What I see, think, feel and do.
DevilDriver - Cain's Ballroom
TULSA, Okla., April 16, 2012 - Southern California heavy metal band DevilDriver and the 2012 Metal Alliance tour hit the Cain's Ballroom loud and fast. Metronome defying double bass drums, thirty riffs per song, million note guitar solos and 'The Exorcism Of Cookie Monster' vocals. Yes Sir, this show had it all.
Shooting notes:
Standard deal with a twist. Wedge monitors, house lights, first three songs, no flash from the barricade. The twist? You guessed it, Cain's house lights version three. This version is my least favorite. No white light, very dim for the most part with flashes of bright, LOTS of red. Combine that with a rapidly moving heavy metal band and I end up with a lot of black and white photos.
Camera Settings:
This show was done with my standard rig. Two Canon 5D Mark II's with my trusty Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM.
- ISO 3200
- F/2.8
- 1/125 to 1/200.
The full photo set can be viewed HERE.
Comments are always welcomed and encouraged; leave them below!
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones - Cain's Ballroom
TULSA, Okla., April 11, 2012 - More often than not I have never heard of the artist I am about to cover but every now and then one of these artists completely blows me away. Béla Fleck and the Flecktones was one of these artists. The level of talent this four piece band operates on is truly unbelievable; I still have no idea what the instrument that Future Man plays is called. Imagine a bluegrass, fusion, post-bop jam performed by virtuosos. If you ever get a chance to see Béla Fleck and the Flecktones live do not pass it up. If you have Netflix streaming, check out "Béla Fleck: Throw Down Your Heart".
Shooting notes:
Standard deal with a twist. Wedge monitors, house lights with a few back line intelligent lights, first three songs, no flash from the barricade. The twist? There are a few different versions of Cain's house lights. This version is my favorite. The previous blog entry (Turnpike Troubadours) showcased the static purple version. This show used the white par can front line with stage washes of color. Granted it only works with artists that don't move around much, I am thankful when it does.
Camera Settings:
This show was done with my standard rig. Two Canon 5D Mark II's with my trusty Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM.
- ISO 1600
- F/2.8
- 1/100 (Future Man shots) to 1/200 under the white light.
The full photo set can be viewed HERE.
Comments are always welcomed and encouraged; leave them below!
Turnpike Troubadours - Cain's Ballroom
TULSA, Okla., March 30, 2012 - Oklahoma based red-dirt country band Turnpike Troubadours played the historic Cain's Ballroom ahead of the May 8, 2012 release of their latest album "Goodbye Normal Street". Any time a red-dirt act hits the 423 you can count on three things. HUGE beer sales, a rowdy crowd and great music; this Friday night the Turnpike Troubadours scored the hat trick with their high energy, driving live show.
Shooting notes:
Nothing out of the ordinary on this night. Handful of wedge monitors and speakers, house lights, first three songs, no flash from the barricade. Guitarist Ryan Engleman, front man Evan Felker and fiddle player Kyle Nix ended up being the focus of the first three songs. I'm not saying that bass player R.C. Edwards or drummer Gabe Pearson aren't photo worthy, there was just more 'variety' with the others.
Camera Settings:
This show was done with my standard rig. Two Canon 5D Mark II's with my trusty Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM.
- ISO 1600
- F/2.8
- 1/125 to 1/200
For those of you that have asked, these setting are my standard Cain's House light setting.
The full photo set can be viewed HERE.
Comments are always welcomed and encouraged; leave them below!
GWAR- Cain's Ballroom
TULSA, Okla., March 28, 2012 - Aliens, swords, blood, guts and heavy metal once again filled the Cain's Ballroom as Richmond, Virginia based satirical heavy metal/punkrock band GWAR made their Tulsa stop on the “Return of the World Maggot/Farewell, Flattus Maximus” tour. Lead vocalist Oderus Urungus had this to say “We are finishing this last spate of shows as a tribute to fallen Scumdog Flattus Maximus, and will be playing as a four piece behind the screaming assault of Balsac. In this way we shall give all the US bohabs ample chance to fall to their knees in a sobbing heap when confronted with the reality of Flattus’ departure…and a chance to say farewell. Then GWAR can move forward, and we shall.”
Shooting notes:
When it comes to covering GWAR, this is not my first rodeo; it is in fact it's my third. The first time I covered them (as I believe EVERYONE covering GWAR for the first time should do) I stayed in the barricade the whole three songs. Yes, photographers were targets for squirting goo. Yes, I did get soaked. No, my gear was not damaged in any way. Most important though, YES I got killer images. (You can view those images on ye olden Photopyle.com by clicking HERE.)
Since then, I have used a rule of thumb when it comes to GWAR. When the lights go out, I am at the entrance of the barricade and as long as ONLY the band members come out I will stay in the barricade. As soon as a "non band member" hits the stage, I am out and to the back of the room because that's when things get messy. On this occasion, the barricade was never used and I mainly shot from the soundboard in an attempt to capture the theatrics of the show and stay dry. I realize now that was a bad move. Shooting the heavily textured costumes against heavily textured backgrounds under single color stage washes make it almost impossible to make out what's going on and any individual shots all look the same. Moving to the sides of the room helped some but did not alleviate the problem.
TL;DR - I have covered GWAR 3 times now and have come to the conclusion that you can either brave the mess and get killer images or play it safe and get mediocre (at best) images; there is no in between.
Camera Settings:
Since this turned into a soundboard shoot the Canon 5D Mark II and Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM handled everything.
- ISO 3200
- F/2.8
- 1/200 (believe or not, on all the photos but one)
The full photo set can be viewed HERE.
Comments are always welcomed and encouraged; leave them below!
Glen Campbell - Osage Events Center
On March 27, 2012 I was fortunate enough to cover the Tulsa stop of Glen Campbell's "Goodbye Tour".
In 2011 Glen Campbell announced he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He could of very easily made that announcement, disappeared from the spotlight and faded away into legend. That would have even been acceptable, he has earned it. During his 50 years in show business, Campbell has released more than 70 albums. He has sold 45 million records and racked up 12 RIAA Gold albums, 4 Platinum albums and 1 Double-Platinum album. Of his 74 trips up the country charts, 27 landed in the Top 10 not to mention his TV and film career; but not Glen Campbell. “I still love making music,” says Campbell. “And I still love performing for my fans. I’d like to thank them for sticking with me through thick and thin.” So instead of fading away he released an album and hit the road to say "Goodbye".
Shooting the show was typical Osage Events Center setup; first three songs, no flash, no barricade and don't block people's view. The room layout is 1,000 meeting room style chairs in two sections with a center aisle. I start at the end of the 1st row stage right, dial in a base setting, and then make my way around the perimeter of the room periodically stopping to take a few shots until I am at the end of the 1st row stage left. I always try to make that trip using the 1st two songs. I will stay parked there until the 3rd song starts then I do a quick reverse lap. If I end up back at the start before the 3rd song is done, I will back track to the 'equator' of the room and stay there until the 3rd song is over.
As for settings and equipment, F/2.8, ISO 1600, 1/250 with the 70-200mm was the work horse of the event.
Click HERE to see the full gallery of photos.
Click HERE to see the full review from John Hall on Tulsa Today.