Concert Photographer – Page 10

Merle Haggard | Ink-N-Iron | 6/6/14 [PHOTOS & VIDEO]

CLICK HERE TO SEE OTHER ACTS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH AT INK-N-IRON

Merle Ronald Haggard revolutionized country music when he and his band, The Strangers, developed the Bakersfield Sound in the 1950s; a style of country music that was born in Bakersfield, California. Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1994, he has continued to record and release music since, and at the ripe age of 77, he put on a show at Ink-N-Iron that proved why his music, and sound, has withstood the test of time.

Now, I may not have the greatest knowledge of country music, but listening to him sing a song like “Workin’ Man Blues”, and other songs that reach out to the common man and their daily life, really left an impression on me. Just him and his band playing music for the people.

He played both his guitar and his fiddle, and his voice seemed unaffected by age. In fact, I’d even say that at his age, his voice, based on the early recordings of him that I happen to have on iTunes, has only matured like a fine wine. Definitely smoothed out and in control.

If someone is going to open my ears to a different kind of country other than Rascal Flatts, I’m happy to report that Merle just may have done it. Hell, if a living legend couldn’t do it, then I don’t know who could have.

I couldn’t find a setlist online, so if anybody knows what songs he performed, and the order that he performed them in, let me know in the comments, and I’ll add it there.

CLICK HERE TO SEE OTHER ACTS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH AT INK-N-IRON

June 24, 2014June 24, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: Bakersfield Sound, California, California Country, concert, Concert Footage, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert review, Concert Vid, concert video, Country, country music, Country Music Hall Of Fame, ink & iron, ink and iron, Ink-N-Iron, Merle Haggard, Merle Ronald Haggard, queen mary, Review, Workin' Man Blues Leave a comment

Wanda Jackson | Ink-N-Iron | 6/6/14 [PHOTOS]

CLICK HERE TO SEE OTHER ACTS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH AT INK-N-IRON

Wanda Lavonne Jackson is known to many as the “Queen of Rockabilly” or the “First Lady of Rockabilly”. An accomplished singer, songwriter, pianist and guitarist, the success that she had during the 50s and 60s paved the way not only for women, but also for rock and roll and country music genres; and she is duly recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an “Early Influence”.

I was able to get up front for her performance, joining a mixed-age crowd. It didn’t surprise me that she was able to pull kids who couldn’t have been out of their teens to her show. After all, one of her more recent albums, 2009’s “The Party Ain’t Over” was produced by Jack White (which, by the way, was her first album to break into the Billboard Top 200, peaking at number 58.

When the lights dimmed, and the band started playing, I could see a small woman in a flamboyant, pink top make her way downstage. The crowd cheered loudly as their heroine took her steps forward, and when she addressed the crowd with a, “Hello,” the concert hall within the Queen Mary erupted.

Though in her mid 70’s, Wanda Jackson, like Ray Campi, gave a performance with such attitude and passion, that I could only imagine what she would have been like back during her hey-day. She yodeled, she growled, and she punched out notes like a pro, and the audience ate up every second of it … as long as they weren’t singing along with her.

In between songs, she would tell some stories as a segue into what she would perform next. She spoke adoringly about her brief time “dating” (“If you called it that,” as she noted) Elvis before vamping into Heartbreak Hotel. She reminisced about her experience making music with Jack White and the “disagreement” she had with the uber producer about covering Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” before singing it.

I loved watching Wanda Jackson perform. I loved the way she interacted with the audience, marveling at their youth, and even joking about their hair color and body piercings. I loved watching the look in her eyes when the youthful crowd sang along to her classic tunes.

Towards the end of her set, she reached out to those of her fans that were lined up at the front; shaking/holding whatever outstretched hand that was reaching out to her. I reached out as well, and when she grasped my hand, and mouthed, “Thank you,” while looking into my eyes, it was a moment I’ll not soon forget.

