1st Night of Corona Capital, DF, Mexico.

A great day, that ended very flatly.

Headed off w/Sandra, Gaby, Erika & Betsia to Corona Capital music festival, which is held on the outskirts of the city, near the airport.

We got there just in time for me to wade towards Death In Vegas and into the already heaving, but very polite crowd and make for the front w/my trusty EP1 and a 50mm 1.4 Canon lens. I was amazed at the quality of the images I was seeing on the viewfinder, in fact, people around seemed to think I was a professional, one even asking if I worked for the NME?!

To be fair, she was very drunk. It's what she probably mumbled to all the foreigners she met that day!

Also, a professional would be safely tucked away in the photo pit and not having to bother w/minor inconveniences like a surging crowd all round you. But, DIV were great and I did manage to get some lovely shots. Some of the best I've taken I think. Shooting in RAW, which is slowing me down no end, does yield some stunning results. I'll post the better ones on FB.

It was one of those days where choosing the day's Blip would prove to be a monumental pain in the cola! After briefly catching the end of Cat Power, we headed down to catch Suede (I saw them once before at a great show (w/a free bar!) at the Tivoli in Dublin, some 15 years before.

They were just as good, if not better than I remember. I wouldn't claim to be their biggest fan, but they have a great range of songs, which they storm through live (soaring even, at times, Gav!) and Brett Anderson is a great front man. The years have been very kind to him. "The Beautiful Ones", being my favourite from their show. Managed to get very close and, also, despite being bobbed around like a cork on a drunken sea, managed to get some lovely shots - as you can see (I hope) from above .

Then I next checked out Miike Snow, who I don't know much about, to be honest . But again, this was a surprisingly lively show in front of a wildly enthusiastic crowd. I somehow managed to get close to the front and get some more shots, I was more than happy with.

Then things went pear-shaped, I went to the wrong meeting point, after the show and spent a fruitless and chilly 2 hours, waiting in vain for my friends. They, meanwhile, were waiting for me in the right spot and missing the last act, which was Basement Jaxx. From where I was waiting, I could see how good they were playing and the whole place was literally bouncing around to a great sounding set. Though I was only paying it scant attention as I vainly tried to spot my (non-existent) friends in the crowd.

Of course, I forgot to mention, a little fact, that because of the crowd at the festival, there was no mobile or internet reception at all.

So, no more photos for the night, but I had the good sense to leave a little early and (thankfully) find my way back to where the car was parked (a good half hour away!). A sullen ride home and many profuse apologies for my having got mixed up brought the night to a close. Ho-Hum.

Still, the abiding memories will be of some, really fantastic performances and some great photos to remember it by.

Here's a link to those FB Photos