The Polyphonic Spree @ the Pageant — 2007.08.04

The Polyphonic Spree played to a small but enthusiastic crowd on Saturday Night. When I arrived at the venue a little after 8:00pm, fans thinly covered the main floor, which was mostly filled with chairs and tables, while a few dozen dedicated souls stood at the front of the pit.

This somewhat dull turnout wasn’t entirely a surprise, as the venue had been giving out complimentary tickets at the close of Wednesday’s Interpol show. However, despite the lean crowd, the Polyphonic Spree put on a fantastic show full of celebration and whimsy.

While often billed as a novelty symphonic rock choir, sporting some 20+ members, there’s really no confusion or doubt that the group owes its celebrity to a single man. At the heart of Saturday’s performance was Tim DeLaughter, who played simultaneously the roles of ringmaster and head-clown. DeLaughter held the spotlight, quite literally, for the duration of the first three songs and beyond, while the rest of the Spree played their parts with more anonymity.

The constant lighting of the show made photographing the lead singer easy work, even through his acrobatic orbit of the stage. The Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8 provided nearly the perfect range for this concert, with 17mm being particularly useful for DeLaughter’s sweeping gestures and near-far compositions to include the backing choir.

As always, you can see the full set from the Polyphonic Spree on my Flickr.

About the author: Todd Owyoung is an internationally published music photographer specializing in concert photography and band portraits. He also grills a mean steak.

Contact Todd for image licensing and assignments wherever the rock show lives. You can also get in touch with Todd via Twitter.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 5th, 2007 at 9:36 pm and is filed under Music Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.