekend afternoon or evening, they may be a half dozen bands that perform. Many places serve drinks and some also have food. Many of those I have talked with have regular day jobs not related to music. It’s not unusual to find out that friends and acquaintances here in Japan are actually Live House performers escaping from the routines of everyday life to enjoy and perform with friends and fans.
Generally, I discuss with at least one of the band members ahead of time to see if a press pass is necessary. Once inside the venue, Live House photography poses some unique challenges. With film, I’ve used Ilford Delta 3200 and Portra 800, but the photos in this selection are all digital for reasons I’ll explain. Live House stages often have elaborate strobes, smoke machines, etc. The smoke machines provide a nice effect, but the strobe lights can be a bit difficult since they often change color and can go off unpredictably. I generally opt for digital and take about 400 photos at any given performance. I keep my digital camera (Sony α7rII) set on monochrome so that I can see the shots, and I save them as raw files so that I can convert the color to monochrome in post, allowing me to adjust by hand the color luminosity correcting for the strobe colors which often change.
In some cases, depending on the Live House, groups may have a jam session after the performance, and in those cases I may use film and/or flash if that is okay with people. In general, people are okay with me taking photos, some quite close up with a 35mm prime lens, and I generally follow up by providing them with photos which they can use to promote their groups in future concerts.
The photos in this selection are just a few of a large collection which I now have, and I hope that sometime in the future I can make a zine or book.