I couldn’t find a setlist of the songs that she performed online, but I did take a picture of it (which I know isn’t the correct order, as the “You Know I”m No Good” isn’t even listed, which is included in the photographs below. If you were there, and know the order of the songs performed, please let me know and I’ll add it here.

CLICK HERE TO SEE OTHER ACTS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH AT INK-N-IRON

June 19, 2014June 19, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: c, concert, Concert Footage, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert review, Country, country music, First Lady, First Lady of Rockabilly, ink & iron, ink and iron, Ink-N-Iron, Jack White, Queen, queen mary, Queen of Rockabilly, Review, rock & roll, rock and roll, rockabilly, The Party Ain't Over, Wanda Jackson, Wanda Lavonne Jackson Leave a comment

Ray Campi | Ink-N-Iron | 6/6/14 [PHOTOS & VIDEO]

CLICK HERE TO SEE OTHER ACTS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH AT INK-N-IRON

Ray Campi is often called The King of Rockabilly. At 80 years old, at Ink-N-Iron, he proved it.

Ray’s legacy in music started in 1944 and has touched numerous genres. From folk to country to rock and roll, Ray has had his trademark double bass sound immortalized on recordings with legends like Bill Haley, Buddy Holly and Gene Vincent.

I was amazed with his vitality on stage. He plucked his double bass with the kind a youthful fervor reserved for young rockers in their early twenties. The passion in him truly left an indelible impression on me.

In between songs, he would sprinkle in some stories about his life in music, but he really opened up when he talked about his other career … as a high-school teacher. He joked that we could all be his students (the crowd seemed relatively young, with an average age being- my best guess- in the mid to late twenties). Truth is, he wasn’t that far off. I think I can speak on everybody’s behalf when I say that we all learned this: Age ain’t nothin’ but a number. Ray Campi is proof of that.

I couldn’t find a setlist of his performance at Ink-N-Iron, so if you happen to know what he performance, let me know in the comments, and I’ll add it later. Thanks!

CLICK HERE TO SEE OTHER ACTS I WAS ABLE TO CATCH AT INK-N-IRON

June 18, 2014June 19, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: Bill Haley, Buddy Holly, concert, Concert Footage, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert review, Country, country music, double bass, double bass sound, folk, folk music, Gene Vincent, ink & iron, ink and iron, Ink-N-Iron, Ray Campi, ray campi videos, Review, rock & roll, rock and roll, rockabilly Leave a comment

Ink-N-Iron Festival | The Queen Mary | 6/6/14 – 6/7/14

For the past eleven years, The Queen Mary has been the host of the annual Ink-N-Iron Festival: a weekend inspired by a culture of tats and cars, embodied in their display of pristine vintage cars, three levels of tattoo artists booths, live music, burlesque acts, art displays … you name it, they’ve got it.

I first got turned onto the festival last year to catch a band from Texas that I really like, Girl In A Coma. Even though I don’t sport any ink on my person, I really enjoyed the whole vibe of the festival. It was clean, the people were all courteous, it was a family affair, tickets were reasonably priced ($80 for a weekend pass) … and the music rocked.

When I saw the line-up this year, I jumped on getting a ticket. Although I couldn’t attend the festival on Sunday due to work obligations, I was able to catch a whole bunch of quality acts while hanging out with friends, old and new. Below is the list of the acts that I was able to see perform. To see the pictures that I was able to snap (and video embeds of the performances I could find online) of each of the bands that performed, CLICK THE NAME of the act to get redirected to the blog entry.

