Back to the ROXY...

The ROXY in Los Angeles is the venue where I lost my concert photography virginity. I had been cutting my teeth with local bands in Isla Vista, CA and befriended some guys in a band called Hybrid Soul. They hooked up a gig at the ROXY and chartered a bus to take them and some friends to the show. They reserved a seat for me and asked me to bring my camera along. I was so green back then... excited about real concert lights! I wasn't even thinking when I got there (that's my problem now... I think too much!) and just snapped away. One photo I took that night grabbed a hold of me, I thought it was the greatest shot ever. The light and the way the bass player's (Mikey Brenner) hair moved in the picture reminded me of an old Zeppelin photo. From that day on... I was hooked!

I look at that photo now (or at least when I come across it... wonder where it is?) and technically it is terrible, with poor composition, but I can still sense that feeling I had of how exciting it was. That was 1996 and, last Thursday, for the first time in twelve years, I went back to the ROXY to shoot again. BLVD, The Region of Darkness and Lotus were playing and I wanted to check it out, I've also been having the itch to get out and shoot at a less familiar venue, so this was the perfect opportunity. I particularly wanted to see Region of Darkness who's members come from such bands as: Particle, Tea Leaf Green, ALO and Janes Addiction. All of the bands that played that night were great but, I gotta say... I wasn't feeling the photo love like I was the first time. I've become spoiled shooting at the SB Bowl with my big fancy photo pit to run back and forth in. Having to push my way through people at the ROXY made me gun shy and I parked myself in one place for most of the night. The lighting looked good to the eye but, to the camera meter, it was pooh. Lots of backlighting made it particularly challenging to shoot as well. Good lighting? Camera meters? What are they? Back in the day I just pulled the trigger. Why am I paying so much attention to this stuff?

Whew!... this is turning into a long post. To make a long story a bit shorter... Back in the day I was shooting more from the heart, focusing on the music more than the performer. I wasn't using technical skill because I didn't have any, I was just reacting and having fun. Now I have the technical know-how and I've learned to pay way too much attention to numbers and settings. I'm more worried about getting the shot and forgetting to listen to the music and let it tell me when it is time to pull the trigger. I've decided that it's time for me to be thinking more but not about how I'm going to get the next great shot, rather how to get myself back into the mind-frame of my earlier days.

More on this later... for now, here are a few images I made at my ROXY reunion.

Region of Darkness

Lotus

BLVD

Thanks to Ben at Wagatail for hooking me up with a photo pass.