Rockin’ the Tee Box Music Festival
Great way to end the summer in Jackson, Michigan.
concert
On Greatest Hits
You know that new thing where a band goes out on tour and plays an entire classic album of theirs live?
For the fans, it’s great, especially if it’s a truly beloved and well-known album. It’s a well-worn reminder of why you love the band and their music.
What if we could go back and try our hands at an old project, and reinterpret it years later?
William Christenberry made a career out of it, coming back to the same location year after year, watching it fall apart.
I often wonder what i would do if I took my life-changing Route 66 roadtrip and did it all over again, but with the photo skills I have now. It would probably be a longer trip out of necessity.
Pulling over, after all, takes time.
A greatest hits in photos, knowing what I know now? Let’s hit the road.
Ghost
Had a chance to see one of my favorite recent discoveries, Ghost, in Grand Rapids with my pals Don and Joe.
Ghost put on a great show in a small venue, and Papa was in rare form chatting with the crowd and encouraging us to enjoy our Friday night.
As Don pointed out, it was one of the calmest, most respectful crowds we had ever seen. Everyone was there to have a good time. And there was even a kid! That’s good parenting.
I haven’t been able to shut up about Ghost since discovering them last summer. It was so great to see them perform live. They have the Satanic shtick, but deep down there fantastic musicians and great songwriters.
Brian Vander Ark Live
Brian Vander Ark is one of my musical heroes. He’s a local guy (from Grand Rapids, Michigan) who has worked awfully hard to get where he’s at.
It starts with The Verve Pipe, of course. Everyone’s heard The Big Hit, but the whole Verve Pipe catalog is great. I catch them (almost) every year in Ferndale, Michigan, for their holiday concert.
Brian takes his solo show on the road, and a few weeks back he came to Albion to perform at the restored Bohm Theatre.
Channing and Quinn joined him on stage for a few trio songs, too, and the whole show was really great. Brian snuck a few Verve Pipe songs into the set, and lot of his solo songs and covers.
He put on a great show for the audience that turned out on a spring Sunday evening, and it was great to shake hands with him before the show and introduce myself.
Big Show
Neon Hitch and Mike Posner, performing at Albion College’s annual Big Show concert.
One of my favorite projects to shoot all year.
Spock’s Beard
Sure, prog rock was kind of dorky back in the early 2000s (or 1970s, or…). But no one had more fun on stage than Spock’s Beard back in the day.
Skip to 0:55:00 for the best version of “Waste Away” I’ve seen. So fun.
I saw them live, opening up for Dream Theater, at the Phoenix Plaza in Pontiac, MI, the summer of 2000. And from there, I went on to buy V and it changed my life.