June 6, 2014

June 7, 2014

Hopeless Jack and the Handsome Devil– yup, I saw ’em twice
The Briefs
Fear
The Damned
Nick Waterhouse

In the meantime, below are some of the pictures that I snapped from the festival. I would have included more pictures from the burlesque show, but I’m trying to keep this blog PG rated. 😉

June 17, 2014July 6, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: cars, concert, Concert Footage, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert reivew, custom cars, Fear, Hopeless jack, Hopeless Jack and the Handsome Devil, ink & iron, ink and iron, Ink-N-Iron, Lee Ving, Merle Haggard, music festival, music festival in long beach, Nick Waterhouse, punk rock, queen mary, Ray Campi, rock and roll, rockabilly, tatoos, tattoo, tattoo festival, tattoos, The Briefs, The Damned, The Queen Mary, vintage cars, Wanda Jackson Leave a comment

Bizarre Ride Live | Welcome to Dillaville | El Rey Theatre | 5/12/14

Following Slum Village’s tribute set to J Dilla, FatLip and SlimKid3 (two of the original members of the essential hip-hop group The Pharcyde), J-Swift and K-Natural performed cuts from Pharcyde’s seminal album, “Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde.” I had already seen Bizarre Ride Live (what the band calls the performance) last year; in fact it was one of the first topics I blogged about when I started writing this blog, but I was still geeked to be seeing “Ya Mama”, “Oh, Shit”, “Otha Fish, “Soulflower”, and my personal favorite, “Passin’ Me By” (clips of some of the tracks are in the video below) performed live again.

Pharcyde’s relationship to Dilla runs deep. At one point, Dilla was even the group’s DJ. Dilla helmed the majority of production duties for The Pharcyde’s sophomore album, “Labcabincalifornia”, producing the hit single “Runnin’,” which peaked at #55 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Though I wished that all of the original members were performing the hip-hop tracks I listened to all throughout high school, there was absolutely no reason to complain. Each of J-Swift and K-Natural admirably performed the verses originally recorded by Imani and Bootie Brown. Fittingly, they concluded their set with a performance of “Runnin'”.

I don’t have a setlist to the songs that were performed that evening, but all you you have to do is listen to the album, and that’s all you need to know.

May 23, 2014May 23, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: Bizarre Ride Live, concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert pic, concert review, concert video, hip hop, Hip Hop Music, JDilla, Jon Doe, Live Music, Oh Shit, Otha Fish, Passin Me By, pharcyde, rest in peace, Review, Runnin, set list, setlist, video clips, Welcome To Dillaville, ya Mama Leave a comment

Slum Village | Welcome to Dillaville | El Rey Theatre | 5/12/14

There’s a special place in my heart for James Dewitt Yancey, pka J Dilla. I’ve already written about the impact his music has had on my life, so I won’t rehash it here, but let’s just say his music has meant a lot to me. When I heard that Slum Village and Bizarre Ride Live (The Pharcyde’s Fatlip and SlimKid3 backed by Bizarre Ride producers J-Sw!ft and LA Jay) were paying homage to J Dilla with a concert aptly titled “Welcome To Dillaville”, I made some calls to make sure that I could attend the event.

Slum Village is a hip hop group from Conant Gardens, Detroit Michigan that has gone through a lot of changes since it’s inception. Originally consisting of J Dilla, Baatin, and T3, only T3 remains as an original member, with both J Dilla and Baatin passing on way before their time (rest in peace). Currently the group is on record as featuring T3, Young RJ and Illa J (J Dilla’s younger brother), but for this show it seemed that only T3 and Young RJ handled MC duties.

With the ever sublime instrumentals produced by J Dilla, Young RJ and T3 faithfully spit verses from some of my favorite Slum Village tracks: “Fall In Love”, “Get Dis Money”, “Players” and, my personal favorite, “Tainted” (clips of which are all below). They had a couple of surprises appearances from specials guests, including Frank Nitt (a frequent J Dilla collaborator) and one other rapper that I didn’t know (but whose picture is below).

Before Slum dove into their set, Young RJ and T3 gave the audience a little presentation about their beloved, lost member. They gave a slideshow presentation of never seen before letters, track sheets, personal affirmations, and photos, telling stories that only they would know, and it was truly a pleasure to watch them reflect so fondly on their lost comrade.

I couldn’t find a setlist online anywhere, but if anyone has it, please let me know, and I’ll update this post accordingly.

