Ice Cream Man

This was the first year that Live 105‘s Not So Silent Night took over Oakland’s Oracle Arena. It’s twice the size as the old venue, the San Francisco Civic Center. Even with such modern rock staples as The Killers and Death Cab, I wondered if they’d be able to fill such a large venue with such expensive tickets on a Thursday night in such a poor economy. Parking alone was $25, and the convenience fee for tix was almost $20. Clearly, I know nothing about concert promotion, as the event was completely sold out, and the parking lot packed.

I was frustrated from the start as I hadn’t anticipated needing $25 cash to park, and traffic was horrible getting to Oakland, especially at such an early hour. All the info I had indicated the doors were at 6:30, but I arrived at 6:35 and to my disappointment the local band contest winner had already come and gone, and Jack’s Mannequin had taken the stage promptly at 6:30. I would have needed to be there 15 minutes early to have made it in to shoot them. I’m not normally a big fan of piano pop, but I’ve heard that Andrew McMahon is quite the showman, and I’d also promised my babysitter that I’d get a close-up of this teen heart-throb for her daughter. I tried to remain upbeat as I shivered outside the venue with a dozen or so other confused photographers like myself. As disappointed as I was to miss Jack’s Mannequin, it was all made up for when I literally bumped into Andrew outside an elevator when trying to make my way to the meet and greet. Andrew couldn’t have been kinder, and even posed for a few shots for me as we waited for the elevator. Stories like this remind me that great things can happen even when things don’t go as planned.

I’ve never shot at the Oracle Arena before, and the photo pit they’d created was incredibly narrow for no apparent reason. Fortunately, most of my fellow photographers were very courteous, and we managed to all get along just fine in our cramped little pit.

Franz Ferdinand was the highlight of the evening. Lead singer Alex Kapranos had a slick new ‘do, and the band was very tight. The most well-received songs, such as “Take Me Out” and “This Fire,” all hailed from the band’s 2004 eponymous debut. I’ve only heard one or two songs of their new release, but their great performance motivated me to add their new CD to my holiday wish list.

This show saw clearly on a very tight schedule. Each group played for 35 – 40 minutes, a 15 minute break and then on to the next. Bloc Party took the stage right on time. Their set was enjoyable, but I must confess I only know their most popular ditties, the 2 or 3 songs that have been on modern rock radio over the past few years.

Next was my favorite quartet, Death Cab for Cutie. This was the third time I’d seen them this year, and it’s always a pleasure. Death Cab was the crowd’s favorite act of the evening.this is the tail end of their “Narrow Stairs” tour and they seemed a bit tired compared to their spring and summer performances. However, their rendition of “I WIll Possess Your Heart” had indeed improved with age as I’d hoped and predicted.

The Killers wrapped things up. They didn’t allow anyone to photograph them , and my mother taught me if you can’t think of anything nice, then don’t say anything at all. ‘Nuff said.