I'm back in Montreal, but it's taken some time to get here.
The idea was to take a red-eye from San Diego to Newburgh, New York, so I could spend some time with my Dad. I was going to be flying through Philadelphia. No sweat, I thought. I'd sleep on the first leg of the trip. Well, I did.
A little.
It seems as though “Amy”, who's probably a darling little child when she's at home, was an absolute menace seated behind me. What really got me is that her mother was even worse, as it damn-near took me to threaten her before she told her 6-year old demon-seed child to stop kicking the back of my chair. When the kid was asleep, all was cool. But when Satan's spawn was awake, it was tough to deal with. I finally had to turn to the mother and say, not so quietly, “TELL YOUR KID TO STOP”.
She did.
The flight from Philly to Newburgh was about as uneventful as a flight can get. Hey, it's only an hour, gate to gate. We landed in Newburgh and I made my way to the car rental counter.
Now, when I rent a car, I always ask (and only half-jokingly) “Any complimentary Corvette upgrades today?” Ninety percent of the time that question is met with a chuckle and a “Oh, I'm sorry sir, no”, and that's fine. Hey, they can't say no if I don't ask, and Alice, in fact, gave me that very answer on Thursday morning. “If you're looking for something sporty, though, I do have a Camaro, although it's another 13 dollars a day.”
Hell, I spend $13.00 a day on coffee. Sign me up.
It wasn't until I got to the car that I discovered that it was a convertible. And it was Fire Engine Red.
And it was sweet:
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| And it's really freaking fast, too... |
So, I get my luggage loaded, drop the top, fire up the Tom Tom, and head out to my Dad's. It was a glorious sunny day in New York, and I just know all those people I was blowing past were envious and jealous. I got to my Dad's a little later than I'd planned, but we met up with my Aunt and hit the Longhorn Steakhouse for an early dinner.
After dinner, Dad and I went over to Cafe 32; a “must visit” locale on any trip I make to my Dad's place. Bert is from Cuba, and he's one of the finest chefs I know. He makes a Cubano sandwich that's so good it'll make you cry. Anyway, Dad and Bert are very good friends, and it's always good to visit and tell war stories and other lies. I'm already looking forward to heading back down that way this coming weekend.
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| Bert and Dad... |
After spending some time with my Dad, I made my way up to Saratoga Springs, New York, to do some concert shooting. I was anxious to check out how the Canon 5D would perform in that environment, and I'm pleased to report that it performed remarkably well. As I suspected, the loss of the crop sensor made for a very different result, but one that I like equally as much as the crop sensor.
I got to the Saratoga Springs about 3:30pm, and met up with my good friend, Keith Rudyk, the guitar tech for Barenaked Ladies. He arranged for my “laminate” (basically an all-access pass), and we found our way back to the BNL dressing room, where I would leave my camera gear until I needed it. As I was milling around backstage, Ed Robertson, the lead singer for BNL, invited me to go on a Bar-B-Q quest with him and a couple of the other guys. Well, how could I pass that up? So, about 5:30pm, Ed, drummer Tyler Stewart, bassist Jim Creeggan and myself climbed into a Dodge Caravan and were whisked away to PJ's Bar-B-Q.
It's difficult to describe this place. I honestly think that Ed will put something on the Ladies' website about it, it was that cool. Let's just say that it's this roadside joint that has a never-ending line of traffic, and there's always a wait for a table. The coolest part about it, though, is WBBQ, their radio station. The owner of the place gets the cooking started, and then he's relieved of those duties while he operates what must be all of a nine watt radio station; it broadcasts about two square miles. The radio station is literally built into the side of a house on the grounds. It was so wacky as to be too damn cool.
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| Ed, Tyler and Jim, with a bag of PJ's swag, await the ride back to the SPAC... |
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| Ed Robertson, Tyler Stewart and Jim Creeggan meeting the proprietors, who dialed them in with PJ's Bar-B-Q trucker hats and t-shirts... |
We waited about ten minutes for a table, and then we were seated at a picnic table on the back patio, and place our orders.
