Finally, concerts.

My last “real” concert in 2020 came on February 29, and aside from a drive-in tribute band show later that summer (a true pandemic experience), I had very little to do until finally bands began to hit the road again in late summer this year. Without a doubt, the most boring year I’ve experienced in my life.

But we’re back!

I shook off the rust by shaking my money maker, so to speak, with The Black Crowes. I grew up listening to their music on the radio and knew many of their songs, but I must admit, I had no idea how good these guys were live. I’d always noticed how excited people seemed to get when Chris Robinson would come through town with one of his various incarnations, but it didn’t really hit me just how good he and his band might actually be. And truly, I was blown away. I couldn’t have asked for a better return to the photo pit.

During the pandemic I took the plunge and finally switched to mirrorless cameras, specifically the Nikon Z 6ii. The Black Crowes were my first show with the new bodies, and I was very, very pleased with the result.

I had some growing pains with the new gear during the first few shows I shot this year, but thankfully I was able to cut my teeth on some very well-lit, exciting shows, which made the process a bit easier. As I declared in my earlier blog post detailed my experiences with the Nikon Z system, I’m completely sold on it. It’s hard to imagine going back to a DSLR now!

2021 was, like 2020, an abbreviated year for shooting concerts. Touring didn’t really start back up until summer, and didn’t hit its stride until the fall. I didn’t end up shooting a ton of shows this year, but the ones I did I made count. I shot some of my biggest shows yet this fall, including the massive Hella Mega Tour featuring Green Day, Fall Out Boy, and Weezer.

I also had the opportunity to photograph the first night of Metallica’s 40th anniversary shows at the Chase Center in San Francisco. I had never seen Metallica live before, so was a bit unsure of what to expect. What I discovered is that after 40 years, they still rock harder than anyone else, and their audience is devoted to a degree that I truly didn’t grasp until that night. Fans traveled from all over the world to attend the festivities that weekend, which included shows at other venues by bands associated with Metallica, and they were treated to unique shows featuring deep cuts and rarities in addition to some of their biggest hits. Not many bands can get their fans to travel internationally during a pandemic for a couple of shows, but Metallica’s fans are something special.

I also had the chance to shoot some old favorites. I shot Bleachers and LANY for the fourth time each, and in both cases was allowed to shoot the entire show from the audience, rather than the usual 3 songs from the pit or soundboard. These were especially fun shows since both bands played at larger venues with wrap-around balconies, which leads to some fun new angles to play with when you’re allowed to roam the venue like that. Wish I could shoot the whole show more often!

The biggest surprise of the year had to be Black Pumas. I knew there was some buzz around this band after their debut was nominated for a GRAMMY award, but I hadn’t listened to their music much before I shot the first of their two night stand at The Masonic in San Francisco. Lead singer Eric Burton came out on stage and wasted no time jumping into the audience, where he spent almost ten full minutes. At one point I leaned over to the roadie who was patiently waiting in the pit to help Burton get back on stage and asked, “does he always do this?”, to which he replied with a hint of amusement, “it’s always an adventure…” Yeah, suffice to say I will be sure to catch their show from now on when they’re in town.

All in all, 2021 was a great year. It felt good to get back out and see shows again, and experience the unique communities that form at each of these shows. Every show is different - a Louis the Child audience is different from an Elvis Costello audience, which is different from a Metallica audience! - but in every show there’s a palpable feeling of community and belonging. I love these fan communities, how they come together and bond over their favorite bands if only for a few hours before dissipating back into normal society, and after the year a half of pandemic loneliness, I’ve never appreciated them more.

Here’s to an even better 2022, and hopefully an end to the pandemic!

Want to see a few more favorites? Check out the slideshow below!

Or revisit my “Year In Review” for previous years: 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015

K.Flay

Machine Gun Kelly

Louis The Child

LANY

St. Vincent

Green Day

Lindsey Stirling

Louis The Child

Tosh the Drummer

jxdn

Bleachers

Metallica

Black Pumas

The Black Crowes

Black Pumas

Time for my year-end retrospective already? Geez, the year goes by fast doesn’t it?

