Sunday evening gigs are sometimes some of the hardest to get motivated for. You've spent most of Sunday eating, drinking and generally chilling out. However, with both Europe and Black Star Riders performing at the Great Hall last night there was no chance I would be lying around on the sofa. There was work to be done!

Well, it doesn't always feel like work. The Great Hall is a great venue for taking images. The pit area has plenty of space to move about in, and the bands are well lit. Add that to two kicks ass rock and roll bands and you have all the elements you need to capturing great images.

First up were Black Star Riders and boy did they put on a performance.

Ricky put on a great show, and it looked like Robbie and Scott were having a great time as well!

Europe were up next and I have to admit to having a little bit of a soft spot for them. Back in the day I used to have Final Countdown on cassette, which I remember playing a lot. (Yes, I'm old enough to remember owning cassettes).

As you are only given the first three songs to shoot, I had to put all my youthful memories to the back of mind and focus on the task at hand. It was a busy 15 minutes but the guys gave me some great images.

As you might expect, the crowd were treated to a great show.

All in all it was a great night. Photographically and musically. After all, one of the reasons I do this job is for my love of music.

For my next shoot I'm back at the Exeter Phoenix for GoGo Penguin on March 25th. However, keep an eye on my Twitter feed this week. I might be making a special announcement about a very special assignment....

I hope you enjoyed these images and remember to keep an eye out on the MusicMuso website for a full gig review.

Until next time on the Unplugged Blog, c ya!