Adam Ant at the Showbox Market 09.07.2013

2013 has been a concert year that included a bunch of musicians from my childhood performing as if they had never had any lulls in their careers. I've seen The Specials, Paul McCartney, Presidents of the USA and Black Sabbath, just to name a few.

This weekend though, I had the opportunity to photograph one of my all time heroes. I have playlists of his songs on my iPod and my iPhone. I've even introduced him to my son. My 12 year old allows me to put songs on his iPod that I think he will enjoy. The Adam Ant tunes have not been removed so far.

Adam Ant.. I had to say it again. I really never thought I'd have the chance to see him perform live in 2013 let alone have the chance to actually photograph him! The opening band, Prima Donna, out of L.A. kicked things off right at 8pm. They were a great choice to open for Adam. High energy and great tunes and they had a modern take on the New Wave vibe of the 80's. Singer Kevin Preston had an interesting combination of fun intensity about him that made me really enjoy this band. I liked them to the extent that I bought myself a CD before I headed out.

I haven't been this impatient for a set change in a long time. I was in the pit as soon as they would let us in there. The band took the stage to an introduction that consisted of Tchaikovsky's '1812 Overture' and a quote by Lord Cardigan from the film The Charge of the Light Brigade.

The crowd was rowdy by now and ready for Adam. He took the stage and we were treated to 'Marrying the Gunner's Daughter' for our first song. He followed that up with 'Dog Eat Dog' and 'Beat My Guest' for the other two songs we could photograph.

We headed out of the pit during 'Kick'. I made my way to the back of the room and stood (danced) next to the soundboard for the remainder of the 29/30 song set:

Ants Invasion
Hardmentoughblokes
Stand and Deliver
Shrink
Room at the Top
Kings of the Wild Frontier
Wonderful
Whip in My Valise
Vince Taylor
Stay in the Game
Cool Zombie
Strip
Desperate but Not Serious
Cleopatra
Never Trust a Man (With Egg on His Face)
Zerox
Vive Le Rock
Antmusic
Goody Two Shoes
Car Trouble
Prince Charming

Encore:
Press Darlings
Lady/Fall In
Red Scab
Physical (You're So)

It was in the back of the room that I really got to listen to him. His voice - was - incredible. I could close my eyes and be taken right back to my room in junior high.... 'I got Marco, Merrick, Terry Lee... Gary Tibbs and yours truly. In the naughty North and in the sexy South, we're all singing and I have the mouth....'

Walking Papers at Slim's Last Chance benefit for The Heroes Project 08.17.2012

The weather was gorgeous, and a tad hot, for a great benefit at Slim’s Last Chance last night. Performing on the Slims’ outdoor stage were Jeff Angell & Barrett Martin’s Walking Papers, with special guests: Duff McKagan, Mike McCready, Benjamin Anderson and Jeff Rouse followed by To the Glorious Lonely.

Who was benefitting from this shin dig? That would be Tim Medvetz’s The Heroes Project.  An organization supporting active & retired military and their families. Duff will be joining Tim and Marine veteran Kionte Storey on a climb up Mt. Rainier this Monday or Tuesday. The door price of $15 and show posters at $10 directly went to help pay for this climb as well as getting Kionte down to Antarctica to climb Mt. Vinson. Did I also mention that Kionte is a single leg amputee? Talk about inspiration! 

You can read more about the climb on Duff's blog in the Seattle Weekly.

Walking Papers took the stage just after 6pm to a packed house opening with the first song off of their new CD ‘Already Dead’. Jeff and Barrett were joined by Benjamin Anderson and Duff for the first three or four songs. Then Mike McCready joined them for another 4 songs. Jeff Angell left the stage for the final song and Jeff Rouse made his way on stage to take his place on vocals for Mad Season’s ‘River of Deceit’. A proper ending to an incredible performance. 

I hadn’t seen Walking Papers before and I’m glad that I’m the one who got to be there. Sorry Mike ;) I did feel for the guys all dressed in full musician attire and in direct sunlight. 