Now, I'm supposed to be on a diet. Despite enjoying a ridiculously good pulled-pork sandwich, I still feel like I'm on a diet compared to what Ed, Jim and Tyler ordered. We're talking, quite literally, pounds of food here. I guess being a rock star lends itself to burning off some calories on stage, but this was a lot of food. They ended up bringing some back for members of the crew, too. These guys can eat.
After sitting there for about ten or fifteen minutes, one of the waitresses came up and asked if she could take a picture of the guys because her boyfriend, who she said is a huge fan, would never believe they were there. I wasn't about to step into the picture, so I offered to take the picture so she could be in it, as well. She said her boyfriend's head would melt. After a little while longer, a few more people approached them. I've heard of artists who get all bent out of shape and cop an attitude when that happens. Not these guys; Gracious and friendly throughout.
We got back to the SPAC about 6:30pm, and headed back to the dressing room. I gathered up my cameras and got out of everyone's way.
Also on the bill was Goo Goo Dolls. “The Goos” are a band I've wanted to shoot for some time, so I was pretty jazzed to get the chance. They couldn't have been more accommodating As soon as I told him I shot for Wood & Steel Magazine, Matt Miley, their Tour Manager, was quick to dial me in with a credential so I could shoot them, as well.
The Barenaked Ladies always put on a great show, and I always love shooting them. Halfway through their show at SPAC, though, something dawned on me. I've seen these guys in concert five times, but I was shooting them four of those times. I really need to leave the cameras home sometime and just enjoy the show.
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| Barenaked Ladies on stage in Saratoga Springs... |
Following their set, it was time to go out and get ready to shoot Goo Goo Dolls. The photo pit was an absolute nightmare; a mere one foot wide with six security guards dispersed throughout it. In order to get to a halfway decent piece of shooting real estate, I had to climb over two security guards (who were accommodating and pleasant, but still unfortunately placed from a photographer's perspective).
While BNL allows me to shoot from wherever I want for as long as I want (thanks, guys!), Goo Goo Dolls employed the standard “first three and out” rule. Despite shooting for only three songs, I still managed to shoot several hundred photos.
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| Goo Goo Dolls on stage at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center... |
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| Johnny Rzeznik of Goo Goo Dolls... |
Now, when I shoot outdoor shows (which this was), I'm usually in California, where the temperatures are mild and the humidity is low. I have to be honest: I moved from New York 30 years ago. I've stopped being accustomed to New York summers. I can deal with the heat, but the humidity was pretty brutal. All in all, in was about 88 degrees with 85 percent humidity. It was like breathing gravy. By the end of the night, I was in dire need of a shower, some gym shorts and a t-shirt, and some air conditioning.
I'd gotten done with my three songs from Goo Goo Dolls, so I went back to the BNL dressing room to pack up my gear. I had a beer with Keith and a couple of the other guys, and then they had to split. We walked up to their tour bus (they had about a ten hour ride back to Toronto) and said our goodbyes.
Now, my biggest problem with shooting concerts, interestingly enough, actually has nothing to do with shooting concerts. It's what happens after I shoot. As soon as I got back to my swanky suite at the Comfort Inn Clifton Park (said VERY tongue in cheek, by the way), I decided I would go ahead and download the photos from the evening and go to bed. Well, after they were downloaded, I said “Well, I'll just go ahead and look at some of them”. So I did. Then I said those words which I rue ever saying, yet I seem to say them every time: “Lemme' open up Photoshop for a minute”. Well, there's no such thing as a “minute” when I open up Photoshop. I got back to my hotel by 10:45pm, and I finally ended up going to bed about 3:00am.
I really gotta' stop saying things like that.
So, with the shooting out of the way, it was time to head to Montreal for the week. The drive was actually pretty relaxing, but something told me to leave the top up on the Camaro, and I'm glad I did. About 1:00pm the skies opened up. I would've looked pretty silly sitting on the side of the road trying to put the top up.
I crossed the border at about 2:00pm, and was in my hotel room, in Montreal, by 3:00pm.
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| Whatever you do, don't Sur Les Hachures, 'cause that would be bad. Apparently... |
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| Crossing the border from New York State into Quebec... |
But probably not until I have a Cubano or two...
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