Bonnaroo 2010 wrap-up

Wow. Bonnaroo was HOT this year. So hot that it was impossible to sleep. Nevertheless I managed to shoot 30+ bands in the space of 4 days all on about 7 hours of sleep.

Concert photography can be pretty difficult sometimes, but I have to say Bonnaroo 2010 was an epic adventure. Here's a slideshow of some of the highlights of the festival.

Enjoy!

The Flaming Lips @ Bonnaroo

Holy crap. Yesterday was brutal. After getting next to no sleep I had to run around in the brutal heat all day. It's so hot here it makes Austin City Limits feel like an Eskimo Pie.

I shot a bunch of different bands of all types and genres; She & Him, Tenacious D, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Ranchers, but the topper was The Flaming Lips. True to form these guys put on a great show full of props and audience participation.

They started the set with a few of their well known staples and continued on with a full set of their best songs. This is when the real shit went down. Wayne Coyne and company performed the entire Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon album. All I can say was that it spectacular. With a little help from Beth Ditto from The Gossip, the Flaming Lips laid this record down like it was their own.

Fear and Loathing on the Bonnaroo trail - Day Two - Practicing good photo etiquette.

Well, I got a couple of hours of sleep and a hot shower this morning and I'm back at it. Sleep is next to impossible when you have the endless thump, thump, thumping of the bass. I swear people were still at it at 6am.

No rest for this weary soul however. Today's schedule is a full one.

This may be a good time to bring up a subject that know one seems to want to learn these days. Good Photo Etiquette. Yes, we are all here to get the good shots, but people seem to forget, YOU are NOT the only one in the photo pit. A little common courtesy goes a long way. Here's a few tips to help keep everyone in the pits happy.

1. Don't be a LIFTER. Yeah, we all know this guy or girl. Let's try the "hail Mary" approach and try to get a "new and unique" angle on the situation. The lifter sticks his hand WAY up above his head and tries for the high angle. Guess what? More often than not the lifter puts his camera right in front of another person's lens. This causes problems. I've seen more fights start over this lame technique than any other issue. DON'T BE THAT GUY. Lifter's shots usually suck anyway. You can't focus or compose when you're not looking.
2. Don't camp out. Try to get some different angles. Yes, you just happened to get the best angle in the photo pit. Take your shots and move. Share the wealth. Nobody likes a camper. 
3. Be courteous. A little tap on the shoulder when you're sliding behind someone is a big help. You don't need to go barreling through like a bull in a china shop.
4. 3 songs and out! Sometimes the pit is full and another set of photographers need to come in to get there shots. Don't be a pit hog. Shoot your 3 and let the other photographers get their shots too.
5. Lose the accessories. That flash that you can't use anyway? Yep, just like the lifter that flash is right it front of the person behind you's lens. That huge backpack? It takes up the space of two people and makes it impossible to move around you. Do you really need every piece of equipment you ever bought right there with you in the photo pit? NO! Bring what you need leabe the rest behind.

I'm gonna end this here, because it's starting to sound like a rant.

One last thing, if you have THREE people all screaming at you at once. It's probably because you're acting like an asshole. Yeah, you know who you are pathetic ponytail dude. And NOBODY gives is shit about your blog.

Fear and Loathing on the Bonnaroo trail - Day One

I have been awake for 42 hours. I was just involved in the most hilarious argument ever. I am completely and utterly fried. I need painkillers and sleep.

Here's some pictures.

Gearing up for Bonnaroo!

Bonnaroo is a 4-day music and arts festival held every year in Manchester TN which is just outside of Nashville. This festival is one of the coolest because it's super laid-back and feels more like a party than any other festival I've ever been to.

So I'll be heading up to Bonnaroo again this year to take place in the madness. In the meantime here's some of my favorite shots from Bonnaroo 2009!

Merle Haggard


Todd Snider


Phish


Al Green


Elvis Costello


Yeah Yeah Yeah's

Revival Festival 2010 @ Nutty Brown Amphitheater

This was the third year of the Revival Festival, but my first year attending it. In previous years this was called the Texas Rockabilly Revival, but the name has been changed presumably to avoid pigeonholing and to bring in a more diverse crowd. The crowd was indeed diverse ranging from senior citzens, rockabilly cats and kittens, yuppies, and more.

The Revival Festival is a two day event held out in the Texas Hill Country at the Nutty Brown Amphitheater. While this venue is quite a distance away from the city, the setting is quite nice.  Plenty of shade under the Live Oak trees, lots of places to sit, and enough places to buy beer so you didn't get stuck in line for hours on end. Nutty Brown is really a great venue and I'd like to see more events held out there.

