AUTO VIDEO EQUIPMENT

Shure SM57-LC Cardioid Dynamic Microphone

The Shure SM57 is a fixture in the music business. You see it everywhere. In small clubs and 100,000 seat stadiums. This renowned mic is used by legendary performers and the latest up-and-comers. What you may not have seen are the thousands of SM57s at work behind the scenes in professional recording studios around the world. In fact, you'll probably find it in more studios than any other mic. Not surprising. The unidirectional dynamic SM57 has set the industry standard by defining the way instruments should sound. Which is why it's used by any serious musician or recording professional. Its warm, clean sound along with its carefully contoured presence rise make it ideal for a wide range of instrument miking applications, particularly guitar amplifiers and drums. The SM57 features a uniform cardioid pick-up pattern that isolates the main sound source and minimizes background noise.

First, I wanted to let everyone know that I just now got my internet back up and running so don't think I forgot about you! Sorry!

Second, I wanted to write a little bit about this show (with thanks to Michael and Robert for their advice). I actually wanted to maybe have a discussion about what happened here.

Before I go any further, let me say that Antony Hegarty's voice is divine...I really mean that. When Tim and Jeff Buckley passed on, it left a real gap in the talent left behind. There's no one that reaches that kind of range and surreal ability except very few I've heard. Antony is definitely the most impressive, followed by Nick Urata of DeVotcKa fame. So, to say that I enjoy Antony's dark swoons would be the understatement of the year. He's also a really amusing stage performer and reminds me in many ways of what Oscar Wilde would be like if born today with an amazing voice.

But, let's talk about photography. I knew going in that Antony does not like photos of himself so I was prepared for darkness. What followed made the Empty Bottle look like a light show. My camera settings on my XSi were 1600 iso, 1.8 aperture and 1/6th of a second. My camera had no light to focus on. I took seven hundred shots in three songs and threw all but one away. The five shots I kept were taken immediately following the three song rule before I was ordered to stop taking photos. Pretty much, Antony blatantly increased the level of lighting after the third song drew to conclusion.

So, here I am, I've waited since before 6pm in a line outside of cold Chicago to get the best spot (no photopit, of course) and after three songs, I feel endlessly tortured by looking at all of the shots I can't take...since when did these become forbidden moments? I felt like I had gone to hell, which is unusual considering the amazing sound coming from the stage.

For a long time now, because I have been so tortured with the shots I'm missing, I'll refuse to go to shows if I don't have a photopass...I just don't enjoy it...but this was almost worse...me sitting there in complete agony, tears in my eyes not from the beauty of what I was hearing but the extreme hell, the bitter anguish of seeing every shot I was missing. It was like a sinister surgery being conducted upon my person, threatening to make me severely depressed.

Now, how did it get this way? I ask you people....other photographers...very few of us make any money at this even though aside from photographing war torn villages and wild animals that could actually KILL you, this is the most difficult kind of photography there is. Unlike writers who sometimes make no money or a pittance, we also have a high cost of equipment. Now, on top of this, we endure such torturous low light and only three songs? Am I wrong or is this somewhat insane? Are we our very own sadists? Desperation and love of photography and music will drive us mad! I know it will me, I can tell you that.

Thoughts?

so, funny story.
all time low was scheduled to play for an hour.
but lo and behold, their equipment wasnt working. so Alex came out and talked to the crowd for about 20 minutes. all the other guys (minus Rian, who wasn't there) came out and just fiddled around on their instruments, played a random jazz song, threw out popcorn bags they had popped on the bus, etc. at one point it was looking like they weren't gonna be able to play at all. so alex asked the sound system guy to play some Lady Gaga, cuz we were "gonna have a dance party". everyone (well, I was at least) started dancin' around, until all of a sudden their stuff started working again. they played for only about 20 minutes, but what little of a set they did play was GREAT. i hadn't seen them live before, so it was pretty sweet. intense mosh pits = a mutilated big toe (but its back to normal now!). so, everything turned out fine in the end. :)

THE END

p.s., Forever the Sickest Kids was there, but their set was so crazy and i got pushed back so far that i didnt get any good pictures of them. they all look like big blurs. :/

p.p.s., towards the end of LMFAO's set (during the song "Shots", i believe), they were like, "we have a suprise guest for all of you tonight - THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS!!!!!" i didnt believe it one bit - until i saw Pat Kane and Jonathon Toews awkwardly dancing(?)/bouncing around onstage with cups in their hands!! it was a great way to end the day!!