May 21, 2014May 23, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: Baatin, Conant Gardens, concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert pic, concert review, concert video, Detroit Michigan, Fall in Love, Frank Nitt, Get Dis Money, hip hop, Hip Hop Music, J Dilla's younger brother, James Dewitt Yancey, JDilla, Jon Doe, Live Music, Players, Ralph Rice Jr., rest in peace, Review, set list, setlist, Slum Village, T3, Tainted, video clips, Welcome To Dillaville, Young RJ Leave a comment

Cinquanta: Celebrating 50 Years Of Maynard James Keenan | Failure, A Perfect Circle & Puscifer | Greek Theatre | 5/10/14

I won’t front. Back when I was freshman in high school, I wasn’t into Tool. The rock music that I was into at the time was more along the lines of Depeche Mode (who released “Violator”), Nine Inch Nail (who released “Head Like A Hole”) and INXS (who released “X”). I was a narrow minded, music snob then (which I truly regret), and I wasn’t willing to open my mind to other bands’ music.

It wasn’t until I had graduated from college that I really took the time to listen to what Maynard James Keenan’s music had to offer, and it was the first album from his second band, A Perfect Circle, that got me hooked. With “Mer de Noms”, songs like “Judith” and “3 Libras” sent shivers down my spine. I was a fool to have waited so long to discover that Maynard was a monster, rock vocalist. Not only able to belt out tunes like it’s nothing, he also adds a level of emotions to the underlying lyrics he sings, which sets him apart from other rock vocalists.

I first saw Maynard perform at Coachella in 2013 with his band Puscifer. Though the music was different from A Perfect Circle, I thought that it was one of the highlight performances of the day. It was fun, sexy and raunchy all at the same time. I still have the Puscifer Airlines candy that they threw out to the crowd from that day.

Cinquanta, a two night celebration of his 50th birthday at the Greek Theatre, was a ticket that any Maynard fan couldn’t pass up. Billed as a concert with Puscifer as a headliner with A Perfect Circle and Failure (who had reunited in late 2013 and acted as Tool’s supporting act for Tool’s recent tour) as “support”. But each band rotated sets every 15-30 minutes, even collaborating with each other on certain songs, throughout the evening. Green Jelly (a band that Danny Carey- the drummer of Tool- and Maynard were members of) made a surprise appearance to perform “Three Little Pigs”; Neil Hamburger made an appearance to sing “New York, New York”, and 3/4 of Tool (minus Adam Jones) performed the Tool classic “Sober”. Personally, I thought one of the out-of-the-box highlights of the show was when Carina Round sang the lead on “The Package”; a superb rendition.

Based on my notes, and what I was able to find online, below was the setlist:

Failure: “The Nurse Who Loved Me” (w/ Maynard James Keenan, Billy Howerdel and Carina Round)
Failure: “Saturday Savior”
Failure: “Dirty Blue Balloons”
A Perfect Circle: “Weak and Powerless”
A Perfect Circle: “Orestes”
A Perfect Circle: “The Noose”
Puscifer: “Vagina Mine”
Puscifer: “Trekka”
Puscifer: “Polar Bear”
Puscifer: “Breathe”
Puscifer: “Oceans”
Puscifer: “Monsoons” (w/ Billy Howerdel)
Puscifer: “Horizons”
Failure: “Another Space Song”
Failure: “Frogs”
Failure: “Solaris” (w/ Maynard James Keenan)
A Perfect Circle: “The Hollow”
A Perfect Circle: “Rose”
A Perfect Circle: “The Package” (featuring Carina Round)
Puscifer: “Conditions of My Parole”
Puscifer: “Man Overboard”
Puscifer: “The Undertaker” (w/ Ken Andrews)
A Perfect Circle: “Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm
A Perfect Circle: “3 Libras”
A Perfect Circle: “By and Down”
Failure: “Blank”
Failure: “Wet Gravity” (w/ Jeff Friedl)
Failure: “Heliotropic”
Puscifer: “New York, New York” (w/ Neil Hamberger)
Puscifer: “Cuntry Boner” (An Electric Sheep cover w/ “Hildy” and Danny Carey)
Puscifer: “3 Little Pigs” (w/ Green Jelly and Danny Carey)
Puscifer: “Sober” (Tool cover w/ Justin Chancellor, Danny Carey and , and Zac Rae)
Puscifer: “Humbling River” (w/ Danny Carey)

