Marilena Vlachopoulou, Fans26 Images
Every music fan considers themselves a pro nightlife photographer, leaving a gig with a full camera roll of blurry footage ruined by the backs of heads and friends screaming along. Often, the crowd’s vision of their favourite artist is obscured by dozens of glowing screens. Do people ever go back to look at this footage? It’s doubtful.
Occasionally you’ll come across a photographer who makes you realise that, aside from a couple of snaps for the memories, maybe we should leave most of the documenting to people who know what they’re doing. Glasgow-based goth Marilena Vlachopoulou is one of them, with her exceptional portraits of fans at gigs capturing the palpable excitement and subcultural motifs of the individuals amongst the crowd.
Originally from Athens and involved in the city’s darker underground scenes, the now 34-year-old spent the 00s taking MySpace photos and shooting friends’ bands. “I’ve always been a huge music fan,” she tells me. “I’m not sure if I would do what I do now without those early creative seeds.” After moving to Scotland many years later, Vlachopoulou started taking her former hobby more seriously.
This year her dreamlike double-exposed portrait of Lucia Fairful, frontwoman of Lucia & The Best Boys, was featured in Vogue Greece’s New Talents showcase. “This series was made in lockdown and features portraits of artists and people on the streets of Glasgow,” she explains, noting that the timeless quality of the series is thanks to the black and white medium format film that she’d develop and scan from home.
Even with lockdowns behind us, finding community amongst like-minded “weirdos” IRL is the best way to combat hard feelings in a world where the onslaught of hard news seems heavy and neverending. “There are a few things left in this world that have the power of bringing people together and the mutual love for music is easily one of them,” Vlachopoulou enthuses. “It’s such a cool feeling to walk into a venue or field and think, ‘that’s my people’, as corny as it may sound. Being part of these communities and documenting them makes me relate to them even more and it’s exciting to be part of that,” she says. “I really enjoy seeing the DIY outfits, the merch, the make-up, the enthusiasm, the raw power, the drama, basically everything!”
Vlachopoulou’s strength is capturing young alternative fans in their element; whether they’re baring fangs with their partner, buzzing with friends queueing outside the venue, or throwing up horns mid-headbang in the pit. An outsider could find it difficult to spot the differences between one crowd of black tee wearers and another. Each band has their merch designs and varying sartorial clues amongst fans, but these intricacies are a dog whistle for those with similar interests.
Even with the internet merging the previously well-defined alt genres into a monomorphous entity, Vlachopoulou feels a positive effect on the crowds: “Tribalism was such a big thing back in the day, especially within the heavier scenes and you’d run at risk of being called a poser if the clothes you wore or the music you listened to didn’t align with ‘how things are supposed to be.” In Nympet Alumni’s podcast episode about the 90s, guest host and New York Times pop critic Jon Caramanica recalls how people would get jumped over wearing the wrong pair of jeans in the era before readily available internet access.
“It’s wonderful to know that there’s a safe place, whether physical or metaphorical, where their individuality can be celebrated with no judgement,” says Vlachopoulou. “It’s okay to see the same bunch of people attend a Chappell Roan concert and a death metal concert and having a sick time at both.” Having shot Ms. Roan at Glasgow’s 02 for The Skinny mag last year, it’s safe to say Vlachopoulou has witnessed this first-hand. She’s also had the pleasure of shooting crowds from other notable ladies of the stage including the “electrifyingly-fun” Amyl and the Sniffers plus the ultimate goth crowd at Siouxsie and the Banshees. “For one of them, it was their very first ever concert. Imagine Siouxsie being your first gig!”
A full circle moment and a “bucket list dream” in Vlachopoulou’s career manifested itself two New Year’s Eves ago, taking HIM frontman Ville Valo’s portrait at Helsinki’s Tavastia. It also marked her first-ever commission for Kerrang! Magazine, a win for anyone who has grown up in similar scenes. You’ll easily be able to spot fans from the crowd in this gallery by the heartagram-shaped merch and facepaint.
When asked what her next dream shoot scenario could be, “a portrait of an entire generation of Sabbath-heads of all ages all in one place” would do it. With Ozzy’s final performance happening to a sold-out Aston Villa park this July, perhaps a kind fairy goth-mother could grant us both a ticket. Or is that going off the rails on a crazy train?
