Here We Go Again...

So, I failed in my attempt with the 365 Project two years ago. And if you couldn't tell, I haven't updated this thing for over a year.

Going to try my best to keep this thing up. Yes, again.  Third time's the charm, right?  I hope to use this blog as a way to share behind-the-scenes insight of the various events I attend with my camera, helpful concert photography tips, and maybe answer a few of those burning questions I get at shows, like "How did you get that photo pass?"  In addition to that, there will be documentation of my wanderlust and passion for baked goods. 

So, here we go again.  Another year, another birthday, another wish to be a consistent blogger with something of interest to say.

To kick the year off, here's a shot of my beautiful red velvet birthday cake, courtesy of Porto's Bakery.  "Happy Birthday Leslie" is written with chocolate atop a piece of white chocolate over rose petals.  Gorgeous.  Glad I got a photo in before it was immediately decimated:

Gentlemen of the Road / Monterey Stopover: August 25, 2012

OK, so I'm a terrible, terrible blogger. And just looking through the posts I placed here over the past couple of years, I sound like a wizened, cranky person telling kids to get off of her lawn.

I'm going to try this again, and keep tight-lipped on my whiny tendencies.

I am shooting more shows in my free time than I have in the past couple of years, and for the most part, I get to shoot what I like. I turned down a paying gig to shoot a local street festival so that I could drive, by myself, seven hours north to shoot a music festival for free. I think I made the right decision, even if it meant the inevitable seven hours drive south.

Here is the summary I wrote for LA Record that did not get published with my photos:

The Northern California town of Monterey saw an influx of dapper fans sporting tweed caps and jackets, as well as top hats and mustaches, both real and not. The Monterey County Fairgrounds was the last of four U.S. “Stopovers” for the Gentlemen of the Road festival curated by headliners Mumford & Sons. With the city steeped in Steinbeck, a major influence of M&S, and the venue home to the Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967, where Jimi Hendrix famously set fire to his guitar on the arena stage, the choice to have the event in a place with such rich history was no surprise.

The Monterey Stopover provided a relaxed atmosphere, alternating just eight bands on the bill between two stages so that one could potentially catch every artist’s full set. There were also lawn games, hammocks, and a fully operational carnival to also entertain the masses, the latter of which boasted rides taken from Michael Jackson’s infamous Neverland Ranch.

Mumford & Sons introduced the Stopover on the second stage and the first act of the afternoon, fellow UK group Slow Club. The Los Angeles sister trio Haim would play after, with both acts enjoying guest percussion duties from members of M&S.

The main stage, housed in the large rodeo arena, began the afternoon with Nashville’s Apache Relay, giving a chance for unofficial festival emcee Mike Harris to show off his famous guitar skills around frontman Michael Ford, Jr.’s vocals. The horn section of Mumford & Sons would later make an appearance during the set as well. San Francisco’s Two Gallants played immediately after.

The afternoon started to kick into high gear with Grouplove’s explosive set back on the second stage. Bodies were pressed tightly against the barrier, and everyone seemed to be screaming along with every word, reaching its pinnacle when the band played the raucous hit, “Tongue Tied.”

The focus then shifted back to the main stage, and the excitement could definitely be felt by all. Energetic, gypsy punkers Gogol Bordello barreled through like a tornado, and it didn’t take long for stuffed animal prizes and crowd surfers to go flying into the air. The band provided the ultimate “pirate party” before the main act of the day.

Evening finally fell upon Monterey, and it was time for the “gentlemen of the road” to take the stage. Marcus Mumford and bandmates sang from the shadows and dark in this perfectly rustic arena, starting with “Lover’s Eyes,” a new track from the anticipated new album, ‘Babel.’ Once the song’s climax was reached, the carefully placed stage lights turned on, and the band went into hit, “Little Lion Man.” The 90 minute set that combined well-loved songs and soon-to-be favorites, including new single “I Will Wait.” The set concluded with a cover of The Band’s “The Weight.”

The final act of the night, The Very Best, was now poised to close out the Monterey Stopover on the long-abandoned second stage, positioned by one of the venue’s exits. The band packed in as many high-energy songs as they could so as to not lose the momentum of their African-influenced dance party. The last song, and of the final U.S. Stopover, was Michael Jackson’s “Will You Be There.” Members of all the musical acts and working crew, including M&S, joined in to sing, dance, and celebrate their final evening together on the road.

