braden paul

It was one of the trickier shows Braden Paul has shot — there was no photo pit and the place was packed.

But he captured some up close and personal photos of We Are the City at the Rio last weekend.

Their indie rock sound is pretty, pretty, pretty so it’s no wonder the trio from Kelowna, BC won last year’s Peak Performance Project (and with it, a not-too-shabby prize of $150,000).

Listen to the atmospheric, sweetly sung “Mourning Song” and the piano-riffic “Get Happy” and you might just fall in love.

The show was opened by folksy Treelines.

Who sing about the snow and naming their children after their favourite hockey players.

So if the CBC Radio 3 t-shirt didn’t give it away — yes, they are Canadian.

[Photos by Braden Paul]

P.S. Go on tour with Braden — click your way through his photos of Death From Above 1979 at the Commodore, !!! (Chk Chk Chk) at Sasquatch, and Yukon Blonde at the Biltmore.

Death From Above 1979 fans are…well, die hard. And Braden Paul is one of them.

With beer on his camera lens and rock ‘n roll in his soul, he captured these shots during one of two sold-out shows the Toronto-based duo played at the Commodore Ballroom this week.

DFA1979 shows are legendarily raucous (ask anyone who’s been). Though they disbanded in 2006, they reunited at Coachella this year amidst whirling rumours and rabid fans. Clearly they do not disappoint.

Insert joke about rising from the dead here.

[Photos by Braden Paul.]

P.S. Check out Braden’s photos of !!! (Chk Chk Chk),  Yukon Blonde, Deer Tick, and Sasquatch!

You know it’s a good show when photographer Braden Paul throws his neck out from dancing so hard.

And yet somehow manages to capture these photos too.

Genre-bending California-based DJ Bassnectar rocked the PNE Forum with his deep, dupstep-style beats this weekend. It was, to use Braden’s words, a “sweaty gongshow.”

One that was opened by British DJ/producer Bonobo, whose ambient tunes could easily be the soundtrack to your next dinner party or the soundtrack to your workday (I’m playing the album Black Sands as I type).

Just watch your neck.

[Photos by Braden Paul.]

P.S. Check out Braden’s photos of Yukon Blonde at the Biltmore,  Deer Tick at Rickshaw, and last summer’s Sasquatch Festival.

Deer Tick’s shows are famously raucous.

Or, as photographer Braden Paul, put it, “Absolutely nutty.” He was at Vancouver’s Rickshaw Theatre last night to capture the Providence-based band’s blood, sweat and tears.

But mostly the blood. (That’s apparently what happens when you beat up your guitar.) It’s funny, because when you listen to Deer Tick’s albums, you might not picture a show like that coming from a band that sounds like they do — upbeat indie rock laced with a bit of country twang.

But that’s the beauty of live music, amirite? Speaking of beauty — you can download a free EP from openers Guards, which is filled with all sorts of gritty, Sixties-inspired tunes, right here.

[Photos by Braden Paul.]

Call it mellow.

Kid Cudi plays sit-outside-on-a-summer-evening kind of music. And there are few spots in the city better suited to do that than Deer Lake Park.

So in the um, pursuit of happiness, Vancouver-based photographer Braden Paul headed to the show to photograph Kid Cudi for The Anthology.

And his shots make me wish I were there.

[Photos by Braden Paul.]

P.S. You’ll find more Deer Lake Park events (Black Keys!) here and details on the annual Symphony in the Park here.

P.P.S. Take a look at Braden Paul’s shots from Sasquatch Festival — the artists, the style, and the love of my life.