EEVAH
The ‘Simplify Life’ Tour
EEVAH originally started as a multi-musical electro-pop duo from Halifax. Nicole Hope Smith on vocals and keytar and Richard McNamara takes his natural place on the guitar. Taking influence from the likes of Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, and Cocteau Twins to name a few, they released their debut single ‘Can’t Breathe’ back in 2018. Over the next six years, they continued to release singles and perform shows. They’ve opened for 80’s legends Duran Duran in front of 5,500 people at The Piece Hall, toured with Starsailor and flew to perform in Barcelona for a TikTok event. As a last-minute booking, they even drove to Bristol to open for Everything Everything whilst increasing their already healthy fanbase along the way. With a slight change, gone was the keytar in exchange for bass guitar, the duo became a trio with drummer Fay Clayton replacing the drum machine, bringing a more organic indie sound and energy to the band. Everything was set and refreshed.
Capturing the energy of a live music performance is something I love. Whether it’s working under the standard “first three songs, no flash” rule or having an AAA pass for full access to the show and venue, each situation challenges creativity in its own way. When I’m photographing shows, it’s not just about capturing the performance. I’m always on the lookout for those little moments in between, the ones that feel real and unguarded. It might be a glance, an unexpected emotion, or a split second where the performer steps out of ‘character’. Those are the shots that stick with me, the ones that show something deeper and a more human side to the show.
One of my bucket list goals in photography was to complete a tour with a band. Life on the road, with all its highs and lows, would be an incredible experience to document. It’s not just about the photos, it’s about telling the full story of the journey, the music, and hopefully everything in between.
Back in 2021, I did a promo shoot with EEVAH, who at the time were still a duo. It was my first chance to spend any real one-on-one time with them, however I consider that shoot a personal failure. I was battling a nasty cold and wasn’t on top of my game. Communication was limited, and the results were, frankly, underwhelming.
Fast forward, imagine my surprise when they invited me back, a chance to redeem myself, perhaps? Since then, I’d shot various EEVAH and EMBRACE shows, but I hadn’t spent much time with Nicole, Rick, or their newest member, drummer Fay, who I met when EEVAH were opening a few shows for Starsailor. It was at a show in Sheffield when something shifted. Whilst making small talk with Nicole before they went on stage, I innocently asked if she ever worried about forgetting the lyrics to the opening song. In hindsight, probably not the best thing to ask moments before walking on stage. Later, Nicole told me that that moment stuck with her, she thought it was hilarious, and apparently, it made her feel at ease like she was in safe hands. That’s when everything clicked between us.
A few weeks before the first tour, my girlfriend and I were invited to their house for a curry. It was a chance to chat about the tour, bounce around ideas, and set expectations, all while enjoying a relaxed, informal evening. Looking back, it was probably also a way to suss me out, to make sure I wasn’t a complete fraud. I’m sure there is still time. Despite being naturally quiet, introverted, and sometimes socially awkward, I left that night feeling surprisingly at ease. For the first time, I felt confident that everything was going to be okay.
The first day of the tour started at Rick’s house, where we all gathered to prepare. This wasn’t a strictly defined setup, outside of our roles, we were all co-tour managers, roadies, and general crew, ready to pitch in wherever needed. Moments before we were due to leave, Fay received a phone call with some sad news. It cast a shadow over the excitement of the day. We all took a moment to check in with her. Despite the weight of what she was dealing with, Fay gathered her inner strength and chose to press on. Her strength and determination set the tone for what would be an emotional but united journey ahead. What a star she is.
Once we were packed up, we took the first photo of the trip infront of the tour bus (van), before hitting the road for Liverpool, where the first official show was set to kick off. There, we met Raoul, the final member of the team, who was to be in charge of the merch. With the crew now complete, the tour was officially underway. Later all five of us packed into a van, ready to travel up and down the country for the next 20 days. With 16 shows ahead of us, it was a massive tour by anyone’s standards, made even more intense by the close quarters we’d be sharing. It was going to be challenging, no doubt, but the sense of adventure and camaraderie made it all the more exciting for us.
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Alright, before we dive any deeper, let me share a little secret with you. I’ve rewritten and agonised over this blog more times than I can count. It started as a detailed, date-by-date tour diary, but honestly? The sheer scale of it became overwhelming. I set myself up for a task so massive that I eventually got bored of my inner voice, and trust me when I say I didn’t want to subject you to that. So instead, I’m taking a different approach. I’ll share my experience as a whole, my highlights, whilst also sprinkling in some behind-the-scenes moments, because let’s be honest, that’s probably why you’re here, right? Deal? Great.
