I love seeing other photographer’s work. This touring season, some stellar images of the No Doubt/Paramore tour caught my attention. The lighting looked amazing. Gwen and Haley looked like incredible performers. The stage seemed pristine. I wondered what kind of moments I’d be able to capture, if given the chance. Somehow I’d decided that the No Doubt tour was like the X Games for concert photographers, and I had to compete!
The “qualifying rounds” were by far the most difficult. It took a lot of online research to track down the right folks to request the pass. I was polite but incredibly persistent, and I’m happy to report my patience paid off. I got my credentials confirmed the day before the show, and it made my day. I warmed up for the big even by shooting a concert in almost complete darkness the evening before. I couldn’t wait for the big event…
The photographers were instructed to arrive no later than 7pm night of the show. I wondered about the early meet-up, but was happy to comply. Lucky for me, Shoreline Amphitheatre is just a few miles from my suburban home, so I even had time for a great vegetarian dinner at Garden Fresh with my family before beginning the shoot. Those two miles took me a thirty minutes to drive, but with the help of great parking karma, I made it to the front gates right on time. It was a relief to know that Shoreline’s media contact is still the same friendly gal that it has been for the past three years I’ve been shooting there. It’s such a load of your mind when you know things with the venue will run smoothly.
This was one of those large shows where the photographers are only allowed for the first three songs of each act. We’d all walk in together, and then march out together after the first three. We repeated this procession for each of the three bands. It reminded me of going on a preschool field trip, except we didn’t need to pair up and hold hands! By round three when we were headed down to the photo pit for No Doubt, there were fifteen photographers and five large bouncers in a tiny little photo pit. The stage at Shoreline is very low – only three feet high, so we all needed to crouch while we shot. Otherwise we cast large shadows over the front of the stage.
The crowd was really excited when No Doubt finally took the stage. So was I. The band built up the anticipation by taking the stage behind a large white sheet, casting 50 foot tall shadow silhouettes on the screen. In an instant the screen dropped, the band took their instruments and the show began.
We only had three songs to photograph, and were promptly (but courteously) escorted out when our songs were up. It seems like it would be unfair to try and review this show in a traditional manner, as I really didn’t “see” it. I was intently focused behind my lens for the ten minutes of the show I saw. I was out and on my way home by 10pm, and in my front door by 10:10. At least there was plenty of time left to edit the shots.
I stayed up till 4am editing the shots. While I didn’t have the flexibility to move about and follow Gwen across the photo pit, I still got many No Doubt shots I was happy with. Kudos to the stage and lighting designer – it was an entirely different shooting experience working with such bright clean light and such an uncluttered monochrome stage at a rock concert. Hope you enjoy the photos!
