I had no idea what to expect from Blue October and their performance at the Pageant, but I came away knowing what their die hard fans already knew before the show: These Texans put on one heck of a show.
Photographer's Notes:
Blue October were awesome to photograph. Frontman Justin Furstenfeld in particular was a fascinating and challenging subject, with tons of movement at the front of the stage.
While Justin's mic was set back a good 5-6 feet from the edge of the stage and I was initially worried about a static shoot, the singer spent a good deal of the first three songs engaging the fans – not only at the front and center, but going out all the way to the sides as well.
However, for all the great movement and activity Justin had at the front of the stage, the rest of the band hung back. As a result, I focused mainly on the frontman, who was also the best lit out of the group.
Oveall, lighting for Blue October was thick and atmospheric, with several LED arrays on either side of the stage. Another, “unofficial” lightsource for this show was a huge amount of flash from the audience. There was so much flash that it was easy to make several “catchflash” images at the start of the sent when Justin came out to greet the roaring crowd.
