Tag: concert photography

Mat Kearney at Center Stage, October 16, 2009

Well, this is a definitely a few weeks overdue, but I have had good excuses: I have definitely been busy. But enough about that; let’s get to my Mat Kearney concert experience.

Overall, the concert was great. Mat sounds amazing live, and totally delivers in concert. He probably played all of his songs from his first album, as well as his new album (which is amazing, btw). I couldn’t have wished for a better performance.
Mat Kearney @ Center Stage, ATL 10/16/09
I got a lot of great pictures of Mat, and even a few good ones of his crazy hot guitar player that was to the left of him; in fact, all of the backing band members were cute and bearded (which was definitely an added bonus). You can check out the whole set on flickr.

One cool thing that happened during his set, was when he was singing a song, and started to get down off of the stage to lean over and touch people’s hands: surprisingly, instead of just shaking hands and what not, he jumped off the stage into the crowd and ran right past us!! You could tell that no one was expecting it, because instead of rushing up to him, people just ran away from him. It was kind of funny, actually, because you would have expected the opposite. I managed to get a very paparazzi shot of the moment he was closest to me. Neat stuff indeed. I think it added to the whole concert, because he was clearly having fun because of the crowd. I did think that he was a bit cocky with expecting everyone to know the words to all of his songs, because near the end of the show, he pretty much just held up the microphone to the crowd for like 15 minutes. While that was a little annoying, it didn’t distract from how good the rest of the show was.

Since it was at a standing room only venue (Center Stage), I just knew that I would encounter some of those “we are entitled to walk to the front and stand in front of you because we are better people just because we are” people, and low and behold, about an hour into the show, they tried to push their way up in front of us. The best, though, was that they ended up in front of the people in front of me, and they were very vocal about their disapproval; they left after like 2 songs. I just don’t understand why people have that sense of entitlement. If you want to stand in the front, do like we did; get there early, and wait it out. If not, don’t complain when someone doesn’t want you to come up in front of them and stand there; we put in the time, so we deserve to be up front… you don’t. /rant

Lady GaGa @ Bazaar Atlanta 10/29/08

Lady GaGa @ Bazaar ATL, 10/29/08Last night, I had the distinct pleasure of seeing the amazing Lady GaGa live, at a very intimate venue, the bar Bazaar, in Midtown Atlanta. The place was standing room only, and the place was packed with eager fans waiting to see Ms. GaGa take the “stage” (which was just a big plywood box that they put up at the front of the bar).

We arrived early, so as to make sure we had a great view, and ended up being in the front “row”. After waiting a couple of hours, the white limo pulled up outside, and the tension in the room grew; we were ready for our diva to take the mic and turn out the beats. I have to gripe here for a second, though, because people who think that they can just come up to the front, and stand in front of people that have been patiently waiting for two hours can get a freaking clue. Seriously, no less than 3 people tried to do that, and I told them to shove off… I usually just deal with it, but I was NOT going to stand behind someone at this show. After waiting for a while after the limo pulled up, and after telling several people to move to the back where there was plenty of room, Lady GaGa busted in, and seriously brought down the house. Just before she came out, her dancers came down to make sure they had enough room, and the one dancing in front of me said, “make sure to keep this area clear; there will be a LOT of dancing right here”. Hell yes.

She was full of energy, dancing and gyrating through several of her major songs, like Just Dance, Beautiful Dirty Rich, and her current single, Poker Face. After an energetic performance filled with complicated choreography, a dance with a disco stick, and acrobatic routines, the Lady treated us to one of the songs that was included on the American release of her record (which was finally released earlier this week), Starstruck (which I absolutely LOVE).

The beats were massive, the sound was booming, and her vocals were flawless. I consider myself extremely lucky to see someone as hugely talented as Lady GaGa in such an intimate setting, and I enjoyed the concert thoroughly; as did everyone else in the place by the feeling of all that energy. I was also completely happy that Stu, John, Michael, and Broderick were there… we all had a blast. GaGa came in, completely delivered, and even stuck around for autographs after her show (which was incredible, considering that she opened for the New Kids earlier that night before playing for us!).

Overall, it was a massive show, and it was amazing. When I met her after the show, I excitedly told her that I loved her, and she simply told me that she loved me as well. *squee!* This is definitely a show that I won’t forget for some time. I’m glad that I had the chance to go out and “just dance” with the Lady that is GaGa.

Be sure to check out the other photos that I took on flickr; you can get there by clicking on the one above. I got some freaking great shots, and I am so glad that I defended my up front position so that I could get them!! (note: a post similar to this one is posted on Jiingo as well!)

pictures of Sara Bareilles

Sara Bareilles @ The Variety Playhouse ATL 4/30/08
I know I mentioned it yesterday, but I felt compelled to post at least two shots, because I could not be more pleased with the way my film came out. I got some amazing shots of Sara, and I am so very happy to have been able to get them.
Sara Bareilles @ The Variety Playhouse ATL 4/30/08
The show was amazing, and now I always have these photos to look back at, and remember the power of the night. I would love to be a concert photographer for a living… I could totally get into it. The excitement of getting those shots makes the back breaking standing in place for 4 hours TOTALLY worth it. Anyone hiring?

sara b at the variety p… tonight!

Those of you that know this blog know that I am incredibly excited about seeing the amazing Sara Bareilles perform to a sold out crowd tonight, at the Variety Playhouse. Out of sheer excitement, I have been listening to her most of the day, and the realization that she is my favorite singer is just becoming stronger and stronger each time I think about it. I never get tired of listening to any of her material, and I generally feel great when I am listening to her perform. I even have live stuff of hers on my ipod; which is extremely rare for me, as I am generally not a fan of live recordings. However, the great thing about Sara, is that she sounds equally amazing live, so each recording is just as good as the last.


To me, she is truly the definition of an artist; she shows such an amazing talent in song writing, and effortlessly couples that with beautiful singing and piano playing. It is an understatement to say that I can’t wait for the concert tonight. I am planing on taking my new XSi with me, so I hope to get some great shots of Sara at the show. I think 3/4 of the concert experience to me is taking photos, because I really love to capture the moment on film (or in my case, a digital media storage device). Sure, the music, and the crowd make the show fun, but being able to photograph the artist is the part I really look forward to the most.

Now, I can guess what you are thinking: I know, I know… I go on and on about Sara all of the time, but you know what, she deserves it. Having met her a few times, and seeing how amazing she is both in concert and in person, I really don’t think there are other artists that I have experienced with the same charisma, and humble charm as Sara B has. Well, enough gushing, just know that I am excited about the show. It is going to be so cool to see her headlining a show… I remember the first time I saw her open for Marc Broussard; she really has come a long way in a really short time.

Now, because you know you want them; here’s a few of Sara’s songs to get us all in the mood for the show tonight (even if you aren’t going! which I have to wonder WHY aren’t you?!?!):
Between The Lines
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/sarab-betweenthelines.mp3]
One Sweet Love
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/sarab-onesweetlove.mp3]
Vegas
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/sarab-vegas.mp3]
Gravity
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/sarab-gravity.mp3]
Morningside
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/sarab-morningside.mp3]