November 19, 2009 – In a raucous, celebratory performance, Sammy Hagar electrified fans with a set fitting of an American rock icon with 40 years of work experience kicking ass and taking names. When the Red Rocker hit the stage, he brought Cabo Wabo with him: it was party time.
Photographer’s Notes:
Sammy Hagar came out rockin’ like a true pro. While he moved around quite a bit, this was still a light and fun shoot.
Sammy was backed by a three-piece band, and the stage was graced by three spotlights from the balcony. While Sammy’s white capri pants created an exposure issue with the uneven illumination from the spots, I always side with skintones in instances like this.
One very nice thing about this show is that, unlike many gigs with spotlights in a club like the Pageant, there was still a nice, atmospheric treatment to liven up the background. Liberal use of water hazers saw to that.
The biggest challenge for this set was probably Hagar’s movements on stage. He didn’t stay still for long, and while he was at the mic, his custom stand proved to be it’s own unique obstacle.
For the most part, I shot Hagar most when he moved out from his mic stand on the right or left, where there were gaps between his monitors and those of his guitarist and bass player.
As usual, the D3 and D700 worked in tandem for this set, along with the 14-24mm, 24-70mm, and 70-200mm.
This entry was posted on Thursday, November 20th, 2008 at 1:10 am and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with 2008, cabo wabo, live, music, Music Photography, november, pageant, photography, rock, sammy hagar, st. louis, tour, van halen. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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hahahaha I’m glad his crocs match the whole red motif going on. *facepalm*
Lots of haze going on during his show. I like that last show where he’s pointing at himself. Good stuff, Todd.
Yeah – what can you say, the man is loves his red.
I think the huge amounts of haze during this show were a blessing, and really helped add some depth to the stage.
The first and last images were shot one after another. Thanks for the comment, Brian!
He’s looking more like the Big Lebowski all the time.
Hey Steve,
Ha, you’re right, he’s looking a little like The Dude.
Hagar has near legend status here in St. Louis. With that said, those crocs are terrible! He looks a bit like a character out of the movie Old School.
Hey, he’s just livin’ the dream – and who can blame him?
Sammy’s looking good for someone in his 60s.
Hey Craig, thanks for the feedback. I thought Sammy looked great!