Joe Satriani.....Surfing with an Alien

Show Date 1-11-2011

It had been almost 20 years since I last seen Satch perform in Eugene, OR with Eric Johnson. Amazing how quick time goes by. I wasn’t expecting to shoot this show but, I did a little bit of research, found some contact information and fired off an email. To my surprise, I was contacted back by Stach’s Tour Manager. He put me in touch with Satch’s PR people, which I contacted promptly. They got back to me with a green light for a photo pass. I was stoked!

The day of the show, I was a nervous wreck. I was about to see and photograph one of the greatest guitar players of my time. The weather didn’t help my nerves either. We had a cold front come through the NW and the forecast for the evening was snow and freezing rain. With 35 miles to drive one way to the Roseland Theater in Portland, I wasn’t even sure I would make the show.

I left an hour early, expecting the worst on the roads. Good thing too, because the normal 45 minute drive turned into almost a two hour drive. Ice skating is fun but, not in a 1/2 ton pickup truck with only two wheel drive.

After arriving at the Roseland, still a nervous wreck! Think the drive had more to do with that then the shoot. The opening band hit the stage (more on that bellow) and for the next three songs, I got myself oriented to the stage and the angles I would be shooting from, and my camera dialed in. I was ready.

Satch hit the stage rocking! Accompanying him on stage was a bassist, guitar player, keyboardist and of course a thumping drummer. For the first few moments I stood there, taking it all in. Wow, what a cool moment, but time to get to work!

Stach is a great showman and played to my camera while he worked his magic on the guitar. He was full of energy and you could actually feel that he was happy to be rocking in front of the 1200 or so people that were attending the show. The rest of the band was also highly energetic, which was a delight to see.The highlight for me came early in the evening. When the band broke into Satch Boogie. Man, did they ever rock the song. It has always been a favorite of mine and it was cool to be able to hear it live and performed so well.

Over all, the sound was spectacular, the stage presence of all the band members was stellar and the stage production was very simple and straight forward, which worked well.

With the weather turning worse outside, I decided to leave the show a couple songs before the encore. I hated to do so but, I wanted to make sure I arrived home safely on this night.

As I worked my way through downtown Portland, the freezing rain had spared the inner city for the most part. It was cold but the streets were drivable. Once I got onto I-84 east of I-205, the nightmare began. The freeway was solid ice and the going was very slow. Well, for me it was slow. Other’s seemed to think that driving 55+ on a solid sheet of ice was a good thing.

I made my way to Troutdale; I knew I was in trouble as I took the exit. The Truck Stop was completely full of trucks and cars. When I got to the light and made my turn up hill, I had to fight the ass end of my truck to keep it from swapping directions on me. As I slowly made it up the slight incline of the bridge, I could see that the police had the road blocked ahead with cars all over the place, sideways in the road. Thankfully, at the next light, I was able to make a right onto level  ground.

The road I was now on paralleled the freeway I just turned off of and I had no choice but to head back the way I had just come. I have driven in many crazy conditions in my life. This ranked right up there as one of the most concerning. ICE SUCKS!

The next two hours was very slow going. Second gear was it with a speed of 20 mph. It was really interesting to see so many cars, being so stupid. I seen one car, not sure how he did it, was hanging off the curb with the left front wheel sitting flat on the ground. That was a big ouch!

So after three hours of very intense driving, I finally made it home. Was it worth it, HELL YA! Life is an adventure and the challenges life tosses at us need to be met head on. Especially when you are going to see Joe Satriani live in concert!

Joe Satriani - Roseland Theater - Portland, OR 1.11.2011

Ned Evett and Triple Double

Show Date 1.11.2011

I had never heard of Ned Evett and Triple Double until now. Since he was opening for Joe Satriani, I was expecting a performance that would be very enjoyable. I wasn’t disappointed one bit. Ned and his band hit the stage with lots of energy and enthusiasm and what caught my attention right away, Ned was playing a fretless guitar. How cool is that, VERY! I’ve seen fretless basses before but never a fretless guitar.

The band was very tight and with only three members, they were able produce a nice full sound with no empty spots in any of the songs performed, which is sometimes very apparent with three man bands.

Ned is a true master of his instrument and it really shows. His talent was a very welcomed sight to see and it was extra special to be able to capture his performance through the lens of my camera.