From the very first show, we all settled into our roles pretty quickly. Rick, Nicole, and Fay were already well-versed in what they needed to do, having been through this kind of thing before. Raoul and I, however, were the newbies.
All credit to Raoul, he jumped right into the merch duties, taking pride and making the stand look fantastic. His engaging personality made him a natural at it too. As for me, I was taking it day by day, still finding my feet and figuring out where I could best contribute to the madness. I was making it up as I went. Let me explain… My main responsibility was to document each show day for social media and capture the vibe of the tour. The challenge was to represent each show that had been carefully perfected, with all its various elements, and make it look fresh every day without becoming repetitive. As the shows became more familiar, I started to find the key moments to capture, those spots where I knew I could get the best shots. I have to say, the photos improved as the tour went on..
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Nicole had brought along a Polaroid camera to capture fun day-to-day candid shots for her collection, and while that was meant to be for everyone to use, I mostly ended up taking charge of it, along with the van keys. “Si, do you have the keys for the van?” became my unofficial tagline, following me around for pretty much the entire tour.
Being on this trip was a huge learning curve for me, especially when it came to managing my time in turning around shots from each day. It took a few days to get the hang of it. Normally, I’m the kind of person who jumps straight into editing after a shoot. It’s a personal habit, maybe eagerness? maybe insecurity? But either way, I’d be on my laptop as soon as possible.
Being part of the team, things were different. Alongside Rick, I was sharing driving duties to and from each venue, so I’d often be sorting and editing shots when we got back to his place or the Airbnb we were staying at that night. There were nights when I’d still be awake working at 3am, messing around on my laptop, with another early start looming. By day 3, I realised this was ridiculous, it wasn’t sustainable. So, I adjusted my method. After each show, I’d go through the shots, pick the best ones, and then switch off to unwind or get some rest. The next morning, I’d usually be the first to wake up, which gave me some quiet time to finish editing and upload the shots to the shared drive. It worked out well, I wasn’t sleep-deprived either, which was a bonus.
Each day followed the same routine. Once everyone was ready, we’d load the van like Tetris champions, hit the road for the venue, unload, set up, and do a soundcheck. Then, we’d hang around until showtime in the dressing room, keeping ourselves entertained.. After the show, once the meet-and-greets were over, it was time to dismantle everything, reload the van, and head off to our accommodation for the night. With the van unloaded and everyone settled in, it was all about getting some rest, just to do it all over again the next day. This repetitive cycle quickly creates a bubble, where the outside world seems to disappear. The five of us were fully immersed in our timeless reality, just moving from one show to the next, day after day.
Once we were unloaded, every venue required a soundcheck. In theory, the sound engineer would receive the tech specs ahead of time to have everything needed in place before we arrived. Simple enough, right? Unfortunately, this wasn’t always the case. More often than not, we’d show up and, after the engineer had introduced themselves, they’d ask, “Right, what do you need?” This was frustrating for the band, and I always felt that tension. The best way I can describe it is silent dismay, there was an unspoken understanding that things weren’t going as smoothly as they should.
If you were lucky to catch any of the shows, you know it was a pretty technical set up, right from the introductory countdown. There was a mix of backing tracks, live instruments, and a running projection throughout the performance. Rick’s M-Live B.Beat box (look it up) controlled both the backing tracks and the projection.
The main challenge came with the sound engineers. Some were experienced and knew exactly what to do, and everything went off without a hitch. But others… not so much. Whether due to the venue’s technical limitations or the engineer’s lack of experience, it often made things unnecessarily difficult.
One soundcheck stands out as particularly intense. Right from the start, Rick’s B.Beat box just wouldn’t cooperate. All it would do was play its internal metronome, and nothing else. This dragged on for quite a while. Rick is usually pretty cool and laid back, tackling any issue with a level head, but even he was starting to lose patience. I knew it wasn’t the right time to be taking photos, nothing could move forward until the problem was resolved. So, I made my excuses and stepped out of the venue to grab some batteries and maybe a bite to eat, anything to escape the mounting tension.
