Music is an important part of my life and so is seeing bands live. When it comes to figuring out what bands I’ve seen it’s impossible to determine. The amount of gigs and festivals I’ve been is massive and when it comes to figuring out which bands I saw where it’s almost impossible. However, there are a few gigs I’ve been to in the past that have stuck in my head because of the unique experience I’ve had at them. Don’t get me wrong every gig is unique, but when a live band makes such an impression on you that you can remember it 5 years later it’s something special. For one of my self-initiated projects in university I decided to base a project on this very aspect and decided to create 3 posters of past gigs I’ve been too reflecting on the experience I had at them.
All though I found it hard to choose, I settled on 3 very different gigs to illustrate.
Muse at the O2 arena, London on the 11th of April 2016
Enter Shikari at The Grand Pier, Weston on the 10th of April 2013
Streetlight Manifesto at The Fleece, Bristol on the 28th of May 2013
All these gigs had very diverse and unique experiences within set lists, performances and even the venues. Each Poster reflects all these aspects in both the visuals and formats each is presented in. The scale of each poster actually represents the size of the venue I saw each band play in. Therefore the bigger the poster, the bigger the venue.
For each gig I narrowed them down to three key experience aspects that I wanted to visualise. However, the main correlating factor between each poster is the inverted crowd vector featured at the bottom of each poster. Each crowd represents the view I had at the gig and the atmosphere each one had. Thus creating a connecting element between each poster while still being different to each other.
Muse poster - A2
Muse being my favourite band obviously had to have a part within this project and what better gig then their ‘360’ Drones tour show I went to. The three experience factors I wanted to illustrate for this gig was the high-tech performance, the fact that I knew every song and interlude and the 360 stage. For this tour Muse did something very different and performed on a stage positioned directly in the centre on the arena, the 360 stage. I represented this by the structure of the circuit-like graphic in the centre of the poster. This was the actual structure of the stage featured through-out the tour. The circuit-board style to the graphic represent the unique and high-tech fuelled performance Muse gave. As for representing the fact that I knew the entire set-list, the background text takes care of that. At a first glance it looks like a background texture. However, on closer inspection you can see that it is actually Muses set-list from that very gig I went too.
Enter Shikari Poster – A3
Another one of my favourite bands, enter shikaris show on Weston Pier will be a gig I will never forget. The experience was such a unique one that most people will never get to be a part of. The key factors that summed the experience up was the venue, the hectic atmosphere and the chanting from all those presents. To represent the venue I illustrated Enter shikari 2ps to represent the classic penny fall machines you have on the pier. Along with this, the repeated 2ps on the poster represents the hectic atmosphere Enter shikaris crowds always seem to have. The combination of these two aspects was what made the gig a both surreal and brilliant experience. As for representing the crowd chanting in unison, I used the same technique I did for the Muse poster and found the gig set list and used it as the background for the poster.
Streetlight Manifesto - A4
Streetlight Manifesto was a very special gig for because I regard as a turning point within my music taste. Never before had I really listened to ska punk or experienced a gig of this genre. The experience I had was so different to that of any other gig I went too. The atmosphere was busy, the set-list was fast and non-stop and each member of the band were brilliant in their own way. These were the three factors I illustrated within this poster. I chose to use repeated circular graphics to represent both the busy atmosphere (the amount of circles on the poster) and the fast not-stop set ( the shape representing the band going round and round in their fast up-beat songs). The way I represented the seven members of the band was by making seven of the circles stand out within the rest of the poster. Thus all these aspects come together to make one great gig.
