As a music photographer, every gig presents a new challenge and an opportunity to make great images, but as 2009 comes to a close, it’s time to look back at some of the best tours, festivals, and events of the year.
In 2009, I photographed 73 concerts and events, and the year was packed with a ton of great tours. These are my picks for the top ten best gigs to photograph in 2009.
No Doubt
It was true in July when I shot it and I think it’s true now: No Doubt was the tour of the year. I’m sure I had a huge grin on my face in the photo pit during this show and I can say without any hesitation that I loved every second of photographing Gwen Stefani and crew. With big white lights, a tremendously energetic band, and non-stop action, I think No Doubt locked it up early as the top-shelf show in 2009.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
With a working pass for this show that featured some of the great music legends of our time, I was living the dream with this show. Without a doubt, the highlight was photographing Metallica on stage in an all-star jam with Joe Perry, Ron Wood, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Flea.
KISS
When photogenic bands come to mind, I think music shooters have to think of KISS, and this fact was only cemented by the Alive/35 tour this year. Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons, though they may be pushing 60, were still epic on stage and it was a pure adrenaline rush photographing this show. Non-stop posing and mugging by the band along with arena-blinding white lights made this a sure bet of an assignment – like shooting fish in a barrel.
Farm Aid
With Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Dave Matthews, John Mellancamp, and a host of other big names, Farm Aid 2009 was a stellar event that brought together a huge amount of talent on one stage. But aside from the star power, one thing I love about shows like this are the diversity of media that come in for coverage. It was a pleasure to talk shop with photographers who had come in from all over the country to photograph the benefit. What’s more, the Farm Aid volunteers were a joy to work with.
Mayhem Fest
I loved photographing Mayhem Fest. Metal is always hugely fun to photograph, but what made this a standout event for me was all-access and the thrill of a high-pressure photo shoot with metal legends Slayer.
Semi Precious Weapons
When I heard that Semi Precious Weapons were playing Gramercy Theatre, my favorite live music venue in New York City, it was a done deal: I was there. I did a promo shoot with the band before the show, then staked out a spot front and center for the main event. The epic lights of the theatre combined with the insanity of SPW were a match made in heaven, and exceeded all expectations.
Aerosmith
Steven Tyler singing right into one’s lens is not something that is easily forgotten, and kind of a gimmie for this list. But I’ll take it. The one adjective that comes to mind for this show is simply “electrifying.” Aerosmith’s tour opener in 2009 was pure love.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Karen O. of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs was a magnetic subject when I photographed her in 2006, and the band’s 2009 tour did not disappoint. While the lighting was a chaotic mix of deep washes and weird sidelighting, the dynamic singer made this one show that was pure eyecandy.
Green Day
I’ll be honest – Green Day put on an exhilarating show that exceeded my expectations. A big part of it was the crowd interaction – while we only had two songs to photograph, the band made it worthwhile. In the first two songs, Billie Joe had ran out into the audience, shaken hands with the front row, and made some kid’s year by having him stage dive the floor of a packed out arena. With all that and nice lights, there was a lot to love about this performance.
The Dillinger Escape Plan
Dillinger Escape Plan is one of those bands that always brings on an entertaining and unexpected set with one certainty: chaos. Capturing their show is as challenging as it is fun, and I had a blast in the pit while these guys tore it up on stage. Add the ability to use wireless flash and it’s a done deal.
End Notes:
2009 was a great year for concerts. Though I photographed what seemed like far fewer shows than 2008, I had a blast. The above ten gigs are what I felt were the most fun concerts to photograph, and many of which were opportunities to make some of my favorite images from the year.
These are a few of the event highlights of the year. What are yours?
Update:
You can see my Year in Review for 2009 here.
This entry was posted on Monday, December 28th, 2009 at 8:30 am and is filed under Music Photography, News and Info and tagged with 2009, best, concerts, music photographer, music photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Top 10 Concerts of 2009 – A rundown of the gigs I loved photographing this year. http://bit.ly/4tt7at
RT @toddowyoung: Top 10 Concerts of 2009 – A rundown of the gigs I loved photographing this year. http://bit.ly/4tt7at
RT @toddowyoung: Top 10 Concerts of 2009 – A rundown of the gigs I loved photographing this year. http://bit.ly/4tt7at
Great selection of shows for your best of 2009. I have to agree with your choice of KISS, they too were one of my favorite shows to shoot in 2009.