I returned about 40 minutes later, and things hadn’t progressed. All Nicole and Fay could do, was to sit around and wait. The support band were also waiting to set up and soundcheck themselves. Time was slipping away, and we were getting closer to doors opening. Of course, everything had to be delayed. The problem remained a mystery, and Rick’s frustration was beginning to boil over. Then, the head engineer walked in to “help” by asking, with full sincerity, “Have you read the instructions?” I couldn’t help but gasp involuntarily. It turned out that our engineer had wired up the B.Beat box wrong, connecting it incorrectly to the desk. The real kicker, though, was that the engineer seemed more focused on deflecting blame than actually helping solve the issue. His attitude of working against the band, rather than with them, carried on throughout the night.
I had my own “WTF” moment when I asked about the lighting setup. Pointing to a couple of bare lightbulbs, the engineer simply said, “That’s it.” I knew right then that it was going to be a long day.
Being the band’s photographer came with its fair share of challenges, and no, it’s not just the occasional “lack of space” excuse, though that’s sometimes part of it. It’s also the lighting. No two venues are ever the same when it comes to their lighting rig. Some nights I’d be photographing in near-total darkness, while other times, the lights were so dim that my camera couldn’t focus on anything. It’s exhausting mentally, trying to think outside the box to capture something usable. Then there’s the issue of red and blue lights, cameras hate red and blue lights! One night, during the middle of the show, I messaged Raoul in our WhatsApp group, “Can you ask the lighting guy to give me some white light? He’s fucking up my night with all this red and blue light” All I wanted was to deliver the best shots possible, and if there was a chance to tweak things subtly to my advantage, then I was going to take it. Sometimes, I had to get creative. There were times when I used the torch on my phone to help the camera lock focus on Nicole or even used my flash (which, for me, is a last resort since it messes with the vibe of the performance). Thankfully, Nicole and Rick were always sympathetic. They gave me the green light to do whatever I needed to make it work, rather than limiting me. I learned to use any restrictions as an advantage, pushing me to create a unique look for each show, even when I felt the odds were stacked against me.
Returning briefly to the subject of sound engineers, we ended up at a venue that could only be described as a bit of a dive. It was clinging to the memories of its former glory days, the kind of place that had once hosted big names but now seemed like it was on life support, full of dirt, grime, and the ghosts of musicians past. There was still debris from the night before scattered across the stage. I asked for a brush, but the proprietor, reliving his glory days as the venue’s last line of defence, insisted on doing it himself. With each sweep, I swear he created a cloud of dust that could’ve come straight from the ’90s. It was like he was sweeping up all the bad decisions and forgotten nights from the past 30 years. That dust never fully left, and I’m pretty sure it’s still lingering in our lungs today. We constantly passed around the hand sanitiser like it was the last bottle of water in the desert.
Desperate to avoid breathing in more of the venue’s now polluted atmosphere, the guys relaxed out in the van waiting for both the dust to settle and for the sound guy to arrive. Then, the moment came. At first, I did a double-take. I wasn’t sure if I was seeing things. The sound engineer limped into the venue, greeting everyone like he was a local legend. But something wasn’t quite right. I noticed he only had use of one arm. He had to physically place his hand where it needed to be on the desk with his other hand. Watching him set up and lay cables with just one hand was… let’s just say, a bit concerning. With my heart sinking a bit, I went out to the van to let the guys know it was time for a soundcheck. In an attempt to break the tension, I added that I wanted to be in Rick’s eyeline when he met the sound engineer. Rick asked why, I just said, “Let’s go.” Looking back, I can admit it now: I judged this guy. But he turned out to be the best engineer of the entire tour. I had him pegged as the guy who might accidentally blow up the speakers, but he was a seasoned pro. He’d been around for years, grown old with the venue, and had worked with all the big names that had played there before. The soundcheck was smoother than butter, and he gave the show the best sound. So yeah, I guess I learned a valuable lesson: Never judge a sound engineer by his limp or lack of arms.
People asked me if I ever experienced any cabin fever. I’d have to say no. Being on a tour like this creates a strange dynamic. For 20 days, you’re eating, sleeping, living, and travelling together, almost like one big, slightly dysfunctional family. There are times when the energy is low, and the van is filled with a heavy silence, and then there are times when the energy is high, and everyone’s bouncing off each other. What you have to remember is that everyone’s energy levels are in different places at different times, so learning to read the room is key. There was one day when my energy was low. It happens. You can’t always be “on.” The trick is to acknowledge it and manage it. Sometimes, your mind can play tricks on you, convincing you that what you’re seeing or hearing isn’t the reality of the situation.