I know how hot I was, so I can only imagine how hot they were! It’s great to be at a show where the musicians are completely relaxed and totally enjoying what they are doing. I grabbed myself one of their CD’s so I can keep enjoying this new band.

Show sponsor KISW had a great presence with Jolene (taking a well deserved night off for fun!), Thrill, Mischa and Ryan Castle in attendance. Queensryche members Michael ‘Whip’ Wilton, Scott Rockenfield and Parker Lundgren were also there in support of the show and cause. 

Slim’s provided everyone with a great venue for this sort of outdoor BBQ with your friends kinda feeling. Add in their freakin’ killer chili and BBQ from sister restaurant Pig Iron next door and you have a one stop food, spirits and entertainment locale.

Who are Walking Papers?

Jeff Angell - Post Stardom Depression, The Missionary Position

Barrett Martin - Screaming Trees, Mad Season, Tuatara

Their guests?

Duff McKagan - Loaded, Velvet Revolver, Jane’s Addiction, GNR

Mike McCready - Pearl Jam, Mad Season, Temple of the Dog

Benjamin Anderson - The Missionary Position, Rorschach Test, Pamela Moore (Sister Mary - Queensrych)

Jeff Rouse - Loaded, To The Glorious Lonely, Vendetta Red, Alien Crime Syndicate 

You can see the full set of photos here: Walking Papers photos

Passion Pit at the Gibson Showroom for 107.7 The End's End Session, Seattle, WA 06.27.2012

Thankfully, I was asked to photograph the recent End Session for Seattle's 107.7 The End radio station. I wasn't familiar with Passion Pit and hadn't had the opportunity to see the Gibson Showroom before. Win win for me!

Lets start with the venue. This is a gorgeous location. The room is all set up with different Gibson equipment. I'd have to guess that it holds about 100-ish comfortably for a little intimate show. There are guitars and artwork handing on the walls and a beautiful piano when you first set foot into the venue.

Passion Pit was a wonderful surprise as well. During sound check Michael let the team know that someone needed to press a key on his keyboard so it didn't time out or he'd lose his settings. Sadie got the assignment. She dutifully sad on Michael's stool and hit a key every minute or so for about 15 minutes. 

Two of the five band members were present for the 4 song acoustic set. Vocalist/keyboard/guitar Michael Angelakos and guitarist Ian Hultquist charmed the crowd with their performance and their humor. At one point Michael completely went blank and forgot the words during 'Sleepy Head'! Thankfully he wasn't shy and asked the crowd for the next line. Listener 'Sarah' called it out and he dedicated the rest of the song to her. He said he didn't care if you had sung a song 8,000 times, you'd forget the lyrics at some point. 

You can watch a couple of the songs from the End Session at http://www.1077theend.com/VIDEO--Passion-Pit-Endsession/11684737?pid=250350

Collective Soul - Dosage Tour - Neptune Theatre - Seattle, WA 06.17.2012

This blog is nothing but biased today. Collective Soul is my all time favorite band. Hands down. They are rocking', they are positive, they can be moody, they can be sung along with and they are truly nice Southern gentlemen.

Thankfully, Mike and I met Will and Ed at their Gretch/Fender performances at NAMM in January. I hit it off with Will and we became Facebook buddies. When the tour was announced, I new that I wanted to see it, but I also wanted to shoot it. Will hooked me up with the full show for photos instead of their normal first 2 songs. He also gave me my very first Plus 1 of my own so I brought one of my girlfriends with me.

Once we got inside to set up, I saw Will and was able to visit for a few before he had to get back stage. He let me know then that I had the whole show and the name of the tour manager if there were any problems.

Last night was a unique show in that they did not have an opening band. This show was all about spending a evening with Collective Soul. The band came on stage at 8pm and let us know how the show would flow.

1. Perform the 1999 album 'Dosage' in it's entirety.
2. Take a little break
3. Come back and sing the songs we (the fans) love

I did have to laugh a little during the Dosage portion of the show. Ed apparently doesn't remember all of the lyrics. He had a music stand up there with him to be able to reference if he needed to. There was a little hiccup after the second song. Security tried to cut me off but we talked and the lead security guard found the tour manager and it was straightened out. I missed out on a couple of songs while he was verifying, but that was better than missing out on the whole rest of the show!

