For me, compositions like this are so much more fluidly achieved at small shows in a way that never really seems to click on the high and brightly lit stages of big tours.
While I do love a nice treatment of blazing spotlights and pyrotechnics, sometimes you just have to go back to basics. For me, this was shooting a tiny club with just simple incandescent cans, standing room only, and a one-foot stage. In the basement of a university student center. And in a venue that was part of the cafeteria.
So it was that I photographed indie darlings Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, whose 2006 release Broom received the nod from the likes of SPIN and Pitchfork, along with the openers Flaming Death Trap.
Photographer's Notes:
Dive and all, I loved photographing this show. While the lights left a bit to be desired, there was just something entirely satisfying about the experience.
I often get asked if I only photograph big shows in arenas, amphitheaters, and large clubs – and though I love photographing the big productions at these events, they're not the whole story.
While it seems like I only shoot in tiny clubs like this a few times a year now, shows like this are how I got my start in concert photography and I'm definitely glad that I picked up this assignment.