Hey groovehouse,
Thanks for the comment. Yup, after 35 years, KISS are still rocking arenas. I really had fun with them, and they were a great end-of-the-year show to help cap off 2009. I’d shoot them again any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
RT @toddowyoung: Top 10 Concerts of 2009 – A rundown of the gigs I loved photographing this year. http://bit.ly/4tt7at // shot David StL
Hi Todd !! A great selection of highlights. I was fortunate enough to shoot Green Day and KISS as well, and would be my top two. Most of that also has to do with this being my first full year shooting major bands. Others that would be on my list from 2009 would be Dave Matthews, Paramore, Alice Cooper, BB King, and Chickenfoot. I can’t wait for 2010 !!
Thanks so much for the inspiration your shots give me, and happy shooting !
Gene
RT @toddowyoung: Top 10 Concerts of 2009 – A rundown of the gigs I loved photographing this year. http://bit.ly/4tt7at
Great list Todd. I shot a lot of concerts this year and here are my top five: Jeff Tweedy, Rusted Root, Roger Clyne and The Peacmakers, Cage The Elephant and Dierks Bentley.
Happy and prosperous New Years to you – thank you for sharing all your shots and photography insights.
gorgeous shots on the year Todd, you never disappoint! Am looking forward to what you bring us in 2010!
Great work Mr. todd… amazing photos. My highlight of this year was the Chile-Argenita Rally Dakar. Amazing!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tolexx/3199394333/in/set-72157614770131816/
see ya!
was a grear year, isn’t it???
Great year for you Todd…easily my fav of you for 09 would be the in your face Tyler shot, cant look past it
hope 2010 proves to be another successful year!
My fav would have to be http://www.flickr.com/photos/geeewocka/3825606656/ – August Burn Red on the Parkway Drive DVD Tour…lights were hell all night but i managed to grab this pearl at his peak mic spin moment :)
Truly has been a great year.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs where great this year, caught them twice here in the UK at Glastonbury & then Leeds festival.
Blur at Glastonbury was my highlight of the year.
Have a great 2010 Todd.
Gary
Pic: Top 10 Concerts of 2009- Aerosmith -In one adjective- simply ‘electrifying.’ (Posted: IShootShows.com) here: http://tinyurl.com/ykwl4ws
Can’t wait to see your Lady Gaga pics.
Top 10 Concerts Photography of 2009 by @toddowyoung is awesome!!!!
http://bit.ly/6kaTTT
check out Tod's top 10 of '09 gigs he shot http://dpg.bz/kdyo He's inspiring me to blog something similar, hopefully before next year :)
RT @dannynorthphoto: check out Tod's top 10 of '09 gigs he shot http://dpg.bz/kdyo He's inspiring me to blog something similar, hopeful …
The Cribs @ Bowery Ballroom. This was my first year shooting bands and I feel very very fortunate to have shot them. they put (in my opinion) the best show of 2009 and I cannot wait to shoot them again in January 2010!
Amazing stuff Todd! Danny North loves your shots and hes my bloody hero! I saw Semi Precious Weapons with Shiny Toy Guns @ Webster Hall here in NYC and they played an amazing gig also!
TOP 10 CONCERTS OF 2009 (I Shoot Shows) http://bit.ly/6kaTTT
Hey Todd – Great set, Great year!! Not been around so much (My little boy is eight weeks old today!) so, happy new year to you and yours – keep on shooting.
Sime
No I don’t agree, this is not best of 2009. There are a lot better ones on your site. This may be your personal favorites.
Hi Robin,
Thanks for the comment. These are the top ten concerts of 2009, not the top ten images. These are the events that were the most fun to photograph and experience as a music photographer, but they didn’t necessarily produce the best images. My favorite images of the year would be a separate post.
Great work. Hope to see more of these concerts on the roll. Best thing being your pictures talk, that’s how a photographer should be the pictures, should talk. I can feel the concerts. If you can send me a link of your till now best collection you have, would be great. Are you on phacebook? Thanks for reverting back Todd. Hope to see you some time in India.
[...] for a national client, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony for 2009 was easily one of the year’s best and most challenging events. The list of performer inductees for 2009 included Jeff Beck, Little [...]
Very good choise.
Slayer, Kiss and Aerosmith are the best.