The Steamwhistle Brewery, located at 255 Bremner Boulevard, Toronto, is hosting an art exhibit brandishing photographs depicting some of rock’s biggest icons this March. The brewing house turned art gallery event, which is free, is displaying, for the first time in large-scale public view, a series of photographs taken at rock and roll shows in Toronto between 1979 and 1981. Included are shots of The Clash at their first performance in Toronto in 1979, and Bob Marley’s last Toronto concert.
The photos are a result of a pair of young punks’ do-it-yourself photojournalist tactics inspired by the early punk rock movement, around 1979. Nick and Simon White, brothers who grew up in Toronto, saw most of the shows that later went down in history as part of the beginnings of the new musical era. They got the idea to photograph these early performances, possibly foreseeing the nostalgic element they would later provide.
The mostly black and white photographs depict a youthful who’s who of 70s and early 80s rock: The Ramones, The Clash, Peter Tosh, The Specials, and U2 with a young Bono are among the legendary acts captured in the photos. Other rare performances like The Talking Heads, Johnny Rotten performing with post-Pistols band Public Image Ltd., and The Specials were also captured by the brothers.
For the past 30 years, the photos have been tucked away, and nearly forgotten about, by the brothers. They stopped photo-documenting the music scene when it became harder for them to obtain press passes for concerts. In the earlier days, they were just seeing shows and taking pictures from the crowd. They started a fanzine, Smash It Up, where many of the photos were printed. But the zine went out of production when the 70s underground went mainstream and being punk no longer meant being free to publicize your favourite bands.
Now, the White brothers’ extensive work is on display for all to appreciate. The event is free, on for all of March at The Steamwhistle Brewery in Toronto, and, I’m sure, pints will be on hand to help commemorate the wild moments. If you can't make it in person, visit the CBC online gallery of the photos here: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/slideshows/PunkTorontoSlideshow2/project/
The photos are a result of a pair of young punks’ do-it-yourself photojournalist tactics inspired by the early punk rock movement, around 1979. Nick and Simon White, brothers who grew up in Toronto, saw most of the shows that later went down in history as part of the beginnings of the new musical era. They got the idea to photograph these early performances, possibly foreseeing the nostalgic element they would later provide.
The mostly black and white photographs depict a youthful who’s who of 70s and early 80s rock: The Ramones, The Clash, Peter Tosh, The Specials, and U2 with a young Bono are among the legendary acts captured in the photos. Other rare performances like The Talking Heads, Johnny Rotten performing with post-Pistols band Public Image Ltd., and The Specials were also captured by the brothers.
For the past 30 years, the photos have been tucked away, and nearly forgotten about, by the brothers. They stopped photo-documenting the music scene when it became harder for them to obtain press passes for concerts. In the earlier days, they were just seeing shows and taking pictures from the crowd. They started a fanzine, Smash It Up, where many of the photos were printed. But the zine went out of production when the 70s underground went mainstream and being punk no longer meant being free to publicize your favourite bands.
Now, the White brothers’ extensive work is on display for all to appreciate. The event is free, on for all of March at The Steamwhistle Brewery in Toronto, and, I’m sure, pints will be on hand to help commemorate the wild moments. If you can't make it in person, visit the CBC online gallery of the photos here: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/slideshows/PunkTorontoSlideshow2/project/
Originally published at campusintel.com
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