Photos: Skrillex @ The Pageant
Returning to the Pageant for the second time in i2011, Skrillex upped the ante with a huge production, at the heart of which was a projected avatar that was animated in real-time to mimic the DJ’s every motion.
Photos: Dillinger Escape Plan @ Pop’s
The Dillinger Escape Plan are one of my favorite bands to photograph. Show after show, they prove themselves on the stage as one of the best live acts on the planet. And not through an elaborate stage production, but seemingly through a force of will to pretty much annihilate themselves on stage every single night. [...]
Photos: Queensrÿche @ The Pageant
Queensryche came out with a fiery attack for their 30th anniversary show at the Pageant. With a big, arena-filling stage presence honed over 3 decades, the heavy metal titans were a thrill to shoot, in no small part thanks to Geoff Tate’s dominating delivery and stage presence.
Photos: Skrillex @ The Pageant
I hadn’t photographed many DJs or electronica musicians until this year, but I’ve more recently had the opportunity to catch a few, including Paul Oakenfold, Tiësto, and Bassnectar. The latest to this list is rising star Sonny Moore, AKA Skrillex, who shook the foundations of the Pageant and a sold-out crowd with all the wobble [...]
Photos: Hanni El Khatib @ The Pageant
Opening for Florence + The Machine on the last stop of her 2011 North American tour, Hanni El Khatib brought the garage rock stompfest in a tight set that had the sold-out house grooving. The stripped down sound brought all raw, ripping energy of bands like The White Stripes and The Black Keyes with a [...]
Preview: Florence + The Machine @ The Pageant
Quick preview from tonight’s show with Florence + The Machine at the Pageant. Some shows are eye candy for fans, and while this was true, Florence Welch was pure photo candy for music photographers like me. Such a pleasure to shoot.
Photos: Lil Wayne @ The Bamboozle 2011
Better late than never. Without a doubt, Lil Wayne’s performance at The Bamboozle was one of the biggest of the festival in terms of star power. As a photographer, one of the questions for this show was whether it would be a pit shoot or from the soundboard, as the rapper’s I Am Still Music [...]
Photos: Hollywood Undead @ Pointfest
Call them the rap-metal Slipknot, but I will say this: Hollywood Undead and their masks are a fun shoot. Between the theatricality of the masks to the group dynamics with different members taking center stage at any given moment, their set was never dull. Only dimly lit.
Photos: Aquabats @ The Pageant
Opening up for Reel Big Fish, your favorite costumed third-wave ska heroes The Aquabats ripped through their characteristically high-energy set with pelvic thrusts, karate kicks, and lots of blue spandex.
Photos: DJ Tiësto @ The Pageant
Superstar DJ Tiësto turned The Pageant into a sweaty, throbbing dance club that seemed to have all the boundless, high energy of a festival performance mixed with the intimacy of a nightclub.
Photos: The Architects @ The Pageant
Opening for Flogging Molly’s 2010 stop at The Pageant, the Architects played a tight set that was a fantastic way to start off the night.
Photos: Clutch @ Pop’s
Opening for Motörhead, Clutch brought their blues-tinged hard rock down like a sledgehammer on an extremely sold-out crowd. Somewhat surprisingly, Clutch also had the most photogenic lighting of the night with just the right amount of haze and big, bold splashes of backlighting.
Photos: Story Of The Year @ The Pageant
I have to admit, I’d forgotten just how fun Story of the Year are to photograph. These guys simply lay it all out on the stage, and never was it so clear as it was watching these guys play to a sold out, home show performance at The Pageant.
Photos: Wild Tiger @ The Pageant
I’ll be honest. I had no idea what to expect with Wild Tigers opening up for Story of the Year at the Pageant, and most of that came from their Myspace page. What I gleaned was that they have songs titled “Hot Woman In Dark Denim” and “The Alligator (Sex In The Swamp),” and a [...]
Preview: Story of the Year @ The Pageant
While I don’t normally post crowd photos as the lead, I have to give it up to the fans present at the Story of the Year show at the Pageant this past weekend – they were rocking as hard as the band. As frontman Dan Marsala said as he looked out over the 2,300 fans [...]
Photos: Foxy Shazam @ The Pageant
I’d heard the stories about Foxy Shazam. And after photographing their live show opening for Hole, now I know. Now I know.
Preview: Ben Folds @ The Pageant
Here’s are a couple snaps from Ben Folds last night at the Pageant, which started off with Street Corner Symphony and Ben Folds attacking the stage and running amok for about five minutes. The intro antics also included Ben Folds throwing his stool at his piano and later standing on top of his grand. Proof [...]
Photos: Chuck Berry @ The Duck Room
After the recent scare in Chicago where Chuck Berry collapsed from exhaustion, I was thrilled at the chance to cover the music icon at an intimate performance last week. While he may have missed a few notes, slowed down a few of his blazing classics and passed the mic to his daughter on occasion, this [...]
Photos: Girl Talk @ The Pageant
This was an interesting shoot. I was very curious about the setup for this show, as I’d only seen one set of photos with a killer shot of Gregg Gillis from this tour and they seemed to be from on stage. There’s a reason for that. The table where Gregg performs from is about a [...]
Preview: Chuck Berry @ The Duck Room
Here’s one of my favorite snaps from Chuck Berry’s performance at the Duck Room last night. Even at 84, what can I say – the King of Rock and Roll has still got it.
Preview: Girl Talk @ The Pageant
Here’s a quick preview from Girl Talk’s dance party at the Pageant last night. Not that this should come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the live shows of Gregg Gillis, but this gig was nuts. There was calamity on the dance floor to be certain, but what’s more, the shooting conditions of this [...]
Preview: Ozzy Osbourne @ Scottrade Center
After finally getting to cross off Ozzy Osbourne from my bucket list as a music photographer, I can definitely say that the Prince of Darkness did not disappoint. Here’s a couple teasers from the show. In addition, I think I found music photographer Danny North‘s doppleganger in the crowd.
Photos: Cake @ The Pageant
Low light, fast gestures, f/1.4 primes, and the tightest photo pit in the world – piece of Cake, right?
Photos: Zappa Plays Zappa
It’s rare that the 70-200mm f/2.8 is the single perfect lens for a rock show, but I could have happy shot Zappa Plays Zappa with just this staple telephoto zoom lens.
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