I’ll give you one example though. One night, after a long day at a venue, I made a classic slip-up. I called Nicole “Nicola.” Now, of course, I knew her name, but it just came out wrong. Of course, Nicole, being the kind person she is, politely corrected me. She even mentioned that I’d called her “Nicola” earlier that day, but she let it slide. This was a pet peeve of hers because people had done it for years. She laughed it off, but for me, it was like a ticking time bomb of mental pressure. Now, to set the scene: I hadn’t spent much time with Nicole and Rick outside of shooting gigs, We were forced into the still getting-to-know-each-other phase. And of course, I overthought it. If I say, “Don’t think of a black cat,” what’s the first thing that pops into your head? Exactly. So my mantra became: “Don’t say Nicola, don’t say Nicola, don’t say Nicola.” That just made it worse. It was like my brain developed a glitch, and “Nicola” was forever lurking on the tip of my tongue, waiting to fuck me over. To avoid any potential disaster by saying it again, I decided to rewire my brain. I would communicate with Nicole without ever needing to mention her name for a while. It became my little survival tactic. And on days off, if I was close to home, I’d head back home to break the dynamic, giving everyone a break. I guess it was me being overly cautious, but hey, I didn’t want to be the cause of anyone’s potential “cabin fever”.
On the flip side, I’ve never laughed so much as I have on the road. You know, that kind of laughter where your head hurts or you feel like you’ve just done a thousand crunches. The best way to handle any situation? Find the humour in it. Whether it’s laughing at someone or with them, it always lightens the mood. Nicole would often laugh at me, mainly because I’m as clumsy as they come. One time, I simply put a bag down at my feet while talking to her, only to immediately trip over it, without having moved! Every time I tripped over something, my eyes would dart to Nicole, just hoping she hadn’t seen me, but it was almost always too late, she was already cracking up. Another source of her amusement was capturing the worst photos of me possible. It’s an ongoing game to this day! It’s never intentional on her part, though, it’s usually me accidentally, but gormlessly photobombing their selfies or videos.
One of the moments that still makes me laugh from the whole experience happened in Southampton. We were staying at another AirBnB, and it was freezing. Seriously, it felt colder inside than outside. The only solution to this intense cold was to crank up the heating to warm and air the house. I hunted around for the thermostat and, eventually, I found it, but there were no instructions. So, naturally, I started pushing buttons and flicking switches, hoping something would work.
Rick, ever the problem-solver, came to the rescue. The boiler was in the downstairs toilet, and he noticed the pressure had dropped, which could explain why the boiler wasn’t firing up. Taking the seat of the toilet face to face with the boiler, he rolled up his metaphorical sleeves and got to work on raising the pressure. I watched him, hoping to learn something.. He fiddled with taps here and unscrewed nuts there, it quickly became clear he had no idea what he was doing with this particular boiler. The water started leaking out of various pipes. I wasn’t sure why he kept unscrewing connections because that only made the flow worse. Quickly the floor of the toilet became a large puddle, I wasn’t sure if it was panic or just bad luck, but it was turning into a full-blown crisis. Rick pushed passed me, running around the kitchen frantically slamming cupboard doors looking for the stop tap, like a man on a treasure hunt. At first, I thought maybe this was part of the plan… but as the toilet floor started turning into a small lake and creeping into the kitchen, I had my doubts. I had no choice but to sacrifice my dry sleeves and start frantically screwing everything back into place as fast as I could while the water was flowing over my arms. Finally, thankfully, the water stopped, but the pressure was still unchanged. The whole situation escalated so quickly, we had been in the house for about five minutes! I ended up finding an old mop and bucket outside and spent the next 15 minutes mopping up the mess! It was all just so absurd, we couldn’t do anything but laugh, right there in the chaos and for days afterwards. Raoul was genuinely concerned we’d drained the entire system, but oddly enough, after all the drama, the heating kicked in all on its own. So all credit to Rick and his unconventional method I guess.
Despite losing track of the days, we drove from city to city, show to show, We were finally down to the last gig. Cambridge, our final stop. It was a day of mixed emotions: relief, and exhaustion, though a weird sense of finality hanging in the air. Setting up felt surprisingly relaxed, almost like we’d all become one with the tour routine. But of course, there were still some little concerns. Like when Nicole and Rick got into a debate over where to place the projector for the best effect.
