Kid Rock / Lynyrd Skynyrd Kick Off Tour in WPB, Florida
I was given an assignment from SPIN to shoot the Rockin’ Rebels tour with Kid Rock and Lynyrd Skynyrd. After arriving at the venue and wading through the fans to get to the photo pit, I was a bit apprehensive about what to expect. I don’t know many songs by Kid Rock other than whats on the radio and the last recording I heard from Lynyrd Skynyrd were recorded in the 1970’s. Putting my preconceived notions aside, I was rather surprised at how well both acts performed. Kid Rock has a great deal of stage presence and took command of the crowd from the first note.
On the other hand, aged rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd didn’t look as though they would be able to move around much, let alone perform like a rock band should. However, I was surprised at the energy projected by the band. They started their set strong with Skynyrd Nation and ended with an equally rockin’ thirty minute version of Freebird.
Classic rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Bonnaroo 2009 Recap
At the Starting Gate: Thousands of Bonnarooians wait in line on the first day to enter Centeroo
Unfortunately, time constraints kept me from properly updating about Bonnaroo. For four days straight, I shot about 12-15 hours each day, along with 2 daily edits so that SPIN could post daily recaps. This was in the midst of the 5 inches of rain we received on the first day / night of the festival. I’m glad I brought all that rain gear with me.
I think just about everyone in attendance at Bonnaroo ruined at least one pair of shoes by day two of the festival due the the 5 inches of rain on the first day.
Even with the weather, everything was going great until the second day, when we had a power spike in the RV and my laptop’s keyboard and touchpad stopped working. I spent about 2 hours frantically running around looking for a solution. This came after both of the RV generators had blown, a repair crew fixed one and we transferred equipment from one RV to the other. I guess things weren’t working as smoothly as we had thought.
Anyways, one of my editors at SPIN, was nice enough to let me use his laptop to do my editing for the next 3 days. I stopped worrying about my computer at this point. I mean, with all delicious food on the BBQ and the great music pumping within earshot at all hours, how could I really worry about an insignificant laptop at a time like this?
Some of my favorite performances of the week (in no particular order): Everest, White Rabbits, Hockey, Chairlifts, Phoenix, the Giraffes, Dillinger Escape Plan, Mars Volta, the Beastie Boys and Al Green.
Phoenix played an amazing set at Bonnaroo. Prior to their set I photographed the band during an interview with SPIN's Peter Gaston.
More photos after the jump:
Bonnaroo 2009
SPIN campsite: My tent is the small blue and white tent next to the big red SPIN banner
Coldplay launch the last leg of their Viva la Vida tour in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Chris Martin of Coldplay
Red Light Special
'Ello America!
NIN | JA: Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction attack Florida
Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction embark on their latest tour. The NINJA Tour kicked off in South Florida at the Cruzan Amphitheater on May 10th, 2009.
The full gallery can be seen on SPIN.com: http://spin.com/gallery/trent-reznor-perry-farrell-rock-tour-opener
Read the show review here: http://www.spin.com/articles/janes-addiction-nin-kick-us-tour
Trent Reznor
Trent Reznor
Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction
Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction
Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction
SPIN Magazine: SOUNDCHECK | May 2009
At the beginning of March I shot the Harvest of Hope Festival for SPIN Magazine. I spent three days in St. Augustine, Florida running between 5 different stages to shoot bands like: Tokyo Police Club, Keith Murray, Black Kids, Sunbears, the Mae Shi and about 100 other bands.
I started to get bored of the usual shoot from the photo pit angle of photography, so I headed out into the pits for some real action shots. Normally I wouldn’t bring my camera anywhere near these, but the concert-goers at Harvest of Hope were quite friendly. I was able to get the shot below of Strike Anywhere as dust storm was kicked up and the crowd surfers were flying by. This was published in the Souncheck section of SPIN in the May 2009 issue.
SPIN Magazine | SOUNDCHECK: Strike Anywhere (May 2009)
A few of the outtakes from the festival:
Greg Gillis of Girl Talk
Crowd surfers at Harvest of Hope
Black Kids Reggie Youngblood woos the crowd
Flight of the Conchords kick off North American Tour in Miami
New Zealand’s fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo accapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo, Flight of the Conchords, kicked off their North American Tour at the Bank United Center in Miami, Florida and I was there to cover the show for SPIN. Not only did Bret and Jemain stay in character the entire time, they brought their one and only fan, Mel, along with them.
The entire gallery can be seen here: http://spin.com/gallery/flight-conchords-land-miami
Show review with photos at SPIN.com: http://spin.com/articles/flight-conchords-charm-miami
A few of the photos:
Machine Heads
Folkin' Around
Nice Antennae!
Scowls are Funny!
ULTRA Music Fest 09
The last week has been non-stop between shooting fashion shows for a client at FUNKshion Fashion Week in Miami and shooting the all hours Winter Music Conference (WMC) parties in Miami. To top it all off, I shot ULTRA Music Fest for SPIN Magazine. To see the entire gallery at SPIN.com: http://www.spin.com/gallery/best-ultra-music-fest .
A few of my favorites from ULTRA Music Fest 2009:
The Prodigy at ULTRA Music Fest '09
Alice Glass of Crystal Castles
Approximately 80,000 scream fans as headliner Paul Van Dyk takes the stage in Miami during ULTRA Music Fest 2009