Early on Friday afternoon, Ben Spear and I set off for Oxford, laden with camera gear, to get snap happy with a bloke named Zion and some white boys (and girls) from Guildford. Well, strictly speaking, it was Ben getting snap happy. I spent most of my time stood around with my arms in the air, holding things just out of shot – but that still counts as helping, right?
Zion...
After park-and-riding our way into the centre of town, we grabbed some lunch and wandered around the streets trying to find a neutral-looking location that didn’t just scream “we’re in Oxford”. We ended up finding a spot by accident; a small alley/yard area just off the High Street, which had everything we needed – steps, mostly. After all, with ten subjects, you don’t want everyone on the same level.
...and some White Boys
Burritos and Batteries
After hanging around in an alley for a bit – and shooting a few shots in some phone booths – we headed for food, and then to the Skylarkin’ Soundsystem night at The Cellar. While the band set up and sound-checked, Ben and I managed to get the temperamental wireless flash working and sort out some hand-signals in preparation for the band’s performance later that evening.
We had some fun outside with the newly working flash, and took some more photos of the band inside the venue. We even got in a few shots of MC Kwasi and “Oxford’s most esteemed dubmeister” Count Skylarkin before the band hit the stage.
Showtime!
From the intro of the first track to the very end of their set, Zion and the White Boys had the place hooked. I would have quite happily paid money to get in – good vibes, good music, good crowd; awesome night.
Zion and the White Boys
If you haven’t already, I strongly encourage you to check out the Zion and the White Boys myspace page for some serious ear-worm business (“Roots Rock Reggae Riddim” was soundtrack to my weekend whether I liked it or not), and of course, all images courtesy of Ben Spear (check out more of these photos here).
Hey, sounds like quite an event packed day! The pictures on Ben’s blog look awsome by the way.
Dan.