Music, Lately

"Lately" is kind of generous, but we've been to some fun concerts in the past few months, and I want a record to prove to Baby Boy Shackmano that we were cool, fun people before he came along. I mean, I assume that we will continue to be cool, fun people after he's here, but just in case...

Billy Joel at the Hollywood Bowl - I'm not sure that attendance at a Billy Joel concert really supports my claim that we are fun, cool people, but whatever.

 

Wynonna at The Annenberg - again, perhaps not the hippest artist, but free, outdoor concerts are always a good time. Also - I can't lie, The Judds' Greatest Hits album is my jam.

Jay-Z and Beyonce's On The Run tour - ok, I should get some points for this one. Thanks to the fact that Jay-Z's musical director is a Korg artist, Tom was able to get us passes to the On the Run show at the Rose Bowl. This was a spectacle like I have never seen before. 

I never get that worked up about going to shows, but this was pretty awesome. We had all-access wristbands, so we hung out backstage (and on stage!) beforehand, and then watched the show from the floor and side stage. If I weren't afraid of The Beygency, I might have tried to find Queen B's wig room... Forgive the amount of pictures I'm about to drop in here - I was really excited about this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 No Doubt - thanks again to Tom's connections, we got to go to the "friends and family" dress rehearsal for No Doubt's performance at the Global Citizen Festival in New York. The dress rehearsal was at The Forum, and because Tom is the coolest, we also had Forum Club passes where we got to enjoy snacks that included a cake with pictures of the band members on it.

{You will have to take my word for it that that is Gwen Stefani. You should also know that she seems to be aging backwards. Don't Speak!}

Jamestown Revival at Way Over Yonder - if you have not already had the pleasure, go buy this album now. So good. Perfect music for a fall Saturday on the pier in Santa Monica...

 

I shall leave you with this barely discernible photo of Gwynth Paltrow, GOOP herself, on stage with Holly Williams who was opening for Jason Isbell at The Roxy.

LA is weird.

Soooo, I'm Pretty Much a Rock Photographer Now

Last Friday night, Tom had to go to a show at the Fonda to take some pictures of Nicole Atkins, a Yamaha artist, using her prized Yamaha gear. To do this, he had to get a photo pass since the Fonda is fancy like that. The photo pass gets you down in front of the stage for the first three songs of each set; it also means that the burly bouncer won't yell at you and try to take your camera away.

Nicole was the opener, and she was great. She was funny, and she has great hair, and the girl can sing. So not fair. While I reflected on the great injustice of my inability to carry a tune enjoyed the show, Tom got some great shots.

After Nicole's set, Tom peeled the photo pass off his shirt, stuck it to mine, and pushed me into the photo pit to photograph the headliners, a band called The Eels. I felt incredibly awkward at first since there were several legit photographers with huge, fancy cameras maneuvering around down there, but I managed to stay out of the way and have some fun. The moral of the story is that Tom is an excellent, supportive husband who realizes that sometimes I need a little push, literally in this case.

Now, I had never heard of The Eels before last Friday, but I'm assuming that my photos will launch them to the heights of rock superstardom.

{I'm not sure what's going on here, but I think that Eel wants a hug.}

Being the sweet and supportive husband that he is, Tom captured my first foray into rock photography for posterity. Here I am pretending like I know what I'm doing.

Summer, Part II

Where was I? Oh yeah, that summer where I did stuff but totally neglected this blog. Onward.

There was a bridal shower.

There was a new band. Meet The Walcotts.

There was a traumatic amputation - my dad lost half of his left ring finger in a battle with a porch chair. Fortunately, he has quite a good sense of humor - my sister and I received this photo via text after the bandages came off.

 

There were trips to the beach and Neptune's Net.

There was a fourth anniversary followed by a trip to San Francisco to celebrate with a couple of my favorite people.

There was some exploring of downtown and the discovery of a new favorite bar.

{best drink ever}

There were also a couple of weddings, but those deserve their own post. Almost caught up...