“It’s in the silence, you can hear the same words…” – BEST of 2012
I’m only 17 days late to the new year. Oops.
Best Albums of 2011 – “Virgins of Menace” – The Disciplines
& “Elsie” – The Horrible Crowes
Best 7″ – BIG STAR With John Davis: Live Tribute to Alex Chilton – “Don’t Lie to Me”/”In the Street”/”When My Baby’s Beside Me”
The above also represents my proudest photographic accomplishment thus far. To have one of my photos on the label of such sonic beauty makes me incredibly happy.
My VERY favorite photo of the year –
In a year that I lost count of all the shows I could not shoot (due to lack of money, credentials or both), being able to shoot Dave Matthews Caravan was an extraordinary experience. There are shots from the festival that are technically better than this shot of Boyd Tinsley but this one is my favorite. It was the third night of DMB & they were playing “Seek Up.” I just happened to be positioned right where Boyd stepped forward. Looking at this, I can still recall my shaking knees. I wanted to drop the camera & just dance along to the music and, at the same time, I wanted to make sure the settings accounted for the different lighting downstage. I wanted that moment to last forever & now it can & that is why I love shooting concerts.
Runners-up for favorite moments &/or photos include:
Watching Jody Stephens drum “September Gurls” at the Big Star Third show March 26, 2012. From the balcony, I could see just how the sticks hit the drums & cymbals. I was mesmerized. Where was my video camera?!
September 19 – Snowball 37 & Nick Clemons Band at Sullivan Hall – One of the most fun shows of the year. This marked the live debut of SB37 with sax & the energy of the show was really high. This is one of my favorite pictures because James looks like a cartoon eagle. I love the shadows & absolutely could have cropped it differently, but it is still one of my favorites. This show also rocked because Binky & Tony were there.
Snowball 37’s Family (Re)Union Show with five of the six Fagan siblings & one next generation Fagan. January 21, 2012 They played my favorite part of “Across the Sea” in a Weezer medley. Ahhhhh…
November 5 – Nick Clemons Band & Snowball 37 at Tiki Stadium. Nick has an incredible voice & a band full of talented musicians. This was another high energy show. I love both of these bands.
Shooting the Flaming Lips gave me chills even though it was 85 degrees outside.
November 14 – That is my skirt & Ken Stringfellow’s shoe. While I am sad to have not seen the Posies as a whole in over a year, it was more than pleasant to be sitting so close as he sang & played. I do regret not having a camera that can shoot noiselessly over ISO800. Too much flash was too rude so the actual photos of this show are not the best. Good thing Ken has a new album coming out.
September 8 – The Horrible Crowes – I couldn’t afford the Gaslight Anthem shows this year & I would have missed this were it not for the great people at The Aquarian Weekly.
Any time Jonathan Tiersten & David Fagan play together is great. This particular shot is of their “Under Pressure” duet on September 11. I chose this show because of JT’s performance of his song “Underbelly” that night. Just go to the video & let him take you to church (or as much church as you can be taken to when Ayn Rand inspired the song).
My favorite show of 2012
Twice this year, we found ourselves watching Bruce Springsteen play the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park (for $10 each). The second time, July 17, was a tribute to Clarence Clemons and featured The Sensational Soul Cruisers with J.T. Bowen (pictured above). Listening to J.T. Bowen, I was transported to the Memphis of my dreams, especially when he sang “Try A Little Tenderness.” I wanted to melt right into the floor. I can’t find video of that song but you can watch this instead. Forward about halfway through & you can hear “Shake.”* He absolutely, positively stole the show for me. His performance alone would have made this my favorite show. Other reasons this was my favorite – hearing them talk about Asbury in the old days reminded me of my dad, JT Bowen reminded me of my dad (looks, not voice), the music was so damn good, I had my honey with me AND, because of this show we now have another extremely talented, awesome friend.
*Please let me know why you would ever shake a bowl of soup though
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