#preshowdefensivecrouch. (Yeah it’s a thing, look it up.)

Though when looking back through all my shots from the last year, I was (as always) amazed that some of these shows were in 2018. It feels like forever ago that I shot some of these. So I always love reviewing my shots and reminding myself of all the fun I’ve had in the pit this year.

And so without further ado, here are a few of my favorite shots and shows from 2018. As always, the disclaimer applies that I’m choosing not just some of my best shots, but shots that are somehow special to me, or bring back good memories. So here goes!

Let’s start off with the show that started the year for me. Garrett Borns, who goes simply by Børns (I’d love to know how that’d be pronounced in Scandinavia, by the way), has always been fascinating to me. He grew up along the shoreline of West Michigan in a town called Grand Haven, not far from where I grew up, and it’s always been hard to picture a quirky, Gucci-loving pop artist like him coming out of a blue-collar place like that. He’s done well for himself though, recently releasing his second album of pop hits to great acclaim. When he announced he’d be opening his Blue Madonna tour in Oakland at the Fox Theater, I jumped at the chance to shoot it as the house photographer. But a few days prior I was also offered the chance to shoot the whole show for the studio who designed it, which turned out to be a really fun assignment. The show was beautifully lit and I had a great time trying to capture all the lighting cues.

There was one moment in particular I really enjoyed from this show, even though it’s quite simple. During a quieter ballad, Børns was lit by a single spotlight from behind, the light spilling off the stage onto the first row of the audience. A lone woman in the front row, illuminated by this light, reached up toward her idol, unable to reach him.

I happened to be in the balcony at the time, and found a great angle to capture this moment.

My biggest show of the year was none other than Taylor Swift, whom I haven’t taken photos of in quite some time. Needless to say, her show has evolved a bit since the last time I saw her! I was thrilled to have the chance to photograph just the second night of her massive Reputation stadium tour when it came to Santa Clara, California. I heard somewhere that she needed 82 semi trucks to haul around the staging, and I absolutely believe it. The stage was massive and elaborate, I’ve not seen anything quite like it. It was a beautiful show to shoot!

Taylor went big with her Reputation — Taylor went *big* with her Reputation

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Taylor has the best team of publicists I’ve encountered yet. Not only were they a joy to communicate with leading up to the show, but her main publicist even came out and introduced herself to each of us before the show, making sure we were set up alright and giving us tips on what to expect in the first two songs. Just the nicest people all around, really.

The sad reality in this industry is that there are many managers, publicists and artists out there who don’t care much for photographers. They might want your photos (and sometimes your copyright), but they don’t care much for you, the person taking them. They tolerate your presence rather than welcome it. They may even try to take advantage of you with unfair contracts, restrict you from doing your best work, and generally make your life difficult.

But Taylor’s team gives me hope.

One of my favorite albums of 2018, and one of my favorite shows as well, was by James Bay. His album Electric Light was incredible and probably didn’t get the attention it deserved, despite James getting a big break debuting two tracks on Saturday Night Live last spring. It’s a pretty great album, in my opinion, especially in the latter half.

James played a show at the legendary Fillmore in San Francisco shortly before the album released, and it was all kinds of amazing. And I don’t know what it is, but the man seems to have a knack for looking cool in my photos, both times I’ve photographed him. I got one shot of him looking off in the distance in that sweet red leather jacket of his, bathed in harsh white light, that I’m particularly fond of. He’s the epitome of cool. Everything about this picture takes me back to that show and that album, and I’m thankful for it.

Changing gears to another brand of “cool”, I had the chance to shoot another legend this year: “Weird Al” Yankovic! I grew up listening to his music, and remember having my young mind blown by his movie UHF many years ago, so it was especially thrilling to capture his “Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour” when it came to Oakland. Weird Al left his props and costumes at home for this tour, choosing instead to play deeper cuts in a more intimate, sit-down setting. It was still awesome.

Speaking of legends, I also had the chance to photograph Rivers Cuomo of Weezer when he came to San Francisco to play a solo acoustic show at a small venue in town called August Hall. I hadn’t seen Weezer in a long time, and I had missed shooting their recent tour stop in the Bay Area due to summer travels, so I was thankful to catch him in such a unique setting. Unfortunately the venue was set up in such a way that there wasn’t a dedicated spot in front for photographers to work from, but I was able to grab a little spot stage right where I could get some fun profile shots.

