With a path of broken hearts and empty bottles in their wake, New York's Semi Precious Weapons rolled into St. Louis to prove one thing: people frickin' love the rock show.
Dressed in a black top with his signature black leggings, Justin Tranter flirted with the crowd, playing both the ever capricious tyrant and coy lover to the audience with a quick turn of his patent leather stilettos.
Cole Whittle, the boy raised by wolves, slapped down bass lines with a feral intensity, taking pause to sip a glass of Captain ‘n Coke offered from the audience in between spin kicks and manic rock spasms, never spilling a drop.
At the back of the stage, presiding over the controlled chaos before of him, Dan Crean kept the savage beat, pummeling a big, raw sound from his stripped down, five-piece kit.
All the while, your very own Guitar Hero, Aaron Lee Tasjan, brought the six-string love, stomping out bluesy, rocked out riffs on his Fender and Epiphone.
Semi Precious Weapons whipped through a whirling 45-minute set with nothing left for an encore and left no doubt at the end of the night – your rock ‘n roll saviors are here. Truly, rock ‘n roll never looked so beautiful.
Semi Precious Weapons' debut full-length comes out September 30 on Razor and Tie. But you don't have to wait until then, hit the band's Myspace for the tunes now.
Photographer's Notes:
As always, Semi Precious Weapons were blast to photograph, and I only have one complaint: the time always flies by. I shot this set with a CLS setup of four speedlights: one SB-900, one SB-800, and two SB-600s.
End Notes:
These guys are always a favorite band of mine to photograph, no exception. Be sure to check out sets from the band's precious performance at the Pageant and Cicero's for more glam rock action.
