June 17, 2009 – Returning to St. Louis on their annual summer tour, Dave Matthews Band laid into an epic set of lush lights and a big sound that had crowd on their feet.
Photographer’s Notes:
Despite the heat and suffering under the oven-like climate of the shed, Dave Matthews Band’s performance at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater was a fun show to cover. Great lights, a big band, and a laid back vibe just made for the perfect summer concert.
When I arrived at the security gate, I was met by the Live Nation reps. A few days before, my contact with Live Nation had surprised me with the suggestion that I should bring a nice print of the stadium shot the band had used for the album art for their Live Trax recording from their performance at Busch Stadium.
Aside from coming with a massive 20″ x 30″ print in tow, this was really just like any other concert.
While the shooting rules for this show were first-three-songs, no photographer should ever really worry with Dave Matthews Band. The three songs we shot lasted nearly 20-minutes, so there’s plenty of time to get the job done. The first song DMB played felt particularly extended, with some nice opportunities to catch the band rocking out in the solos.
I photographed this concert with the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 and Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 as my main lenses. The 14-24mm f/2.8 only came out for a handful of full-stage atmospheric shots.
The lights were plenty bright, so there isn’t too much to worry about with regard to shutter speeds and such for this tour.
One interesting thing to note about this tour is that the background lighting effects are constantly cycling, so that even on a burst you’re going to catch lots of variation in the treatment.
Careful timing to catch the lights you want is really going to pay off, and will mean the difference between Dave spotlighted against a black backdrop or catching him against one of the more lush, colorful treatments the lighting designers have cooked up.
This entry was posted on Thursday, June 18th, 2009 at 8:47 am and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with 2009, concert photographer, dave matthews, dave matthews band, dmb, images, Music Photography, photographer, photos, tour. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Great shots! Thanks for posting these.
I shot DMB last weekend and had a ton of fun. They are my all time fave band. Ive been following them for ages so it was wonderful. I’m hoping to shoot them once more when they come back to NY in July. I only had a 70-200mm with me. Wish I also had a wide angle but it didnt work out. Next time..
I stayed for the show and had like 5th row seats. It was killing me at times that I couldnt continue to take shots. Always composing shots in my brain..
These are my shots:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28053897@N05/sets/72157619712413661/
Hey Eva,
Thanks for the comment. The band is fun to photograph, simply because there’s always something going on with the lights and the individual players. There are enough to keep one busy even with a 15 or 20-minute shooting time.
I’d say I used the 70-200mm for many of the shots, though the wider field of view was also useful for the times when Dave came closer to the front of the stage and for more atmospheric shots.
I know the ins and outs of this band so I could shoot an entire show and never be bored! and Fenton Williams does an incredible job with lights! I don’t understand photogs would complain about their lights, no reason for that. The shoot was a breeze and I didn’t have to do too much editing.
Yeah, the lighting does make it easy. Spotlights have a way with that. All things considered, I think I enjoyed last year’s lighting set up better, as it seemed richer. However, I shot that show in a stadium, so I’m not sure how different the stage/lighting was from the tour’s normal ampitheater setup.
That wide angle shot of the full band with the two screens behind IS SO EPIC.
Yup, that’s the 14-24mm for you. Well, I can’t give the lens all the credit; the band’s stage setup is pretty sweet, too.
Hey Todd,
The pit was rather crowded last night, but rather fun. Here are my sets from last night. Looks like I’ll be sharing the pit with you again soon for The Avett Brothers.
DMB
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32608088@N03/sets/72157619819502379/
The Hold Steady
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32608088@N03/sets/72157619814355435/
Nice to see you last night. Normally the pit isn’t that crowded; often it’s just three or four photographers at the ampitheater.
great shots
DMB was one of my favorite groups when i was in college and they still rock today :)
and great lighting is so nice to work with. whenever i shoot a show that has good lighting it makes me want to high five the lighting crew LoL
Hey Pat,
Thanks for the comment. Yup, these guys seem like the quintessential college band in some ways to me, and they’re still drawing big crowds.
At the ampitheater here, the lighting is almost always good when it’s a national tour. The “worst” lighting in recent memory was for Stone Temple Pilots last year, and that was only because there were weird gels over the spotlights from the front (magenta, green, and blue). In general, most shows get a nice wash of white from the front.
The only tricky thing then is spotlight flicker, with changes in the intensity and color of the lights from shot to shot. The paradox is that this happens more readily when using higher shutter speeds, so when you want to freeze motion, there’s another demon to consider.
Snaps from Dave Matthews Band’s performance last night: http://is.gd/15ppU
RT @toddowyoung: Snaps from Dave Matthews Band’s performance last night: http://is.gd/15ppU
“The only tricky thing then is spotlight flicker, with changes in the intensity and color of the lights from shot to shot. The paradox is that this happens more readily when using higher shutter speeds, so when you want to freeze motion, there’s another demon to consider.”
huh.
i never would have considered that…
This doesn’t happen with all spotlights, but definitely seems to affect a few venues that I shoot. I’ll have to ask my friend Izzy, who is a lighting designer, about this to see if I can get a technical answer about this.
I love how you captured all of Dave’s emotions and expressions. He looks like he’s having a blast on stage. Flawless once again Todd.
Hey Ajay, thanks for the comment. Dave’s got an endless array of expressions; I made it a point for this concert to try and concentrate on the moments when Dave was rocking out, rather than the more standard shots of him at the mic. The whole band looked like they were having a great time, aside from the heat!
they’re opening from Bruce Springsteen hyde park gig in London next weekend, I hope to get through but it’s a difficult one.
great shots!
Thanks Valerio. If you get the pass for this show, the shoot itself is easy – plenty of time, and I’m sure the lights will be great.
awesome job as usual!
Thanks for the kind words, Julie.
[...] into sharp contrast when I checked out my rss feed for Todd’s website and saw his recent DMB shoot and his feature of the signed album cover shot – I tell you what, talk about me being green [...]
Hey Todd,
What a show to shoot! I loved clicking through all the thumbs and seeing all the shots of Dave…so many different poses and background lights! Nice work!
Theese are amazeing! I love the wide angle shots, and the one with him on the two big screens! 20 minutes for 3 songs? gotta love DMB
[...] June 17, 2009 – As previously reported, Craig Finn of the Hold Steady is a fantastically dynamic subject, a representative fact made clear as the Brooklyn five-piece as they opened for Dave Matthews Band. [...]
Hey Todd,
this is a sublime set, of a non less sublime band. They must really a fun band to shoot and it’s clear they provide some fantastic moments. Going to see them live pretty soon (no shooting though) …
Cheers,
Daniel
Great job again Todd. The wide angle shots make me want to buy a new lens! :)
I shot DMB last week and got some great shots, again thanks to some great lighting.
If you’re interested, you can see them here >> http://stevegerrardphotography.com/dave-matthews-band/
Cheers
Steve
@stevegerrard Check this Steve……
http://bit.ly/H7a3I
Hey Todd! I just came across your site and I am blown away, you have some amazing stuff on here! I am wondering how you go about getting a photo pit pass for DMB, I have always wanted to photograph them but I have no idea how to go about it. Any help would be great, we are seeing them in Sept. Thanks so much!!
Hi Deb, thanks for the kind words. To secure a photo pass, you generally have to be on assignment for a publication. The band’s publicist would approve you for this need.
Todd, thank you so much for responding! this helps a lot!
[...] Dave Matthews Band 2009 Tour (write-up) and the full gallery set [...]