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.
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!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 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
