I joined the band in London on the last leg of their 20th anniversary tour. Filming in HD I feel like I have caught something really special as the band was in great shape after touring as The Swell Season for the past couple of years. My initial plan was to concentrate on interviews and documentary moments around the band but of course their whole focus is on the live show and right from the first night I realised that it was going to be strong. Their on stage chemistry and sheer muscle as a band was a visceral experience.

After photographing them live many times over the years I think I have finally come close to being able to show just how good they are live by filming in HD from just a few feet away. I filmed soundchecks and full shows in Belfast, The Olympia, Vicar Street and over the final two jam packed nights at Whelans in Dublin. I recorded several tracks from the soundboard and form the audience every night to make an excellent bootleg sound recordings and we recorded a full multitrack of Vicar street so there promises to be an exciting film sometime in 2011. Its early days in the editing as the amount of data involved with HD is enormous so for now I am posting some screen grabs from my initial sorting process.

Enjoy.