So, if you have never heard of Ned Evett and Triple Double, do a Google on the band. I promise, you’ll really enjoy what you find and become a new fan right away!

Ned Evett - Roseland Theater - Portland, OR 1.11.2011

Where Angels Suffer.....1st National Tour

Show Date 1-8-2011

I wasn’t too sure what to expect from Where Angels Suffer. When I first seen that they would be performing in Portland, it sparked some interest. I was able to find some samples of their music and it was actually, really good. With members from the band WASP and the NW’s very own Metal Church in the band, I was looking forward to hearing more and hearing it live.

Just a couple of days prior to the show, I wrote my contact that I had used to obtain the photo pass. I was really surprised to receive an email back stating that they were no longer managing the band, best of luck. I was like WOW, ok, what do I do now? Well, I have learned to be creative and to utilize all tools available. I jumped on Facebook and contacted a person who has been promoting the band on Facebook, explained the situation and she put me in contact with Stre Howland, the drummer for W.A.S...Stre got me all squared away and I was good to go once again.

The night of the show was a long one. There was four other bands performing before W.A.S., all the bands performance were good, it seemed to be a little too much for one evening though. Just two opening acts would have been better IMHO. But, that why I’m not a promoter and just a photog.

When it was finally time for W.A.S to hit the stage, it seemed the crowd had dwindled down to about 120 people or so. Not as many people as I thought would be there.

The band came out rocking, almost too loud for the small area that they were playing. The sound was very 80’s hard rock…strong rhythm section, strong vocals and the guitars doing what they do best, shredding! Randy Piper and Chris Holmes make a great team together. It was cool to see them exchange guitar licks back and forth.

As a photographer, it was a challenge capturing decent photos. The lighting was awesome but, because of the table arrangement in the venue, the crowd was crammed into a very small area in front of the stage. Would have been much better if some of the tables were eliminated or at least, moved out of the way.  The crowd would have been able to spread out a little bit more. There was also a film crew there capturing video of the performance. There were several occasions where someone with a video camera stepped into my frame. They really weren’t too respectful of other professionals trying to accomplish the same thing.

And because of that, I decided to end my evening short. I made a mental note though. The next time I happen across this film crew, put the camera away and just enjoy the show. It’s not worth the frustration.

Not sure what is next for W.A.S., will there be more to come? From what I heard, I hope so.

Where Angels Suffer - Roseland Theater - Portland, OR 1.8.2011

GWAR.....Visitors From Another Planet!

Show Date11-26-2010

Portland was invaded by the rock band GWAR! For over the last 25 years this cosmic bunch of hard rocking aliens have been putting on a very, highly theatric show to entertain their cult following. This was my second opportunity to see and photograph the band and I was not disappointed.

The blood and gore launched right out of the gate, with the crowd going wild. I’m still totally amazed; the crowd totally gets into all of the blood that is sprayed all over them.

There were several other photographers in the pit. By the end of the first three songs, they and their gear were covered in red, intergalactic goo. I managed to avoid most of it, which I didn’t mind. The last thing I wanted to be doing is cleaning camera gear all the next day.  

This tour, Sara Palin and Lady Gaga were the targets of gruesomeness up on stage. Think Lady Gaga got the blunt of the GWAR royal treatment. One of the things I like about GWAR, they include 2-3 opening acts and on this tour, Mobile Deathcamp, Infernaeon and The Casualties joined in on the horrific chaos. All of the opening bands performed great! Mobile Deathcamp IMHO stole the show for the opening acts.

I really enjoy GWAR’s music. The Punk/Thrash/Metal/Rock style they have going on works and works well.  

By the end of the show, 75% of the 1200+ people in the crowd were drenched in GWAR blood and sweat. With them all wanting more!

If you have never seen GWAR in concert, do so, you’ll have a great time! Just remember, keep your distance from the stage.

GWAR - Roseland Theater - Portland, Oregon

The Casualties - Roseland Theater - Portland, Oregon

Infernaeon - Roseland Theater - Portland, Oregon

Mobile Deathcamp - Roseland Theater - Portland, Oregon

ASIA.....Reunion Tour

Show Date 9-7-2010

I had to really hustle to obtain a photo pass for this performance. It took several weeks of communication with Asia's PR people. Just a couple of days prior to the show, I received my photo pass confirmation. I wasn't too sure what to expect. It was all of the original members. Did they still have the chops? Well, they did! Asia's performance was one of the best show's I'd seen in 2010. They were actually a close second to Rush.