Wow. Just looking at this setlist is making think that the $40 I spent on the ticket was definitely money well spent. Even if a song or two may not have been to one’s liking, the action on stage, with the casual stage setting of lawn chairs and constant filling of chalices (presumably filled with adult beverages) gave the audience something to watch as there was something going on onstage at all times, whether it was Maynard pouring drinks for others, performers taking selfies onstage, or individuals having private conversations in front of everybody, it was a concert that truly felt like a party. And when the audience sang along? The hairs on my arms stiffened. When they closed with “Humbling River”? I got shivers.

It was an amazing show. I don’t know what else to say. Happy Birthday, Maynard. You did it right. Simply kick-ass.

I wasn’t able to get permission to shoot the show, so all of the photos below were on my Sony Cyber-shot G, point and shoot that I couldn’t live without.

May 20, 2014May 20, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: UncategorizedTags: 3 Libras, a perfect circle, alternative metal, alternative rock, Billy Howerdel, carina round, Celebrating 50 Years, Cinquanta, concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert pic, concert review, Concert Vid, concert video, Cuntry Boner, Danny Carey, Failure, Greek Theater, Greek Theatre, Green Jelly, heavy metal, Humbling River, Jame Iha, Jeff Friedl, Live Music, Matt McJunkins, May 10, May 10th, maynard james keenan, Maynard Keenan, Mer de Noms, Neil Hamburger, Point and Shoot, puscifer, Review, set list, setlist, Sober, Sony Cybershot, Sony Cybershot G, Three Little Pigs, tool, video, video highlights 1 Comment

Dead Sara | The Echo | 5/6/14 (PHOTOS)

Dead Sara, a Los Angeles based, hard rock band consisting of Emily Armstrong (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, Sean Friday (drums), Siouxsie Medley (lead guitar) and Chris Null (bass guitar), have been in the studio recording music for their highly anticipated sophomore album for the past half year. Having recently finished recording said album, they decided to bless their L.A. fans with three club gigs throughout the month of May (at The Echo 5/6/14, The Bootleg 5/14/14 and the Satellite on 5/21/14). I was lucky enough to snag a ticket (before all three shows sold out) to their gig at their first show of the year at The Echo.

I’m a huge fan of this group. When I heard the opening riffs of “Weatherman” for the first time, it was like love at first listen. When Emily started wailing over the music, I was hooked. I saw them perform twice in 2013 (once at the El Rey Theater and also as the headliner for the Lobster Festival at the Port of Los Angeles). Their live performance solidified my love for this group. They rock, and they rock hard. My passion for this group’s music was enough for me to get “inducted” as a member of “The DEADicated” (a group of die-hard fans that will go to great lengths, and travel great distances- across continents- to see Dead Sara rock).

The day of the show, The DEADicated arrived at the venue at 10:30am to secure their spots up front. I wasn’t there, but if I stopped dating a girl because she didn’t like their music (true story), I feel like I earned a right to be a member of The DEADicated too! LOL.

Their set consisted of music from their debut LP and music from their forthcoming release (“Evil”, “Radio”, “Suicidal”, “Traveling Band”, “Something Good” and “Mr. Mr.” were all performed live for the first time ever! Lucky me!). They performed their cover of Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name” and the audience even sang “Happy Birthday” for Emily, as it happened to be her birthday. Emily prefaced the show stating that the new music were still works in progress, and asked that no one video record them until they were performance proof.