The general gathering place and the busiest place on the sight had to be the Gretsch booth. People were attracted like moths to a flame by the shiny and brightly colored guitars of Gretsch not to mention the beautiful Gretsch girl; Kim Falcon who was on hand to sign posters. Marketing manger Joe Carducci was also around to answer any questions you had about Gretsch guitars. There was also a steady flow of Gretsch artists like Buzz Campbell around to talk shop with.



Gretsch girl - Kim Falcon


Gretsch Marketing Manager - Joe Carducci

Day One

On the first day I was running late. I missed the first two bands, but made it just in time to catch the Blasters starting their set. The Blasters have a hybrid blues / rockabilly sound and singer Phil Alvin puts 100% of his energy into the show. Joining the group on guitar (presumably filling Dave Alvin's shoes) was local Austin guitarist Nick Curran. Nick has been battling with cancer and although he looked gaunt he played with much energy and fire.

The Blasters kicked out a frenetic set of some of their most well known songs as well as a slew of standards. The band was pretty tight although you could tell at times that they haven't been playing together for some time.


Phil Alvin


Nick Curran


Up next was Lee Rocker of Stray Cats fame. His band featured two kick ass guitarists, Buzz Campbell from Hot Rod Lincoln and Brophy Dale. As you might expect the music was straight up rockabilly ala Stray Cats. The guys rocked out many Stray Cats tunes as well as some Lee Rocker originals and a few standards. Lee rocker was amazing, working that big doghouse bass and singin' and croonin' away the night. The crowd was boppin' and rockin' and they were obviously the crowd favorites that night, and for good reason.


Lee Rocker


Buzz Campbell



Ending out the night was local Austin western swing legends Asleep At The Wheel. I was a bit puzzled as to why they were chosen to close out the night. It was pretty obvious that the crowd was just as puzzled as I and half of the audience trickled away. Front man Ray Benson and group are always tight and they do what they do well, but they lacked some sort of spark. About halfway through the set I found my self falling asleep (at the wheel) and decided to call it a night since I had a very long motorcycle ride back into town.


Ray Benson


Day Two
I was able to make it out early on day two. The weather was cloudy and mild and generally perfect for a festival. The first band to go on was Buzz Campbell and Hot Rod Lincoln from San Diego, these dudes are straight up high-octane rockabilly and really blazed through their entire set. Killer leads, frenetic bass-lines, rocket fueled drumbeats are their signature. If you haven't heard these guys check 'em out. My favorite part was when they slowed things down and did a kick-ass version of Springteen's I'm On Fire (which I've always wanted to cover). The drummer Stinky came out from behind the kit to play brushes on a Gretsch box. Nice...


Buzz Campbell


Stinky and Jonny

Up next was Matt Hole and Hot Rod Gang from Corpus Christi. These guys blazed. The play fast and furious psychobilly. Matt really knows his way around a fretboard and he's got a cool buzzsaw pickguard on his 6120. The bass player may look like a hippie but he was all over that bass and kicked out some serious low-end groove. You have to see these guys if they ever come to your town.


Matt Hole

Up next was a very surprising addition to the lineup, and I don't mean good surprise. It was horrid. Rick Treviño. This guy is a cross between main-stream Nashville schlock and crappy Tejano music. Absolutely wretched. I took this time to kick it back stage and swill down a few beers with Kim Falcon and Eddie and Scott from the Supersuckers.

After the debacle of Rick Treviño the Supersuckers were up. I was wondering whether they were going to do country or rock and they came out and rocked the joint. Unfortunately their set was cut short to about 20 minutes. Just as they were getting warmed up they had to go. At least they got a few of their hits out there and played my favorite tune "Dirt Roads, Dead Ends, and Dust". The really crappy part about them getting cut short was that it was obvious that the crowd wanted more. Rick Treviño played for an hour to about half the crowd that the 'suckers had.

After the 'suckers blazed through their short set it was time for the main attraction. "The Killer" Jerry Lee Lewis. Once the band was set up they played played about 5 songs. Without Jerry Lee. Once again this could have been time that the Supersuckers could have had. I'm sorry, but nobody really wanted to hear Jerry Lee's backing band sing old standards.

The Killer took stage to thunderous applause. Now I would love to say that Jerry Lee came out and tore it up, but I'd be lying. He's old. His piano playing doesn't quite have the flourish that it used to but you can still here that familiar Jerry Lee signature in there. His voice is a little hoarse and tends to waver, but he's still The Killer and it was good to see him up there. He performed all of the hits and although he didn't blow me away, he was still great. Long live The Killer!