I was very surprised to find out that I was the only photographer that was allowed to cover the show. It was really cool having the freedom to roam the venue and explore all the different shooting possibilities. Was really nice, not having any restrictions for a change.

I have been a fan of Steve Howe since the late 70’s when he was with Yes. I've never had a chance to see him perform live though, over all these years for some reason. I guess the timing was never right until now. I’ve also been a fan of Carl Palmer ever since his days with Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

The first half of the show was songs off their latest album Omega. Even though I wasn't familiar with the songs, they were well arranged and sounded like classic Asia. The second half of the show was dedicated to all of their hit songs from the 80's. The crowd rose to their feet and stayed that way for the remainder of the show. The song that caught my attention the most, “Day’s Like These”. I was not expecting to hear it performed and I was pleasantly surprised when I did. The band totally got into the grove and had everybody dancing, including the security personnel.

Asia rocked Portland this night. For those of you who thought about going and didn't, you missed out on a great performance! I hope when the members of Asia re-form, they remember how well Portland, OR welcomed them.

Asia - Aladdin Theater - Portland, Oregon

Cinderella.....Headline Tour

Show Date 9-4-2010

I was fully expecting Cinderella to be the opening band this evening. It has been several years since the band had produced any new music and just as long for any live performances. So I was really surprised that they were headlining over Queensryche….WTF????

During the 80’s, I was listening to a totally different style of music, Progressive Rock. So I wasn’t really all that familiar with what Cinderella had to offer other then what I heard on MTV and the radio. I was willing to give them a fair shake though, especially after hearing on “That Metal Show” the band was actually really good and nothing like the bubble gum, rock songs (my own definition of that type of music) that was being played on the radio.

This was an outdoor show and September can be a goofy month for weather here in the NW. This year, the evenings were running on the cooler side of things.

Cinderella hit the stage strong and hard but, it was very obvious that there was a different sound engineer working the board. The sound wasn’t crisp and level as it was for Queensryche. In addition to the PA sound, Tom Keifer was experiencing some major technical difficulties with his guitar setup and stage mike. You could see the frustration in his face and he had his tech scrambling to fix the issue.

Even with the issue’s taking place, the band continued rocking it out hard. Fred Coury is a monster on the drum kit and I could actually feel the thump of his kick drum in my chest, as I was snapping my pix, WOW!

Jeff LaBar played to my camera nicely through the second song. His playing was very impressive. Unfortunately the PA sound hasn’t improved and Keifer’s rig was still giving him major grief.

By the time they started the third song, I have to honestly say, I wanted to finish up capturing my shot’s and make a bee line out of the venue.  The sound hadn’t improved at all, Keifer wasn’t looking none too happy up on stage and it was showing in the photos and, my overall impression of the performance was not good.

We all have days where things are just not hooking up. It happens sometimes. I’m sure on a different day in a different venue things were better. On this night sadly, it just wasn’t happening.

There is some amazing talent in this band. Hopefully in the future we really get to hear what they can offer.

Cinderella - Oregon Sate Fair - Salem, Oregon

Queensryche.....Rocks Oregon

Show Date 9-4-2010

This was my seventh time seeing Queensryche over the years. I've never been disappointed by any of their performance's and this show was no exception. From a photog's point of view I was excited. The show was being performed outdoors, and knew many of the images I was about to capture were going to be nice and sharp. A big thank you to Jeff Albright for providing the ticket's, photo pass and after show passes. Jeff is a great guy and has treated me very well over the last several years.

When I arrived at the amphitheater, Queensryche was just hitting the stage. Good thing I prepped my camera earlier in the day. I wasn't expecting them to be the opening act, that took me by surprise just a bit.

The band looked fresh and ready to rock, which they did. The sound engineer had a great mix and the PA level was perfect. Parker Lundgren, who is filling Chris Degarmo's shoes with the band, looked so much more comfortable up on stage then he had, the two previous times that I had seen the band.

The set was short, with a few tunes off of their latest album American Soldier and several others from the various other albums they have produced over the years. Highlight of the set, Jet City Woman. Its always cool to see the crowd get totally into a song, like they do with Jet City.

Queensryche - Oregon Sate Fair - Salem, OR