I spent my time trying to find the right camera settings to take decent pics, but leave it to a DEADicated to post up videos of their older songs from the show. Click through the video and check out other videos of their older songs from the show.

Edit this setlist | More Dead Sara setlists

I’m still a newbie at taking concert photos in a venue with tricky lighting, but I think that I was able to snag a few decent shots with my DSLR. If anybody has any suggestions (other than getting a better – more expensive- lens), please chime in below in the comments. Hopefully, the next time I see them perform live, I’ll have it down pat.

May 19, 2014May 19, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: chris null, club gigs, concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert pic, concert review, dead sara, emily armstrong, evil, first show of the year, first time ever, hard rock, indie rock, L.A. fans, Live Music, los angeles, Mr. Mr., performed live, Radio, Review, sean friday, set list, setlist, Siouxsie Medley, sold out, Something Good, sophomore album, Suicidal, the echo, the echoplex, Traveling Band, Weatherman The DEADicated 2 Comments

Eric Hutchinson | House Of Blues (Sunset) | 4/29/14

Eric Hutchinson is an American, singer-songwriter whose folksy, tenor voice; witty, lyrical writing; and humorous onstage banter always entertains me. I may be a bit biased though (full disclosure) as one of the first albums I really took the legal, paperwork reigns on was his breakthrough independent album “Sounds Like This” … that, and I consistently beat his fantasy basketball teams back when we all had time for that (sorry, Eric… had to throw that in there lol).

He is touring in support of his recently released album, “Pure Fiction”, but his set was mix of songs from his entire catalog. Though it’s been a few years since I’ve seen him perform live, his sound and performance style will still as energetic and soulful as ever.

He performed some of my favorites (not that anyone cares, but “Oh!” is still my favorite song), and cleverly integrated covers of popular songs (though it’s not identified in the photograph of the set list below, I was especially impressed with his inclusion of The Pharcyde’s “Ya Ma Ma” in “You Don’t Have To Believe Me”). Perhaps the most impressive thing to me was how some of his older “classics” have evolved since they were first written. I mean, I still have old demos he recorded from even before he was signed to Maverick Records, and they’ve all evolved into dynamic versions of the original.

Eric bantered to the audience between songs and, to the delight of the audience, even ventured among them to sing a song. It was great seeing Eric perform live again. If you haven’t already checked out his latest release, or even his older albums, I recommend that you do. His music may put smile on your face like it does mine.

I was not issued a photo pass for this concert, and all the photos below were taken on Sony Cyber-shot.

May 17, 2014 by dklee13 Categories: ConcertsTags: concert, Concert Photo, Concert Photographer, Concert Photography, concert photos, concert pic, concert review, eric hutchinson, folksy, HOB Sunset, house of blues, House Of Blues Sunset, Live Music, Pure Fiction, Review, set list, setlist, singer, singer songwriter, Sounds Like This, Tell The World Tour, tenor voice Leave a comment

The Warlocks | The Roxy | 4/25/14

Opening for the Dandy Warhols at the Roxy was the American, psychedelic rock band The Warlocks. Founded in 1998 by Bobby Hecksher, the band has been playing with various lineups since, with Hecksher the only constant member.

With half a dozen albums released since it’s inception (with their latest album, “Skull Worship” being released in November of 2013), The Warlocks concert seemed to cover their entire repertoire (according to a The Warlocks fans standing next to me). When I snagged the setlist (which you can see below) off the lip of the stage, she took a look at it and noted (while giggling) how they abbreviated the names of the songs.

The Warlocks’ music isn’t for everybody. If you aren’t familiar with them, you may assume that their sound is akin to the Grateful Dead (the Grateful Dead’s first name was The Warlocks), but you’d be wrong. Rather, their sound seems to be heavily influenced by the neo-psychedilia and experimental rock of the Velvet Underground. Personally, I was feeling it. I thought that perhaps the start of the set was a bit too downtempo for my tastes, but as it went on, the energy picked up and had me grooving by the end.