Jerry Lee Lewis

All in all it was a pretty good time. I have to say that they treated the photographers somewhat snobbishly. I was denied an all access pass and damn near didn't get to shoot Jerry Lee because of it.

I heard plenty of grumblings from the festival goers complaining about the high ticket prices ($50!!!/day) and the odd lineup. The general consensus seemed to be that people wanted more rockabilly.

Other complaints were that there wasn't a car show anymore and the number of vendors had dwindled to almost nothing. I can't attest to these facts because this was my first year to attend, but from the number of people that were unhappy I'd say they need to do another revamp of this festival or it's gonna die on the vine.

Julian Casablancs @ La Zona Rosa

OK. I admit it. I had no idea who this dude was until about 2 hours before the show. He's the lead singer for the Strokes (in case you're dumb like me). Then again, I'm not one to keep up on all the hot new artists. Which, when you think about it, is a damn shame. Considering I shoot live music professionally and all. Anyway, yeah...

So we get to the show amble up to the front and WTF??? It looks like there's no photo pit. Upon closer inspection there is a barricade. It's about a foot wide. The security dudes tell us "you can get in if you fit in". This does not bode well. It's a tight fit and there's like nine other people jammed in there as well.

Yeah, so about ten of us jammed in there. JC's band equipment is packing up most of the stage so the opening band's gear is right up front. I'm inches away from the lead guitarist and I keep having to dodge his guitar neck. Thank god out of some miracle of foresight on my part I brought my ultra-wide angle lens.



The opening band. Funeral Party. Take equal parts 80's synth pop, emo whine, indie schlock, and sprinkle with copious amounts of 70's disco drumming and you have Funeral Party. It's an amalgam of sound and it doesn't sound good. Pick a lane buddy...





I head over to the Backstage Bar to grab a beer. The bar chick is awesome. She gives photographers employee discounts. $2.50 Lone Star tall boys. Normally they're $4.50. Quite a deal. I drink the beer and Funeral Party ends. I hurry back over and squeeze back into the "photo pit".

Here's where it gets horrible. The whole place is full of teenage hipsters who are all dressed like the decade of the 80's threw up all over them. I'm not kidding. So first thing that happens is a teenage girl who is standing behind me lets out an earsplitting shriek. I turn around and say "hey, my ear is right here." This only eggs her on. She's mad that I'm standing in front of her so she continues to shriek intermittently throughout the whole soundcheck. Which was an arduous 45 minute affair, by the way. Not only that, but between shrieks her and what I think was her boyfriend, (but he might have been her gay) babble incessantly about the most vapid shit. For instance, one topic of discussion for 10 minutes was "what if he pulls you up on stage? OMG!!! Wouldn't that just be insane? Like, no really. How crazy would that be???" Anyway. You get the point.

side note: I had a toothache all day and by the time I got to La Zona Rosa I had eaten a few codeine pills, downed a 60/40 and a Lone Star tall boy. I was feeling kinda weird.

Fast forward 45 minutes. Julian Casablancas takes the stage. The shrill shrieking sounds of countless boys and girls fill the place. The boy behind me keeps screaming "I LOVE YOU JC!!!". Hands are reaching out, groping me, grabbing me, prodding me, trying to get a touch of the illustrious JC. You would have thought the corpse of Elvis had been exhumed and reanimated for the '68 Comeback Special. It was that insane. Oh yeah, the shrieking girl was obsessed with touching JC, so whenever he came near I strategically blocked her. HAHA! Take that you teenage banshee.



So, where was I at? Oh yeah, the music. The band came out. There are like 4 guitar players and 100 million keyboards, etc. They rocked. Well, it wasn't bad. What I heard was some good guitar based rock with some indie and 80's pop mixed in to keep the kids happy. If someone GAVE me the CD I'd probably listen to it and it might grow on me after awhile. Who knows.



As far as performance goes. He kinda pulled off some kinda Iggy / Lou Reed sensual/angry thing which sent the kids into an orgiastic frenzy. From a photographer standpoint it was kinda sucky. He buried his face in the microphone and hid behind his hands. I managed to snap off some decent shots though.



All in all, it was an OK night.

Ani DiFranco @ Paramount Theatre

This is gonna be a pretty short review. I have to admit that I was never a fan of Ani DiFranco, as a matter of fact some of the music I had heard her play really rubbed me the wrong way.

I went to catch her at the Paramount the other night more or less as a novelty. I didn't have anything else going on and a gig is a gig so...

The opening act was a comedian by the name of Buddy Wakefield. I really didn't find his material funny at all. The crowd seemed to laugh half-heartedly. I dunno. I guess it wasn't intended for my demographic.

