Sardonyx Battle of the Bands Finals

On Sunday, my friend Craig from The Pittsburgh Scene texted me saying that the Sardonyx high school Battle of the Bands at Diesel needed a photographer ASAP, could I come?  Long story short, I grabbed my camera and went over.  A couple bands had already played but I managed to catch the top three.  I had various lens - the 18-55mm kit lens, a 75-300, and my new 85mm prime f1.4 which I'm crazy about.  I used all of them throughout the night, switching as I ran around from the pit in front to all sides of the balcony to the stairs just offstage.

Shirts vs Skins.  They were pretty cool, had to be to get second place!  Also, hot pink Doc Martens are my dream shoes, so super jealous of the singer's.

M4.   I thought this was a high school battle, but 10-year-olds playing Metallica (and doing it decently) is kind of mind-blowing!

Lovely Crisis.  They got third, and had amazing energy but the most impressive part was how into them the crowd was.

Second Empire.   My personal favorite of the night and the winner of the battle.  I would definitely listen to them in my car.  I HATE when venues use all red light because it completely destroys detail but her eyes in this are phenomenal.

East Enders.  Some of the kids from M4 and some other kids.  They were really impressive - one kid was switching between lead guitar, keyboards and saxophone at age I spent most my time climbing trees and reading fantasy novels.