It had to be positioned just right, so it projected perfectly without obstructing the performance or getting blocked by Nicole’s movements on stage. It took Rick a solid 30 minutes of head-scratching, measuring, and probably swearing under his breath before he finally found the sweet spot. But then came the funpart: geometric correction. Because of course, the angle he’d chosen wasn’t quite right, so now it was time to deal with that mess. At that point, Rick, who had been as patient as he could be, glanced over at me and said, “Fuck this shit, I just want to play the guitar.” that line amused me. Maybe it was the frustration, maybe it was the way he said it, like the final straw that broke the camel’s back
But the gig itself? It was something special. Not only did it mark the end of the tour, but Nicole’s family had turned up as a surprise adding weight to the occasion. Even her granddad came along, sitting proudly on a stool right at the front and centre for the entire show. It was a lovely, heartwarming moment that made all the madness of the past 20 days for her feel worthwhile, I’m sure.
The show went off without a hitch. The energy from the performance was electric, and the crowd’s response matched it in full force. But it wasn’t until the second to last song that things took an emotional turn. That night, Nicole became visibly emotional, the feeling was contagious. I remember seeing Fay wiping her eyes too. It was as if all the tension, all the pressure we’d been carrying for the past 3 weeks, had finally found its release.
I stood at the edge of the stage, tears rolling down my cheeks as I hid my face behind my camera. It was such a powerful moment. Even now, as I write this, I’m reliving it, and I can feel the emotions rising again. It wasn’t just about the show, it was about everything that had led up to that point. The months of hard work, the sleepless nights, the anxiety, the self-doubt, and the attention to detail. all of it, right down the last white rose. Nicole had put so much pressure on herself to make this tour a success, and she did it. She pulled it off. Looking back, I couldn’t have been more proud of her in that moment.
The guys powered through the final song, and as they say, the crowd went wild. The energy was off the charts, but what impacted me the most, was when Nicole called Raoul and myself up on stage to take part in the final bow. As we joined the band, we huddled together, wrapped up in the moment, crying before we could even turn to face the audience. It was overwhelming. A mixture of joy, relief and a deep sense of connection. That was it, the moment the bubble we’d been living in for 20 days finally burst. It was a rush of emotion as everything came to a head, all the ups and downs, the grind and a huge sense of achievement. And in that one moment, we were all cemented. As we turned to the crowd for the final bow there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. I’ve never felt anything like that before or since. It was pure, raw emotion, and I felt so proud to be a part of it, even if only in a small way.
After that final show, once we had loaded up the van and said our goodbyes, we made the long late night drive back to Yorkshire for the last time, to crash at Rick’s place. The next morning, as usual, I was the first awake. Rather than hang around, I decided it was time to gather my things and head home, leaving the others to sleep off the night before. I quietly let myself out and started the journey back. As I drove, tears welled up in my eyes, and a montage of the tour played out like a movie in my mind.
Like in Peterborough, during setup, when we realised we’d forgotten Rick’s pedal board. Raoul was my navigator as we drove 40 minutes back to the house where we were staying to retrieve it. I’ll never forget the sight of Raoul running around the house in a full-blown panic, desperately trying to find the missing gear. It was one of those moments now, where you can’t help but laugh. The countless sets of stairs we had to climb, hauling gear back and forth, there were a lot of them. Every post-gig drink with fans who had followed us on the tour and had since become friends. Some people had flown in from Italy, Finland, and even the USA, just to catch a couple of shows. The loyal showgoers who pitched in to help carry the gear back to the van saved us time and energy.. It was a beautiful thing, and it showed the strength of the fanbase. A true testament to EEVAH and their incredible followers. As I’m driving home, back to reality, I hear the echoes of everyone’s unique laugh, snippets of conversations, and the sheer teamwork that got us through the toughest moments. The four-hour drive from Glasgow to Yorkshire, fighting fatigue by reading Viz Top Tips and Readers’ Letters to keep Rick stimulated at the wheel. The drunken service station TikTok videos, organised by Fay. Every kebab, pizza, and McDonald’s stop became our steady diet. But beyond the grind, there were so many incredible times. These are a few of the many moments that I’ll cherish forever.
And the good news is, that we get to do it all over again for the upcoming tour in March. The same chaos, the same laughs, the same exhaustion I’m sure, but most importantly, the same bond that makes it all worth it. I can already feel the anticipation building, knowing we’ll face a new set of challenges, but also create even more unforgettable memories. Bring on the next chapter!
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