Ani took the stage to thunderous applause. She's got a pretty loyal and rabid following. I'll leave it at that.



The first thing she did when she came out was to mug for for me. I though that was pretty cool. I shot her a thumbs up and she commenced with the show. I only stuck around for a few songs, but what I did hear impressed me. She's a really great and innovative guitar player. Her music still didn't really grab me and pull me in, but again, it's not really my demographic is it?

Stolen guitars!

My friend TV Jones the renowned pickup and guitar manufacturer recently had a bunch of guitars and pickups ripped off from a trade show in Frankfurt Germany. Below is a link to the information.

http://www.tvjones.com/stolen.html

Here's a couple of photos of some of the stolen gear.


Please help out if you can. Guitar thieves SUCK!

Cross Canadian Ragweed @ Stubb's BBQ

Well, I'm not sure what to say about this one. Cross Canadian Ragweed. They are supposed to be an alt-country act. I don't want to be mean, but my take on this band is this:

Take The Black Crowes and delete all of the soul, talent and coolness and you have Cross Canadian Ragweed. They are the blandest version of country-blues-rock that I have ever witnessed. Even Nashville country music sounds cool compared to these guys. I'd rather see Garth Brook as Chris Gaines than see these guys again.

To be fair, they were decent musicians. They were a tight band. The front man could blaze a solo, the drummer and bass player were locked into a solid groove. It's just that the songwriting was bland and the music lacked hooks. There wasn't a memorable song among the set.

On the bright side. I managed to grab a couple of cool shots of them. This just goes to show that photography can make even the lamest band look cool.

Megadeth / Testament / Exodus @ Stubb's

This was probably the biggest metal event I shot this year. Three old school metal bands all on one stage for a night of metal mayhem! I must admit I was pretty stoked about seeing Megadeth. I hadn't seen them for many years since the early 90's and to catch them on the 20th anniversary of the Rust in Peace record was pretty cool. The sold out crowd at Stubb's was rife with testosterone and energy.

Exodus was the first to hit the stage, to be honest I was never a big fan and they didn't do much to convert me. They were tight and fast, but to me they were lacking something. I dunno. It was just mediocre metal as far as I'm concerned.

Next up was Testament. These guys were little better than Exodus. Just generic thrash metal. The band was technical and fast, the music just lacks any hooks and I just couldn't get into it.



Megadeth took the stage to thunderous applause and many hands in the air showing the "horns". They started off the set with a few songs from both older and newer records; She Wolf, In My Darkest Hour, and Skin of my Teeth. Then they proceeded to play Rust in Peace in entirety. After finishing up Rust in Peace they played a smattering of songs both new and old closing it out with one of my favorites, Peace Sells.



The band was tight. The guitar playing was spot on and Mustaine's voice sounded great. A little more mellow than in the early years, but he still nailed it. On board for this tour was original bass player Dave Ellefson. It was good to see him rockin' again.



All in all I have to say this was a pretty cool show. Was it groundbreaking? Not really, but Mustaine has showed that Megadeth has staying power and although they haven't achieved the super success of Metallica they've still stuck to their guns and are playing metal as they always have.

SXSW 2010 recap.

Well, it's taken about a week to recover from the twelve day long 18 hour works days. I'm gonna keep this short and sweet. SXSW was a lot of fun. I saw some cool bands, I met a bunch of cool people, hob-nobbed with celebs and rockstars, ate a lot of free food and swilled gallons of free booze. I guess that's what it's all about. Here are some of the highlights of the music festival.

Smokey Robinson



Courtney Love



Justin Townes Earle



Jakob Dylan



Zooey Deschanel



Band of Skulls




Stay tuned later in the week for my review of Megadeth.

SXSW Film Festival update

So far the week has been pretty mellow. Hitting a lot of red carpet events and checking out some movies. The highlight of the week was definitely the world premier of the movie LEMMY about the front man for the iconic rock band Motörhead. It's a great insight into the day to day to life of this strange and enigmatic man.



A couple of other premiers I got to were Kick Ass and Electra Luxx. Kick Ass was a hilarious movie about a regular kid who attempts to become a superhero. This is no kids flick and there are plenty of awesome and violent fight scenes. I highly recommend seeing it.

Aaron Johnson



Matthew Vaughn



Electra Luxx was a little more low-key, but was fairly funny. It's about a retired porn star who's life gets turned upside down when of her dead ex-husband's flings asks her for a favor. I guess I'd call it a sexy comedy. Sexedy?

Malin Akerman



Carla Gugino



Sebastian Gutierrez