MUMFORD AND SONS SETLIST:
Lover's Eyes
Little Lion Man
Roll Away Your Stone
White Blank Pages
Below My Feet
Timshel
I Will Wait
Lover of the Light
Thistle and Weeds
Ghosts That We Knew
Awake My Soul
Dust Bowl Dance

Encore:
Winter Winds
The Cave
The Weight (The Band cover)

There are way too many photos of this lovely day. You can view so much more on my Flickr, but here are some favorites:

PurpleStride Walk for Pancreatic Cancer: May 14, 2011

My friends started to volunteer for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network when they lost their mother to the disease last year. I had a wonderful opportunity to be one of the photographers for this year's PurpleStride Cancer Walk, which is put together by the organization. The energy and passion from all in attendance was quite overwhelming. So much so, I even started to tear up at certain points. I feel very honored to be asked to help out, and little did I know, I would end up also doing the walk!

Here are a few pictures from that great morning:

JEFF the Brotherhood at the Echo: May 11, 2011

I was told I didn't have to stay for the evening's headliners, The Greenhornes. If I had had more energy (or just lived closer), I would have stayed to check it out, and I was still debating on it, too.

When the first of *FOUR* bands for the evening took the stage, I slowly realized in my head I was getting a little too old for this. A bunch of kids quickly took to pushing and dancing, prompting another photographer to actually call security to get them thrown out.

I hadn't heard JEFF the Brotherhood before, but I was able to see photos, and I knew that it would be a pretty wild evening. There was still dancing and some pushing, which meant I lost my spot right smack in the middle and ended up off to the side. The band even asked for the house lights to go up briefly because the crowd was getting "a little aggro."

Not surprisingly, I was stepped on and shoved, and little did I know, I would later have a small chunk of my hair ripped out. Seriously. Not strands, but a small *CHUNK*.

Some photos from the evening:

Chris Robinson Brotherhood at Echoplex: May 9, 2011

Wow, four posts in less than 3 weeks?!? I'm trying!

Rollo and Grady is keeping me busy this month, and off again I went on assignment for them at the Echoplex to catch the Chris Robinson Brotherhood.

I only know a handful of Black Crowes tunes, and I definitely felt out of my element. In fact, a bespectacled boy in a blazer asked me if I knew any of the songs being played during the first half of the set, as he was apparently a Crowes fan, but had not heard the other material. It was embarrassing to admit I didn't know them, either. :P

Despite me not having the proper knowledge, Mr. Robinson and company were still engaging to me. And they kept rocking it. And then some. They probably played over two and a half hours, not counting the intermission between sets. It was a long evening, that's for sure. Not sure if I have the stamina to last through a show that doesn't get done until almost 1am!

Here are a few of my favorite shots of the evening. And if anyone knows the whereabouts of that blazer boy, please send him my way, as I'm a little bit above the "Missed Connections" section of Craigslist. ;)

Bat's Day at Disneyland: May 8, 2011

I'm a nerd living in Orange County, which makes sense that I have an annual pass to the Disneyland Resort. And with me completing all my Mother's Day duties on Saturday, I had free time on Sunday. Which I wisely used to check out Bat's Day going down at the park.

As it also turned out to be Mother's Day, it became a double whammy of visitors to the resort. I've never seen the wait to just get into the parking lot take so long!

Since it was pretty much impossible to navigate through the crowds, we stuck around to watch those dressed to the 13s congregate in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle for a picture. After they dispersed, so did we.

You can catch more shots on Flickr, but here are a few from today:

Charles Bradley and The Menahan Street Band at the Echo: May 4, 2011

When asked by music blog Rollo and Grady to shoot Charles Bradley at the Echo this past Wednesday night, I had no idea who he was. This is often the case these days when I'm sent out on a music shoot. Frankly, the name sounded like it could belong to a basketball player. I did find out later through some research that there was a former Boston Celtics player of the same name, so I wasn't too far off. But upon finding out Charles Bradley's record label was a subset of Daptone Records, it was all I needed to know I would be in for a treat.

Living a lot farther from Los Angeles than I used to be, plus just being plain older, makes one less apt and able to grab the camera equipment for a late evening of music. With no true opener except for a DJ, I arrived plenty early to secure a spot up front for the show.

Finally taking the stage 30 minutes after he was scheduled to, the band put on a fierce, sweaty, show for the young crowd. Charles Bradley seemed genuinely moved and touched by everyone in the venue, and expressed his love several times throughout the evening.

Reminding me of James Brown, Bradley shook all that he had and then some, so much so that his knee started to bleed through his white pants!

It was completely captivating. How can you not smile when you see a man in his 60s decides to stage dive into the crowd for his finale??

Some shots from the evening: