Erykah Badu @ Marquee Theatre

To be honest, going into this the only thing I new about Erykah Badu is that she has some wild hair, and used to wear some large hats.





After the pat down and bag search I made my way to the front pit area of the Marquee Theatre. There was a band on stage that was seriously rocking the house and winning the crowd over. I found out later that it was Janelle Monae... I'm out of the loop on current music apparently. It struck me as a sort of 60's era soul with some R&B mixed in... but then throw in some melting electric guitar and live drums. A sort of novelty act, but in a good way. I came in too late and was not allowed to shoot them unfortunately. There was some serious energy here, it ended with a stage dive and the crowd going completely bonkers for her.





Before any band or performer goes on stage, I sort of hang out in the wings, off to the side of the stage. I get my camera and lenses ready for shooting and wait for the house lights to go down. Tonight when the house lights went off, I made my way to the far side of the stage, where a DJ was set up. I figured it would be a couple of minutes of him "kicking out the jams", getting the crowds pumped, and bigging up Erykah Badu... making her entrance a massive spectacle. In fact, this couldn't be more wrong. The entire intro was so bizarre to me, which made the DJ completely pointless. He played a bunch of greatest hits records from 20 years of hip hop, using his Mac to change the songs. (Don't get me started on this) TWENTY minutes later, a guy from behind the curtain walks out on to the middle of the stage, and tells the DJ to cut it. He promptly fades the music out, and hits a different button that plays some prerecorded keyboard sounds. A solid 6 or 7 minutes later Erykah Badu walks out on stage, very un-climatically, with a dim flashlight in her hand, shining it at the audience for about 10 seconds, then puts it down, and takes her positionat behind the mic. For the next 20 minutes while I was able to stay and photograph, her feet didn't move from the spot she walked out to.





Wearing possibly the most bizarre, in a bad way, outfit I'd seen in a long time, complete with bowler cap and "a smelly old blanket that a Navajo wove"... Erykah killed any 'up' mood that the DJ created by starting the show with three slow moving ballads all in a row. There had to have been 12 or 13 people on the stage... say 10 of them not put to any sort of use... and Badu lit by a spot light. It was the most underwhelming use of the beginning of a show I'd ever witnessed. I can completely understand creating a mood... but this was akin to being on a terribly unsatisfying rollercoaster ride at a ring road carnival, or simply being pushed down a hill. The show started fantastically with Janelle Monae, so much electric energy... then the DJ got everyone in the audience singing and dancing together... then Erykah Badu came out, and might as well could have started reading Pride and Prejudice. Actually, as I was watching Janelle Monae and her band... I was thinking to myself, "It's got to take a serious performer to book someone like that as an opener... she must not be able to be upstaged." Sadly, this was not the case.

I didn't set out to write a scathing review... I don't think my reviews count for much more than a few ok photos and maybe some back story on what it's like being a photographer... but I had to say something, didn't I? I'm sure the rest of the show was brilliant.



On another note, my new lens... the Canon 100mm f/2.8L Macro performed amazingly! I used it almost exclusively for this shoot, save for a few wide shots with my 17-40mm. While this lens is a "Macro" lens (meaning close-up), I think it is dismissed as a nice portrait lens... but I am actually quite impressed by it! This was the first time I really got to see what it can do with light on a persons face. Luckily, the Marquee broke out with their spots for this show and I was able to play with it. The images are incredibly sharp and bokeh (blurry background) was silky smooth! Great purchase!

Cake @ Marquee Theatre

"Hello Phoenix, we are CAKE, and we are here to serve YOU!" The old play on words never gets old... I thought it was a fun, lighthearted way to open the show.





I was actually moderately excited to shoot CAKE in concert. I can't call myself a "big" fan, but do become infatuated with their sound pretty heavily from time to time. In fact, it was in the latest such CAKE craze that I found out they were coming to town. I instantly emailed my editor at the New Times and said I had to shoot it.



A couple days before the show I got the call that I was confirmed to shoot... and was told there would be no opening band, and that CAKE would actually play two separate sets, with a break in between. This sounded pretty awesome! Not that I'd get to shoot the whole ordeal, but from a fan's point of view, what more can you ask for? And in fact, I had to leave after I'd shot anyways... prior engagement that evening.



The Marquee has yet to let me down. In that, every time I shoot there, I can count on the lights being terrible. I always feel bad for the bands that play there... the photos inevitably end up portraying an unexciting concert stop. As if they played in a bar along the way to the real venue. Dim light, from the back of the house is "moody" when you are there in person... but cameras need actual light to capture anything interesting. Shooting in this kind of situation becomes almost a chore. Cameras and lenses are pushed to their limits... and even "fast" lenses (or low-light lenses) generally struggle and need the assistance of a monopod, or a solid speak cabinet to lean on.





