I haven't blogged in a long while due to many commitments I have had in the past month. Whether it was work (both photography and non-photography related), organising creative photoshoots for my personal visual storytelling projects or going out to support live music, I'm doing my best to stay active in the community.
And this includes stopping over at the Gifts Of Mercy Emporium before going to see some of my friends performing at the Gasoline Pony. I took the bus following a delicate photoshoot I did with a friend, eating two hamburgers and drinking water after. Once I stepped in, I was kindly greeted by the kind and friendly staff (ie Renee and Alan) followed by the products and items they have available. These include goth and punk accessories of necklaces and jewelleries, and various clothing items of pop culture (ie red The Walking Dead shirt) and band merch (ie Insect Warfare, a former grindcore band).
I was browsing through the warm and cozy store until Blake Cateris, the performer for the night, came in to say hi and make conversations with the friendly staff. At one point, Alan was kind enough to converse with me while I scrolled through different t-shirts. Later, Blake joined in and it was great to socialise with them about many topics in relation to bands (ie Devo and Nirvana) and music community related stuff (ie Karaokes at The Duke, Crowbar Music and Good Things Festival).
Now I couldn't stay back to the end, but I at least got to hear Blake perform one song before departing. Blake's performance is characterised with a powerful yet passionate articulation and projection with his vocals. Without a mic setup and having an acoustic guitar accompanying him, Blake's raw vocals made a perfect intimate setup while everyone who attended got to enjoy his performance.
Before his set started, I bought a $30 L-sized La Musica Del Diablo t-shirt to support the business. I was satisfied with the shirt design as it showed a dragon with a skull on its head playing a violin. Shoutout to Renee for being super kind and patient with me while I thought carefully about what I wanted to buy as admittedly there were so many products and shirts to choose from! It was a detour worth doing and I wish Gifts Of Mercy Emporium nothing but success in the long term.
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