Def Leppard + Poison @ Cricket Pavilion

I've always sort of been a Def Leppard fan. Any time a "Pour Some Sugar On Me" comes on the radio I crank it up. I was ready to be 80's rocked last night for the Def Leppard and Poison show. I think I was pretty adequately rocked too.

I've said it before, but at some shows 'getting the shot' is difficult, making listening to the show is tough. I could hear enough to know that it was a good show, however. I'm not super familiar with Poison, having only just been born in the 80's, but they rocked it. The crowd was absolutely into it.

Bret Michaels could still reel in the crowd and C.C. DeVille could still shred the solos. If piles of female undergarments are any gauge of a good rock show, this one rocked pretty hard. (see pic below)

When Def Leppard came on stage, I was pretty excited. Seeing Rick Allen atop the drum riser, fist raised in the air, ready to rock some faces off, the crowd roared. By the time I saw Joe Elliot and Phil Collen, I was torn between wanting to watch the show and wanting to photograph. (that wasn't a pun)

I was surprised at how together the band was. I had some fears they might not be as solid as they once were, but from what I could hear I can't knock em. I didn't notice any missed notes on Elliot's part, or any flubbed guitar licks by Collen. I would have really enjoyed watching this show. I especially regret missing a chance to hear "Love Bites" live. A personal favorite. It might be cheesy by today's standards, but there are some interesting musical devices and changes in that song that I appreciate.

Guitar players with no shirts on has never looked cool to me... a straight man... but I think when it comes to Phil Collen, you pretty much expect it. I wonder what he does when they tour Russia?

All in all, shooting conditions were pretty manageable. The stage was high, with lots of floor monitors, making it difficult to get the epic, centered wide angle shots I love... but I got what I could get. There was a long cat walk, and the photogs weren't allowed to shoot from that section... which meant no changing sides. You take what you can get.

Green Day @ US Airways Center

I was not one of those kids (melodramatic fools) in the 90's who bought the Dookie album. I actually used to tease my friends who listened to it. It wasn't until later that I got into Green Day's music. Actually, I've still never bought an album, but I've borrowed and copied albums, and am pretty familiar with their work. I still find it amazing how they managed to survive the 90's, while a lot of their contemporaries couldn't. Playing US Airways Center really proves just how well they've survived it. They've managed to stay relevant to old listeners while even nabbing the young kids attention while they're at it. They've grown into a sort of American convention, the foremost easy-to-swallow punk band.

While I still enjoy the older songs and respect the band, they've sort of alienated me with "American Idiot". I understand there is a killing to be made in Bush-bashing, and a lot of people share their feelings... but one thing I can't stand is the flagrant use of politics in music. That's really the one thing that puts me off Green Day. But I'm not so shallow that I won't enjoy their other music, I just choose not to listen to those songs. And for the 2 songs I got to hear live, I had a great time.

I just barely got this gig... my editor at the New Times wanted to shoot this show pretty badly, but luckily for me, had a last minute plan change. The show was great! Sure, other writers have given them flack for their 'predictable' performance... running into the crowd, letting people strum their guitars, yelling the city name, getting a girl up on stage and letting her kiss Billie on the mouth... but you know, for people who aren't tired and crusty old veterans of rock concerts, these are the things that make those fan's life. These kinds of shows are epic, even from the back row. The girl I saw get plucked from the front and centre of the pit and brought on stage hugged, kissed, and got to talk to Billie Joe on stage AT THE CONCERT, in front of all her friends, in front of 20,000 people, in front of a mess of photographers, then Billie made her stage dive into the crowd. That girl will never forget this concert. Plus, it cost Green Day nothing to do it. I think more bands need to think about the fans more when they plan their shows. Maybe THIS is why Green Day are still kicking? Hmm hmm...

From the photog point of view... it was a pretty easy shoot. The lights were good... not all of the screens were on while we were shooting, which would have made the pics a little cooler... but the second song "Know Your Enemy" was extended into a 10 minute or so jam/audience participation song. So we got to take our time shooting. Again I had my trusty and brilliant Canon 5D MkII, my 20D old standby, and I swapped my 17-40mm f4 and a 100-400mm between the both. I got a wide spectrum of range, and I think, got some pretty great shots. This was a big show. Definitely a pic or two for the old portfolio.

Green Day's opener for this show was the fantastic Franz Ferdinand from Scotland. This is a band that I keep getting exposed to, and I tend to like them a little more each time. They put on a great a show, and seemed to please the audience.

Their sort of quirky pop alternative sound is appealing to me. It's just slightly different from everyone else, and it's got an air of fun and humor to it. I shot them first at Coachella, and they were great there. I hope they can keep it going!

PS. While waiting for the show to start, Tara Hitchcock (News Channel 3) walked in. She was kind enough to stand for a pic with me and a fellow photo. :)

Lil Wayne @ Cricket Pavilion

It's been a busy week, so my posting got held up... but I managed a little time to throw up a few pics from the Lil Wayne show.

Going in to this, I've had yet to be thoroughly impressed at a rap show. Normally, it's just a dude rapping to a pre-recorded tape, a guy scratching records on top of that, and 25 other guys acting as the 'posse' on stage occasionally yelling "yea" into a microphone. It also didn't help that the photogs were told we'd be shooting from the sound board at Cricket Pavilion... which is a lengthy throw.

But as fate, or something, would have it, I was a little surprised... there was quite a bit of production value for this show. There was a band set up, dancers, and minimal posse. I guess I didn't put it together before, but most rap shows in Phoenix take place at the Celebrity Theatre... a 2000+ capacity venue. But Lil Wayne was playing Cricket... a 20,000+ capacity amphitheater. This was definitely a different ordeal. Too bad we weren't allowed to shoot up front.

