The Blight - Photography by Neil Girling   

I shall continue where I left off in Part the First, no less tired this time around, but a scant few hours before my self-imposed bedtime — and if I don’t finish it now, then when? Indeed.

Once again, the full gallery of my Year in Review photographs can be seen here — I have selected one photo per thousand I shot all year (45,000 in all), picking ones I thought particularly interesting in the story they told, amusing somehow, or just a personal favorite.

The first image is Magdelene Veen, formerly of Abney Park, at the Emerging Illusions fashion show with Creatureform Designs; she reposted several of these photos titled “I am some sort of demon crow.” Her act was that of a ballerina; and this shot, though backstage, reminds me of the same flow and movement (though I’m not sure she even knew I took this).

We of course love the Dresden Dolls, those purveyors of punk cabaret and one of the first mainstream underground (yes, I’m aware of the contradiction) acts to combine musical and non-musical performance acts on their stage — for, in 2005, as a fan of the Dresden Dolls, how else would I have been introduced to Vau de Vire Society but by seeing them perform onstage alongside a favorite band? The rest is history. Pictured here is Brian Viglione at the Fillmore, where I was brought in to shoot the show (and I had dinner with Brian, Amanda and Meredith Yayanos beforehand: they’re all amazing sweethearts).

Hiding ‘neath the swirl of the skirt here is Leila Bazzani of Black and Blue Burlesque, performing with the Yard Dogs Roadshow at Lightning in a Bottle 2008. You may notice a similarity to a certain other photo of mine, which just so happens to be her partner in crime, Tuesday Blue.

Please see the rest after the cut (even if it’s just to browse the photos…).

(more…)

See the photos here.

Tuesday saw the trunk show at the local clothing store, 5 & Diamond, whose high couture custom fashions are lusted after by many (not excluding your humble narrator). Pictured above are Juniper and Buddhamonkey of Steamtrunk fame and also occasional performers with Vau de Vire. Also included in this set are designs from Wild Card, bits and pieces of which I wear on a frequent basis…

See the gallery here.

The delightful Gibbous Fashions brought me in to cover their vignette at the Stellar Fashion Show Awards at the Phoenix Hotel | Bambuddha Lounge yesterday in San Francisco, hosted by Del Geronimo and sponsored by Citizen Citizen, SF Station, FlavorPill and City Model Management. [SFFashionShowAwards website]

I was brought in to shoot Emerging Illusions, a fashion show put on by designer and producer Miiica at the DNA Lounge in San Francisco. This was no willowy-model strut with a pouty look variety of fashion show, but instead one of numerous vignettes and performances wherein the performers and characters wore the creations of many talented local designers. They included:

• Somnambulance
• Wisp~Her Wear
• Gibbous
• Eirik Aswang
• Lisa Goblin
• The Window Lady
• Creature Form
• Chelsea Aragon
• saKAna Designs
• Larvae
• Shawk Designs
• Shadow Designs
• Clotho Constrictor

with live music by Nezzy Idy.

See the gallery here. Pictured above is Fleeky in Eirik Aswang’s designs.

Tomorrow night at the DNA Lounge is Emerging Illusions, a fashion show with a plethora of local designers. I’ve been hired to supply clickclickclick.

And tonight at the Red Devil Lounge –

• Loop Station, cello-vocals duet with fabulous loopy goodness;
• Materialized, drum and keyboard, two of my friends from Gooferman (and I did all their photos).
• Two Loons for Tea

Doors at 8, show at 9. I’ll be shooting. And there will probably be free donuts.*

*completely unrelated to me shooting but wholly related to Loop!Station having an obsession with them (it’s a loop, see?)

Friday night at the Exploratorium in San Francisco saw the opening of 2nd Skin, a blend of analog and digital clothing designs by a broad array of local artists, and two performances by Bad Unkl Sista with phenomenal Ashley Knight accompanying with opera.

Here are the photos.

Pictured above is Ashley Knight on the left and Amy Leblanc peering through on the right.

For higher resolution versions of some select images, see Flickr.

Bad Unkl Sista was the closing performance — never a runway catwalk or a pouty model, here — at Savant Garde at 111 Minna in San Francisco this past Thursday. Half ballroom dance and half butoh, it certainly had patrons’ attention.

A Bad Unkl Sista performance is a special breed of the bizarre.

Do find Anastazia’s wholly alien, completely practical and fabulously functional wearable costumes at BadUnklSista.com.

It is likely that I shall return tonight for the next installment of this special performance, in which case this gallery shall be updated with some of the new photos. And yes, I’m posting this at five in the morning — let it not be said that I’m a slacker.

See the gallery here. The vast majority of designs shown here are by the inimitable Bad Unkl Sista.

See them here!

Featuring brand-new designs by the fabulous Miss Velvet Cream and, of course, Bad Unkl Sista — who provided the otherworldly grand finale, and performed in her own piece (in her own designs), a nice change of pace from a few of the other designers whom we either never saw or appeared in modest clothing at the end of the set to wave at the audience and disappear backstage again. Become your own art, people!

Some special guests included the Oakland Fire Department who alternated between blanketing the audience in a thick fog of fire extinguisher smoke or brandishing fiery axes or flame throwers.

Other designers included Leila Bazzani, Miranda Caroligne, Auberon, and many more.