My Summer In Concerts

Today was the first day back to school for many in America, myself included. And for me, it was the last first-day of school that I may ever have, seeing as I'm entering my senior year of university studies and I do not plan to do graduate work. Although my day was rather delightful and I saw certain familiar faces for the first time since April, I will admit that I found myself missing summer. The leisure, the lack of homework, the leisure, the abundance of good fruit, the leisure... oh, and most importantly: the leisure. Summer is so relaxing. It's the BREAK that you look forward to from the start of kindergarten onward.

And this past summer was really special for me, which makes going back to school even harder. It was the first summer I had the opportunity to do concert photography and music journalism for Buzznet on a weekly basis. Since I have only had my DSLR camera since November 2010, it was my first opportunity to use free time as concert time. And it was my first chance to cover shows in pleasant weather! I did not have to wait outside the venue in a parka! WOOHOO!!

In the time period between April 28 and September 2 I had the great honor of shooting over 50 bands at 16 different concerts, including the Vans Warped Tour where I photographed the sets of 12 bands in one day. I also went to a couple other shows that I did not shoot, which takes the concert tally up to 18 in only 4 months! I’d say this falls under the category of BADASS. A summer spent in music is a very good summer indeed.

And now that I reflect on the 55 new photo albums, 13 new blog posts, and 9 new videos (including 2 exclusive tour documentary videos I directed!) that I’ve posted over the past few months, I want to share my favorite concert posts with you. Without further adieu:

The Summer Set: one of my first concert pictures of the summer, and Brian Dales (singer) said it was one of the best of him he'd ever seen :) good start.

Hey Monday: Pat McKenzie (drummer) still has this as his twitter default image :)

Yellowcard: after listening to them for... how many years?... I finally got to see Yellowcard live and photograph their set. #dreamsreallydocometrue

All Time Low: the first time shooting one of my all time favorite bands was a huge success. OH HAPPY DAY.

Dirty Work In Detroit: my writeup of ^that^ epic night of music and photography.

Family Force 5: this band is one of my favorites to watch in concert, and were so fun to photograph!

High Fives For Family Force 5: my night with FF5 was definitely one I will always remember.

Allstar Weekend: shooting this handsome band was a dream, made all the more fun by the plethora of screaming/crying fangirls in the audience :)

My Allstar Weekend with Allstar Weekend: I think I had just as much fun living the night as I did reliving it.

Lenka: she was absolutely brilliant, in both personality and talent. I had the pleasure of interviewing her (see here) and had a wonderful time!

Parachute: this band live is just so... MAGNIFICENT. 

Day 169: I've been a huge fan of Parachute for a few years now, and getting my picture taken with lead singer Will Anderson was one of the highlights of my summer.

G. Love & Special Sauce: before I photographed G. Love the security guard came over and said "no flash and you can only stay for the first three songs." I responded with, "Thank you." When I really should have said, "THIS AIN'T MY FIRST RODEO." In a southern accent, of course. I mean, I've covered shows before and had already photographed the first three acts. Whatevs.

Katelyn Tarver: definitely one of the pretty people of the world. She is so lovely and her songs very timely!

Honor Society: this band posted all of my concert pictures to their own website HonorSocietyMusic.com. *blushes* well thank you :)

Mat Kearney: his management emailed me a few weeks ago asking if they could use ^this^ or *this* picture in a magazine spread for Mat. I obviously said yes :)

Owl City: this will probably always be one of my absolute favorite pictures produced by myself and my Canon Rebel T1i.

There For Tomorrow: the Warped Tour was very good to me and my portfolio.

There For Tomorrow: I had to post both of these pictures of TFT... they're just so appealing to me!

A Day To Remember: in my mind... "HE'S LOOKING AT ME. HE'S POINTING RIGHT AT MY CAMERA. THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING. If the picture doesn't turn out, at least I'll remember that it happened. But damn, I hope this turns out." And it did.

My Most Memorable Moment of the 2011 Vans Warped Tour: was about ^that^ picture and the moments leading up to it. Gosh, it was such a good day!

Hellogoodbye: I've listed Hellogoodbye as one of my top-10 favorite bands since I first heard "Call N' Return" over 5 or 6 years ago. Their music has only improved over time.

The Ready Set: the band posted this photo album to their facebook page :) I was honored by the exposure and kind things he and everyone else had to say!

Simple Plan: I love being in the right place at the right time.

Parachute: I got to see/shoot Parachute twice this summer! And I got terrific pictures both times!!

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Sparks The Rescue's "The Weirdest Way": I took on my very first videography project with this band and this song. I had a blast!

100 Monkeys: I got to interview this band for my first music journalism assignment last year, and got to photograph them this year! My-oh-my how the time flies!

Hanging Out With Valencia: the gentlemen of Valencia are without a doubt the best band I have had the pleasure of working with. I first interviewed them in December 2010, saw them again in April 2011, and now in July 2011 I got to spend some quality time with a band I've loved for years. The development of our relationship is rather smashing.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Valencia's "The Way": this is my pride and joy of the summer. Not only did I have the most incredible time hanging out with the band, but the video showcases just how good a time I had. I won't soon forget the fun from this night!

Action Item: I saw/shot this band THREE (count 'em 1..2..3..) times this summer. They really do love to visit Michigan, eh?

Hot Chelle Rae: when I first saw RK Follese (singer) walk onto stage in spring 2009, I thought "he is, without a doubt, the most handsome fella in the whole wide world." And when I saw him walk onto stage in summer 2011, I thought "he is still perfect." I mean really, he's just gorgeous. And his voice is so special.

The Summer Set: take 2. Good times. Good tunes. Good pictures.

We The Kings: I've been a fan of WTK since I first saw they were friends with Boys Like Girls in 2007 (if you recall, I was very fond of BLG). I remember pre-ordering their self-titled album in August and listening to the four songs they had on purevolume on continuous repeat until I had the physical CD in my grasp.

The Cab: their new album Symphony Soldier has got to be one of my favorite new releases of the summer.

Mayday Parade: Mayday Parade facebook'd and twitter'd my photo album, which was pretty cool considering they have their own photographer on staff. #winning.

All Time Low: this isn't one of the *best* pictures of Jack Barakat you'll ever come across, but it's definitely one of my favorites that I've taken. The lighting at this show was so bizarre that I was astonished I got an album's worth of quality pictures to turn out. Kudos to you camera!

Panic! At The Disco: my last concert of the summer was the first time I have had the pleasure of seeing P!ATD in concert. Timing has never worked for me to see them, and I could not be happier to have been in their audience. As I stood in the photo pit and then crowd listening to the perfection that is Brendon Urie's vocal chords, I fondly remembered how much I've loved this band since my early years of high school.

Well, there you have it! An assortment of my favorite concert moments of the summer! I hope you've enjoyed following the journey as much as I've enjoyed living it. I can't wait to see what lies ahead of me for the rest of the year. It's bound to be quite excellent :)

For the remainder of my:
photo galleries, click here.
blog posts, click here.
video posts, click here.