They took their break and it was time for some hits off of the rest of the albums including songs like Gel, Hollywood, Precious Declaration... Love, love, loved it. I had made my way to the balcony during Precious Declaration so I could be positioned for some fisheye shots from above. They exited one more time before coming back for an encore that consisted of December and ending the night with Shine.

What a great venue. I hadn't been there yet and I will definitely go back. Great restoration and a welcome addition to our historic venues.

Collective Soul Photos!

• 1. Dosage
  1. Tremble for My Beloved 
  2. Heavy 
  3. No More No Less 
  4. Needs 
  5. Slow 
  6. Run 
  7. Generate 
  8. She Said 
  9. Compliment 
  10. Not the One 
  11. Crown 
  12. Hits
  12. Welcome All Again 
  13. Better Now 
  14. Forgiveness 
  15. Gel 
  16. Hollywood 
  17. Why Pt 2 
  18. Precious Declaration 
  19. The World I Know 
  20. Encore
  20. December 
  21. Shine 

Judas Priest, Black Label Society & Thin Lizzy at WaMu Theater, Seattle, WA 10.29.2011

This show really was a blur for me. We got there too late for me to grab a seat and get a little video. I tried, but it was really hard. All I got was Thin Lizzy. So I gave up and just did some listening and some people watching.

Black Label Society never fails to impress me with their merch presence. They have fans all over with their gear! We ended up going back stage afterward to meet a couple of the guys. It's cool how the WaMu Theater has indoor parking for the tour buses. I've seen fenced in parking for buses before, but not completely indoor parking. BLS photos are here.


Priest is Priest. They put on another great show. I still don't understand how Rob Halford can stand up in all that leather! Those capes have got to weigh a ton!!! Priest photos are here.

The highlight to the whole show for me was DJ Lady Starlight spinning the tunes between bands. She was great. Some may know her better as Lady Ga Ga's DJ. She can hold her own though! See Lady Starlight photos here!

Journey, Foreigner & Night Ranger at the Key Arena, Seattle, WA 10.21.2011

Another classic concert tonight. This time we saw 3 pop-rock bands from the 80's. I have seen the original line ups for both Night Ranger and Journey back in the day. Journey was the first concert I went to without my parents. It was a little odd seeing Journey without Steve Perry, but Arnell did a great job with the vocals. He needs more practice on stage though. He's a little bouncy bordering on cheerleader. You can see Mike's Journey photos here.

Journey's Deen Castronovo solo

Foreigner sounded great BUT there wasn't 1 original member on stage. Mick Jones may still be in the band, but he was either injured or ill and wasn't on this tour. This means that it was a cover band!

Foreigner 'Hot Blooded' & 'Dirty White Boy'

I loved Night Ranger the best. I can sing along to almost every song. They had the most energy and clicked with the crowd the best.

Night Ranger 'Sister Christian' featuring Deen Castronovo on drums

Tomato Battle Seattle @ Pyramid Alehouse with Super Geek League 09.24.2011

This blog is like no other. It starts with 300,000 pounds of rotten tomatoes being thrown at each other, beer drinking, costumes and ends with a music concert. Who would you expect to headline a tomato battle? None other than Super Geek League with Titanium Sporkestra opening for them.

My team at work decided to do this activity as a team building event. It was beyond fun!! Mike and I had on Super Geek League hazmat suits so we could just throw them away after the battle. That was a brilliant idea!

People gather around the tomatoes and once the word is given - All Hell Breaks Loose! Some of the tomatoes are green though. I got one of those right between the eyes. Thankfully I had on a pair of goggles so they took the brunt of the hit. Mike rented a Go Cam so he has some great footage of the mayhem further inside the crowd.

We stopped once the bands started to play, but others were over in the tomato pit for hours! I couldn't handle that smell for that long.

Titanium Sporkestra

Tomato Battle footage with Super Geek League at the 13:49 mark