This was my first time seeing George Clinton live,
thought I knew of him, and, as I found out at the show, I definitely knew some of his music. My instinct was to feel out of place because, going to punk/metal shows, one tends to be surrounded by nerdy white kids and scantily-clad groupie-girls (well, the latter DID make an appearance at the George Clinton show), but I felt a lot of warm energy in the room. Since there is no photo pit at Toad’s, I had to scout the crowd for a relatively unobstructed place to park. I managed to find a great spot, three “rows” back from the stage, directly behind someone in a wheelchair, which gave me lots of camera clearance.
Sure, I ran into a lot of rude, drunken, enthusiastic fans, and though my misanthropic self was really coming out, I still managed to enjoy myself. It was a hell of a long set, (I think the “encore” was over an hour and a half) but you couldn’t help but groove to the music. This show definitely kept me on my toes, as high college kids would frequently rush the stage, pushing me into drunken, sweaty fans, and I often kept my camera at neck level to prevent drinks from getting spilled on it. And bless those Toad’s Place bartenders who would find their way through the crowds to take drink orders.
Specs: I ALMOST left the house with just a borrowed Sigma 10mm and a Tokina 11-17, but opted to also add in the often-neglected 50mm. I’m so glad I did, because it was the 50 that helped get some stellar shots that I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to get. The f/1.8 really helped in some of the low-light situations, but I still found myself constantly changing my settings. I managed to keep an auto-white balance, but I kept all other settings at manual since lighting was so unpredictable and Aperture-Priority just wouldn’t cut it.
Side note: I didn’t actually NEED a photo pass this time around, which I found highly unusual for a venue as Toad’s Place. This makes me think that next time, I’ll bring the flash and hot-shoe cord and see what happens.
Check out the rest of the pics, as well as the review of the George Clinton show on They Will Rock You.