River City Extension: A band after my heart. First heard of these guys back in ’08 when I’d heard a clip of this boisterous folksy/punk sounding song “Clever and Quickness,” and they were playing a show in the basement of a house. I knew then that they would get big. And so far, I’ve been right: this summer, after having released their second album “The Unmistakable Man,” they’ve been touring unrelentlessly, earning them spots at Bombfest, The Warped Tour, SXSW and Bonnaroo. And to think, I JUST saw an acoustic RCE play a bar show last year. I’m so proud of them!

Portugal. The Man: Sometimes it’s nice to shoot bands who aren’t bouncing around on stage; less blur, more chances to get artsy, quiet shots, which can be nice. This trio was dwarfed by the enormous main stage, but the purply lights made for nice, soft visual effects.

Against Me! I was pretty psyched to see them for the first time and they absolutely did not disappoint. My only wish was that I could get more full shots of the band, and of each individual musician. But I’ll get my chance as I’m seeing them June 11 in Northampton! They played some great songs including “Pints of Guiness Make You Strong” (while I was in the pit!), “I Was A Teenage Anarchist,” and “From Her Lips To God’s Ears.”

The New Pornographers: Here’s one band that I knew OF, but until I knew I was shooting them, didn’t know much of their music. I created a bombfest youtube playlist and got REALLY into them. I need to add them to my must-listen-to-artists list.

Man Man: Another band that I only knew through my bombfest playlist, and the bizarre video for Rabbit Habbits. They were pretty cool to shoot. I love when musicians look into the lens of the camera, it always makes for a neat shot, and drummer Pow Pow (Christopher Powell) did just that. I would have stayed for their set longer, but I really wanted to go finish listening to the Against Me! set.

Neon Trees: I don’t care what anyone says, “Animal” is such a catchy tune. My fiancé and I have had this song in our head for the past month straight, and we’re constantly singing it out loud. I was honestly hoping that the singer wasn’t going to be a jerk, like the singer from Arcade Fire was to some poor photographer in the pit, some months back. Thankfully, Neon Trees was just a really energetic set to cover. Singer Tyler Glenn must think he’s the reincarnation of Michael Jackson, as his dance moves were definitely reminiscent of the late singer. The only thing that really tripped me up, technically, was the pale white skin, with dark clothes AND bright yellow jacket. I kept having to adjust my settings to keep up every time a blast of white stage lights hit!

Coheed and Cambria: Devil In Jersey City! Singer Claudio Sanchez’s wild hair completely covered his face while he was singing, giving him a very Cousin It appearance. The few times he tossed his hair back, I managed to sneak in a picture or two of his bare face, which seemed to be the challenge for this set!

Snoop: After the crowd booed New Orleans based bounce, self-proclaimed “Queen Diva” off the stage, (because, frankly, Hartford probably isn’t ready for a cross-dressing rapper) after 3 songs, the crowd had an abundance of time until Snoop was due to appear. His tardiness, 40 minutes, to be exact, made all of us photographers tired and ready to go home. When he finally did come out, I managed to get some decent shots. I hadn’t really been following Snoop too much, since his Doggystyle days, but it was still enjoyable.

After the Snoop set, I thought my legs were going to fall off. Had I rented a telephoto lens, I might have stuck around to get more crowd shots after the 3-song limit. It didn’t hit me until the next day that my two-day fantasy job was over. I had dreams about it days afterward. I wonder what the job market for concert photographers looks like? I would have to be competing (indirectly) against the likes of Todd Owyoung, but, I’d be living my dream.

Maybe someday…