One of my most pleasant surprises came in October, when I finally got to shoot The National performing at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley again. I say “finally” because I had been scheduled to photograph them one year earlier in the same location, but the show had to be postponed due to the unhealthy air that blanketed the Bay Area during the Santa Rosa fires. A year was a long time to wait for a postponed show, but it turned out to be worth it.

I had photographed The National once before, in the same venue, and came away a little disappointed. They’re the kind of band that produces some pretty moody, cerebral rock music, and lead singer Matt Berninger can deliver his signature baritone in a pretty subdued, melancholy sort of manner most of the time. The first time I shot them, that’s exactly what I got - Matt, standing at a microphone in near darkness, hardly moving. Not the most exciting photos. But this time, thankfully, I got the other Matt: a frenzied, demon-possessed version of himself that makes for much better photos!

I also got to shoot one of my favorite subjects again: Twenty One Pilots. It had been almost two years since I last saw them, unbelievably, and once again their show did not disappoint. (Except that we only got to shoot two short songs, that part was a bummer. But hey, still worth it.) These guys keep going bigger and bigger with their production and somehow keep finding a way to work new elements into their show to keep it interesting for their fans. I hope 2019 gives me another chance to photograph them!

Twenty One Pilots drummer Josh Dun likes to hurt drum kits

So what was my favorite show this year? That one is easy: David Byrne’s American Utopia Tour.

But explaining why it was my favorite is maybe not so easy.

You see, David Byrne isn’t like most artists. If you’re familiar with his earlier work as the frontman of Talking Heads, you know what I mean. He’s got a slant way of looking at the world and he packages it into catchy, unexpectedly quirky lyrics and melodies. He’s an artist in the truest sense, and that extends to his live show as well. One viewing of Talking Heads’ groundbreaking concert film Stop Making Sense and you’ll know that David Byrne doesn’t do concerts the way most musicians do.

For the American Utopia tour, David seemed to have thought to himself, “how can I strip away everything that people expect to see at a normal concert?” He performs the entire show in a grey, featureless chainmail box with none of the expected concert elements - you know, like instruments and amps and microphones - cluttering the stage. His band, eleven strong, wear their instruments like a marching band and perform mesmerizing choreography synchronized with some pretty creative use of light. David wears his trademark grey suit - with a few extra pockets for good measure - but skips the socks and shoes. His band dress likewise, blending together, though they are otherwise richly diverse in gender, age and ethnicity.

It’s a surreal experience, and difficult to adequately describe. You just have to see it to understand.

David Byrne has a song where he describes a brain. Really.

With nothing on the stage to hide behind, and no fancy light show or video feed to distract the audience, he’s exposed; he only has his music to entertain you. Luckily his music is pretty darn good! But there’s something else that’s hard to put into words. It’s just an indescribable joy that flows from everyone on stage. I’ve never been to a show where everyone on stage - in this case, twelve performers - seems to genuinely be having the absolute best time of their life for an hour and a half straight. And somehow, they did this for more than a hundred shows spread across the globe!

One of my favorite shots from that show wasn’t of David, but one of his six (!) percussionists, Stephane San Juan. Between verses of the Talking Heads classic “I Zimbra” the percussionists would turn and form a little drum circle, and the expressions of joy on their face as they faced one another was so genuine. It was if they all became kids again, reminding each other why they loved making music in the first place. I couldn’t help but take a quick picture of them.

That show’s infectious joy reminded me in a big way why I love going to shows, and getting up close to capture artists in still images like this. As I alluded to before, sometimes the industry has a way of beating you down, making you feel pretty small. It can make you question why you bother racking up the expenses and putting in the late hours. I had my fair share of that those feelings this year, and at times I questioned if I shouldn’t walk away for a bit.

But artists like David Byrne reminded me that there are reasons to be cheerful.

Here’s to a great year, and hopefully an even more cheerful 2019.