Last Wednesday, RCT held one of its American Showcase series of intimate singer, songwriter shows. I thought I’d attend, and I considered whether to take the camera. I considered it for maybe 10 seconds. If I don’t take it, I can’t take any photos. If I do, then I can decide not to take photos (yeah, right!).
Brandon Sampson was largely responsible, I’m told, for the existence of this series of concerts. He’s a terrific singer/songwriter, almost exactly what you think of when you hear that term. I had just seen Brandon a few days earlier at a benefit for flood victims from our recent huge rain storm. Folks who give back to their community are special, and those who bring such a rich talent to such events deserve our admiration.
Two of the other musicians were both named Ben. This Ben had a huge flower attached to his guitar. Yes, I was absolutely required to take a photo of the flower. How could I not?
Martin Zellar has been to these concerts before. He’s a wonderful songwriter and, judging from the response, has a large local following. Local boy makes it big. I believe he’s from Austin, MN although, as something of a newcomer to Minnesota (only 18 years), I don’t know all the lore. But I thoroughly enjoyed Martin.
I enjoy shooting concerts. I always have. I remember shooting at some big name concerts years and years ago, when no one cared if you took photos of Chicago or The Beach Boys. Or Bob Dylan. Shooting concerts is challenging, but it’s not a whole lot different than the show photos I shoot at least as far as the lighting is concerned. When shooting show photos, I can have folks stay still and push my shutter speed a bit. You don’t have that luxury at a live event.
I sometimes notice something that just strikes me. It’s different, unlikely to be photographed by others, and it still is a part of the event. I doubt anyone would pay me for a big wall print of this, but it pleases me in some weird way.
Something I like to do at concerts is find moments that are more reflective. A glance, or in this case, Martin just listening. We sometimes are completely focused on the person performing, or the lead, or the guy doing the guitar solo. But there are other people on stage, and I like to capture their moments outside the spotlight, as it were. Being people. Listening. Contemplating.
Probably what I enjoy the most at these concerts are the songs that become more of a jam. Each performer takes turns singing one of his (or her) songs. They do this round robin. But sometimes, usually starting with Brandon, others will join in. A bit of harmony on the guitar or maybe voice. A light background harmonica. Years ago, I played percussion and loved when a group of musicians just makes great music together, unrehearsed, spontaneous. It’s magic. And that’s the feeling I have again at these events when that happens.
After they ended, the applause continued and the group came back on stage for an encore. They played Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison, led by Martin. It was a great end to the night. I think some of the patrons stuck around, but it was a work night. So, I grabbed my camera and headed home with a few hundred images to sort through. I hope you like my favorites here.
