Seven Stories…John Bradley

Photographer: John Bradley
Site: www.corkyberlin.com
Based in: Northern Virginia

ONE

Common Enemy @ The Warehouse Next Door – Washington, DC

So, when I think of epic shows, there are few that have ever matched the sheer mayhem of what I affectionately call Sonic’s Last Stand. Back in February of 2006, the lead singer of Common Enemy (Sonic) was packing his bags and heading to Florida for school and one of the last shows he played with Common Enemy was at The Warehouse Next Door. What began is a pretty exciting evening devolved into parts of the fucking roof literally being brought down as the band and the crowd practically skated, stomped, dove, and ran over the whole damn place.

TWO

Walk the Plank @ Fat Tuesday’s – Fairfax, VA

Walk the Plank is the band I think of when people ask me why I photograph shows. These dudes are the first band I started photographing regularly after 3 years of not even looking at a camera, and it’s not just because Ian’s ass (pictured) is so much fun to look at. You couldn’t meet a more awesome group of guys who make the scene feel more like family than… well… just another scene. This is one of the first shows I saw them at, at Fat Tuesday’s (their home field), and these guys packed in so much show in that tiny space that the whole place just felt like it was going to explode. Also, there is a good chance that within 10 minutes of taking this photo those pants are gone.

THREE

Marissa of The Screaming Females @ St. Stephen’s Church – Washington, DC

The Screaming Females’ set at St. Stephen’s Church was so impressive that I have since pushed them on every person I meet. I have never seen someone tear around with a guitar and scream so terrifyingly, or heard three people sound so huge, before in my life, and I loved every second of it.

FOUR

The Dead And Gone @ Fat Tuesday’s – Fairfax, VA

This photo always cracks me up because it is actually composed of members of three bands. The Dead and Gone’s Jahe is tearing it up on guitar, Walk The Plank’s Luke, Alex, and Ian were all tearing it up on the stage with Troy of Ambition Burning bringing up the rear, grabbing the mic and diving off of that tiny stage like it was a high-board in one of the most fun, amazing, and drunken displays of punk rock this side of the ’80s. Mind you, this was a day into a 72 hour fest that spanned two venues and something like 20 bands, and there was just no stopping these guys. Beautiful.

FIVE

Deathrats @ DC Couture – Washington, DC

This show was a amazing on a couple of levels: bands from as far away as Florida had come to play a venue that would only exist for a single night under SMASH Records, across the street from one of the best falafel places I’ve ever been to… and this was the first time I saw Deathrats. At this particular moment, for whatever reason, it was like the entire place took a collective breath after thrashing around for 10 minutes non-stop, and Christine just belted out this roar that just shook the walls. It was amazing, and I feel lucky to have even been there.

SIX

Paint It Black @ St. Stephen’s Church – Washington, DC

Paint It Black’s set at St. Stephen’s Church was one of those sets you walk away from pretty sure you’ve just seen some laws of Physics broken. They started the set challenging everyone there to stage dive face first (because feet first shows a luck of trust damn it, and they’re right) and for the next 30 minutes you couldn’t get within 5 feet of that stage without being under 3 people. The photo alone shows three guys surging across the crowd on top of each other – what you can’t see is that I was under 2 more, and they just kept coming.

SEVEN

Sick Fix @ The Corpse Fortress – Silver Spring, MD

Sick Fix is the physical incarnation of Catharsis. A straight edge, hardcore, female fronted band that’s been around for 5 years, they just make every space they occupy blow up with some of the most impressive, aggressive, and positive energy you can imagine. This was taken at their 5th Anniversary show at the Corpse Fortress, which is the basement of a group house that has been decorated from wall to wall with black paint and skulls.