All negativity aside, it was fun. Another band I wish I could have stayed and watched, even from the back of the house. But I did get to hear them open with one of my favorites... "Comfort Eagle". It's a fun jam, and I think it is very categorically CAKE-ish. The twangy, dirty guitar riff... the near-monotone vocals... the word accentuating group yell... and the synchronous hand clap... it's all there. It's all great. It's all CAKE.



One odd note: in the moments before a band takes the stage... there is always music playing, generally chosen by the band... when I walked in that night I heard Laurie Anderson's "O, Superman!". I thought only my wife and I listened to Laurie Anderson...

Arctic Monkeys @ Marquee Theatre

I listened to "505" and "I bet you look good on the dance floor" online before I got the Marquee Theatre... I wanted to at least see if I knew the Arctic Monkeys through subliminal messaging. I was familiar with their sound... and remembered seeing them play on Conan (RIP) a while back, so I got in a pretty good mood thinking I might enjoy this show.





For the first time in a long time, I had to sign a waiver at the Marquee. Usually, bands of this caliber aren't prone to being picky with their photos, but what can you do? Then I was told after the third song I would have to leave to put my camera in my car... never been asked that here... but again, no big deal. Really, it just meant I couldn't watch any of the show after I was done shooting, but that is standard with the bigs.





When the band's roadies were setting up the gear, I was excited to see that they had brought some of their own lights. Even if they did look a little "Guitar Center-y"... on tripods along the back wall. But all that mattered was "did it look cool?" Yes. It did. For the first time, ever, I think... I had an enjoyable time shooting a band at the Marquee. Normally, the lights are so dull and dark that the photos always suffer. But, with the Monkeys I had room to play, and experiment. I could really "paint in" the background lights, making the photos more colorful and interesting. I even played with silhouettes more than I normally do. It was a good time, and I was actually a little down that I had to leave after the first three songs... I was digging the music and would have liked to watch the show.





I used my 17-40mm and my 100-400mm on this shoot. I left the 5D MkII set between ISO3200 and 4000, and my shutter jumped between 1/50 and up as high as 1/250 at times. It was fairly decent conditions and it meant I was able to take my time with my shots. Good times.





I didn't want to start another blog post, but I felt I should throw in some pics of the opening band, Sleepy Sun. This, to me, from what I saw and heard, was a sort of southern rock-y, bar band, with two singers... type act. They played pretty familiar sounding songs... but different enough to still be enjoyable to listen to.





When I walked in the venue for the first time, Sleepy Sun was already on stage... and behind them was a veil of pink light. Which, sounds a little Elton John, but it looked cool in person. It was an odd effect for a low key rock band, but it worked... and didn't change for the duration of their set. I suppose they found their thing and stuck with it. Or the venue said "ah... pink", pressed a button, and that was it. Either way, cool photos.





I got some great shots of the lead guitarist, lots of similar poses, but all very cool. Drummers, unfortunately, are always in the dark. Either the light is too much extra heat, or they are just forgot about. But I always think how cool the photos could be if someone would just point a bulb their way every now and again.

Sonic Youth @ Marquee Theatre

Chairs set up at the Marquee Theatre... that usually means old and broken people will be at the show... or people that just want to chill out and nod along to the songs. Is Sonic Youth THAT old??

From what I saw on stage... no. For a long time, going to concerts as a lad I found it disrespectful for people to sit down at a rock show. Apparently, I still do. This band, however old they may be... were still able to stand up and rock their set, guitars flailing around on stage... we should at least be courteous and stand with them. Be part of the moment.

Ok, enough of that. I never listened to Sonic Youth... but I always had a feeling I'd like them. And this show was no disappointment. Lots of noises and sound effects and feedback. (Done right, it can work) I enjoyed it. They even brought their own lights to the Marquee. Whee!

Unfortunately, slightly, their lights were all behind them. Which, for the audience, looks cool... but for actual photos... it makes getting clear shots difficult. When you're attempting to capture the correct exposure on someone's face or guitar, and a large box of flash bulbs go off behind them, scorching the rest of the photo... it can get frustrating. But that's all part of the game.

Too bad tho... there were a few times when Thurston Moore (guitar) would be right in front of me really playing up to the camera... and most of the time it was just too dark or awkwardly lit for me to get anything worth using. That is sort of my story with the Marquee in general. At the start of this show, I remember thinking "I have very few photos from this venue in my portfolio". I think I may have got one tonight... very top photo of Thurston.

Pretty much all night the 5D was set to ISO6400... and the shutter would jump around from 1/30 - 1/500 depending on the lights.