I used both my 5d MkII and my 20d for this shoot. At first I strapped the 100-400mm to the 5D, and my 28-105mm to my 20D... and half way through I swapped. Switching from a full frame sensor to a 1.6x crop meant I got a huge range out of the lenses. I suppose, with the resolution of the 5D I could have just cropped the photos... but thats not something I like doing.

Blondie / Pat Benatar @ Dodge Theatre

This was set to be a pretty packed full show, the Donnas were supposed to open, but had to cancel due to a bout of laryngitis. That aside, this was a fun show to be at. The near capacity crowd was a pretty mixed bag of ages and sexes, all wanting a piece of some classic pop rock. Getting two female pop icons for the price of one, bargain!

Pat Benatar went on first. She opened very strong... and fairly surprisingly, (to me at least) her voice seemed essentially unchanged by time. I didn't notice any strain as she belted out the classics; "We belong", "Heartbreaker", "Hit me with your best shot", and of course "Love is a battlefield".

FOUR time Grammy winner Benatar played a great high energy set, and kept the night rolling. After our 3 song nugget of shooting time, we photogs were escorted to our holding area. At the Dodge, this means basically that we are just sitting in the hall outside of the main room... so the music was very clear as I sat there editing my photos. Editing Pat Benatar photos while Pat Benatar was performing a few hundred feet away was an interesting experience.

There is an hour and a half break between when we were escorted out for Pat Benatar and when Blondie took the stage. Funny enough, no one announced that she was starting... we just heard the opening lick from "Call me" start up. We all looked at each other and thought, 'is this a cd?' We grabbed our gear and ran for the stage.

Deborah "Blondie" Harry was clad in a sort of odd 80's tattered shirt held together with buttons and skirt sort of outfit with gold converses, RayBans, and a ball cap that said "Blondie NYC". This was an interesting look for a pop diva. :) During the middle chorus of "Call me" I thought I heard Harry straining a little to hit the notes. As I kept listening, it sounded more like she had trouble hearing the monitor monitor issue rather than a performance issue. She actually rocked the house pretty solid.

Of course I didn't get to watch the whole show, but I can imagine she played all the big hits. While I was there however, Harry and the rest of Blonie seemed very "on". I could have maybe asked for a little more production on both Blondie and Benatar's side. It sort of felt like they just showed up and used what was here. Blondie did at least have a large banner at the rear of the stage with "Blondie" tagged on it. We weren't allowed to shoot Blondie from the center, so it was hard to make the photos any sort of interesting by including some of the banner in the rear of the shots.

Camera/photog wise... the lights weren't great. They were ON, but that was about it. A spot at the front and center of the stage... basically to drown everything else out. The colored lights just weren't bright enough to compete, just not enough of them... and no smoke or anything for them to reflect on. I primarily stuck to my 5D MkII for most of the night. I kept the ISO around 3200 - 4000 and was able to have a little play with the shutter speed. Since there was no barricade at this show, we were about 10 rows back from the stage, so the 100-400mm just stayed on the MkII. It performed very well.

Aerosmith / ZZ Top @ Cricket Pavilion

Pretty much any show at Cricket Pavilion is a big deal... but last night was a pretty special classic rock show. Aerosmith and ZZ Top. I'm not a particularly huge fan of either, but I'll rock out to some Aerosmith when its on the radio! And who didn't own their "Get A Grip" album? Come on!

ZZ Top opened the show with their many classic songs to an appreciative, if tame, crowd... still building in numbers as they played. Billy Gibbons, vocals and guitar, appeared to be having a great time on stage... he would occasionally pose and smile real big at the crowd.

The three-man band really created a nice full sound. I was actually surprised how big it sounded at times. But maybe having large beards and chrome semi-truck exhaust pipes for mic stands make up for a lot of the possible emptiness. The "show" CAN fill in the gaps. I had a good time watching them.

After our allotted 3 song partition of ZZ Top, we photographers are escorted back to a very warm trailer. Myself and another photog chose not to hang out in there. There's something odd about a room full of photographers... they start to complain uncontrollably. You'd think this beats a desk job? But soon, the hour break between ZZ Top and Aerosmith was up, and it was time to walk down to shoot again.

So, there was 11 photogs present at this show. Large numbers always makes it interesting, but at this show in particular our shooting position inside the barricade was very small. Let me tell you this, photographers can be cutthroat, especially when their already in a bad mood... because of their job, where they are a photographer. But we all finally picked our spots, this time limited to one side of the stage of the other, no shifting. Aerosmith started their set behind a large black curtain with a blisteringly loud rendition of "Eat the Rich". The crowd went nuts.

Seeing Steven Tyler prance around on stage in person was something interesting to behold. These guys who become icons of their field and even parodies of themselves sometimes get overlooked for how good they really are. There's not a single singer out today who can match his level of camp and exuberance. There's something to be said for really just putting it all out there and giving the people a show. Whether that means starting the show in a gigantic ladies hat or not. :)

I had a great time shooting Aerosmith, but I will say this: this show was a lot of work. The lights were changing a lot, and Tyler and Joe Perry tended to hang out on the opposite side of the stage... plus, there were photographers and videographers everywhere. But it was a great game of shooting what you can manage. Camera settings were constantly changing on the fly. I had my 20D and my 5D MkII... which was pretty at home around ISO3200 for this shoot.

I'm very happy with what I got from the whole show. I absolutely love what I got of Steven Tyler, I only wish I could have got a few nice shots of Joe Perry. But a great time all around... save for the ridiculous heat maybe.