One Shot
In a night that photographically proved to be so bitterly disappointing, let’s start with some positives ok?
Firstly, Monster Magnet are an amazing live band.
When you can hear the Marshall stacks purring that monotonic electronic hum and drone before the band has hit the stage… you know your ears are about to get pummelled!
Goddamn they were loud!
Loudest gig I’ve ever seen at Billboard.
Having said that, the venue was packed. Literally packed to the rafters. You couldn’t move an inch either way.
The band was on fire. Tight. Loud. Raucous.
My heart was pounding in the pit like you would not believe and the energy from the room was so rockingly infectious.
This was going to be a good night for some old-fashioned hard and heavy rock and roll!
So why the fuck did one of the bouncers kick us photogs out of the pit after one measly song?
What an incredible dampener to what would have been a kick-ass evening of hard rocking tunes from one of the genre’s finest.
It is so hard to get a decent shot with the usual three-song limit, but what in fucks name am I going to get with one song.
It is a hard, thankless caper this rock and roll photography. Hard work for absolute zero reward.
So why do we do it? It isn’t for the money. I haven’t made a single, solitary cent doing this. Not a one. But I try to be at as many events as I can because I love what I do and I want to learn as much as I can about my own capabilities as well as my cameras.
I adore this work. I would like to turn it into a career (somehow, some way) but a night like tonight left me feeling so disenchanted and remorseful.
It’s late. The night is well into the AM and here I sit editing pics and getting ready to send them through to the promoter and to publish in my portfolio.
I have to be up in a few hours for my day job.
And the quest to make a name for myself doing what I love – will continue to spurn me on.
Sorry for such shitty photos this time guys.
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