The Fray @ Dodge Theatre

I'll admit this right up front, I requested to shoot this concert because my sister Emily listens to this band. I know OF the band, but going into the show, I didn't know any of their songs. Which was slightly surprising, because as I walked down to the stage to get into position, I thought; "Holy cow, THAT'S a lot of lighting!" It was.





This was a proper big time show, just shrank down to fit in a medium sized venue. I was actually really excited to SEE this band. As I was studying the lighting set up, I realized a lot of "indie" or "homemade" lights mixed in with the big stuff. The sort of thing my band liked to do. The sort of thing where you wrap a couple rope lights around keyboard stands and what not. But I was again surprised at even how much thought went into THAT. They had all this low-fi equipment set up, then right next to it, or even inside of it, there would be the expensive strobes, or large glowing bulbs. I was pretty upset that we only got to see 2 songs. I knew this would have been fun to watch. Below is a photo of the stage before the band came on.

So when the first song started it was just the singer standing in a spot light. I thought, "Oh great, they are going to tease the photogs with all this lighting equipment and NOT use it while we are shooting." But then the song picked up and the lights came on... and I even recognized the song! Imagine that. The band was good! The songs weren't bloody annoying, and the singer was in key. It is, I must say, very easy listening, and easily performed, but hey, they did it right. I cant fault them. They fit a niche, and the crowd was happy. Lots of "Oh my god, I love you" screams were roaring over my shoulders during the shoot.

On a side note, Jacks Mannequin opened the show. Again, it was a pretty easy fit. Round block in a round hole, but they were ok. One thing that 'bothers' me... well, that's a strong word... one thing that makes me wonder, is why bands see the need to put tape over the names on their guitars and amps. Is it because they don't want to be labeled? Because they already are. Is it because they don't want to be viewed as a band who follows trends? Because they already are. Or is it maybe because they've asked for those companies for endorsement money and were denied? Hmm.