Exercise: A written plan

Is it feasible?
My tutor has suggested that I cover a gig again as the event for this assignment. Considering my time frame between assignments, I really have to work to something local and without too much access difficulty. I need to cover a small event, but not unknown. As I said, from having my notes for the final assignment date to the deadline is only six weeks so my first point is to look for any bigger band gigs throughout August, possibly in the first few days of September.
The course notes state we should attempt to publish our results so ideally, I want a slightly bigger band that would be more desirable for music related websites to publish as the smaller local bands will have a significantly smaller fanbase.
Luckily, I have found a gig in Bristol, in a familiar venue, for a well known band called Combichrist, with support from bands Protafield and Controlled Collapse. So this is what I am aiming to cover for my event. Most higher profile bands will usually tour around October time so I am lucky to have found this gig and hopefully be able to gain access and cover it.

Permissions and access
I have photographed quite a few bands at this venue before. Each time I have emailed the venue beforehand and they have responded to confirm that DSLR cameras are allowed into the venue. In preparation for this event, with the band being slightly more well known, I once again emailed the venue, The Fleece, to ask if there would be any problems with me bringing along my DSLR camera to the gig. I had a response from the Fleece saying that I needed to contact the event promoter. They were also kind enough to CC in his email address for me.

email correspondence with The Fleece for event access

I then emailed the promoter, explaining who I was and what I was hoping to do and then asking if I could take my camera along. I had a reply granting me access with my DSLR camera so I now have to required permission to take my camera along and shoot the gig.

email correspondence with the event promoter for event access

Site Reconnaissance
The Fleece is a difficult venue to shoot in and I know this because I have photographed a few bands there on different occasions. The floor to ceiling pillars all around the venue cause problems viewing the stage depending on where you are stood. There is no photo pit so you have to take shots from the crowd, which is increasingly difficult with the pillars and if its overly crowded. If I were to stand directly at the front, I would be leaning on the stage and the artists would be directly above me as there in no space between the crowd and the stage. My best bet is to stand in the centre of the venue if possible, to get a head on view of the stage between the two most forefront pillars, and then, depending on how busy it is, move around to get side views as well. I really cant guess beforehand how busy it will be but as it's a more well known band within the music genre and they only have three UK gigs on this tour, I would assume it will be full. So this will limit movement around the venue but also limit my view of the stage. All I can do is aim for a spot where I can get the best overall view of the stage and judge the rest when I get in there.
I am also weary of the lighting inside these smaller venues and as with any gig, I cant foresee what kind of lighting set up they will use. I will check at the time for lighting sequences and am planning on taking my brightest lens, a f1.8 50mm, to cover myself as much as I can and try to get as many shots as I can, to give myself more choice when making my final selections.

Provisional shots
To be clear, I have only been granted access to take my camera to the event and I will have no backstage access or any access to sound checks to photograph any behind the scenes shots at all. All my shots will be of the actual show itself.
I do have a few shots that I know I need to get to make them more desirable to publishers.

• Photos of each individual bands performances, not just the headliner
• diverse shots of each front man of each band
• close up shots of faces. any distinctive face wear or make up?
• possibly shots of the band members interacting with the crowd, if at all
• shots of all other bands members 
• crowd reaction shots /overall atmosphere of the gig

All the above shots need to be captured in as much variety as possible to capture different expressions and poses. I need to be able to get images as clear as possible without movement blur. I am very aware that I don't have a selection of lenses to work with and I only have a basic entry level Canon 1000D but I need to work with what I have, as best I can.