My son and I caught the Finals for the Mid-Atlantic Battle of the Bands at Jammin Java in Vienna VA last night.  The place was filled with talent as each band took the stage.  First up were Kill the Alarm out of New York.  A band I had really wanted to see since downloading their album and after hearing how well they did in the preliminary round.  They did not disappoint.  Up next were Brightwork out of Charlotsville VA, followed by The Dirty Jacks from Rockville, Md and Buster Brown and the Get Down from Arlington VA.

Its tough to say one was better than the other but in the end it was hard to deny that The Dirty Jacks out of Rockville, Md really rocked the house.

Augustana played the 9:30 Club last Saturday night to a packed house until well past midnight.  Two summers ago I stumbled upon this fabulous band while attending a Counting Crows concert at Wolf Trap for the Performing Arts.  The Crows seemed to be the same ol, same ol, but every time Augustana took the stage they stole the show, at least for me.  I downloaded 2 of their albums after that performance and have loved them ever since.  Lead singer/songwriter and guitarist, Dan Layus, has an absolute unwavering set of vocals that just chills you to the bone and sounds as smooth as honey.  Every tune was sweet as the next and Augustana did not disappoint the crowd playing favorites Hey Now, Sweet and Low, and Boston.  My personal favorite of the evening was a ripping and rocking version of Shot in the Dark off their new self titled album.

Hey Now – Dan Layus

Jay Barclay

Jay seemed somewhat conservative through the first 4 tunes before really letting it all hang out through the rest of the show.

I grabbed the latest band member names from Wiki (I’m sure someone will correct me if I’m wrong).  The band has had some turnover in the last year.  I don’t believe their FB page is up to date.  During the evening Dan joked about not being part of the FB world or Twitter.  I don’t blame him….but I’m guilty.

I went with my almost 17 year old rock guitarist son as he really wanted to check out the venue.  He was so-so on his knowledge of Augustana and new nothing of the two openers.  He walked away totally pumped after seeing all three perform along with a new dream of his own to someday play the 9:30.

The boys played non-stop with the exception of what appeared to be, the bass player needing to take a bathroom break.  During this time Dan provided an update to his personal life (all the while tickling the keys), very pleased to be 27, married with three kids and a beautiful wife whom he missed so GD much!  He’s a very passionate person and fabulous keyboardist as well……..and only 27!

There were several comical exchanges taking place on stage….they were truly having a great time.

Jordan Lamoureux – bass

Brother David Lamoureux knocking the snot out of his drums.  Fantastic performance.

I’m always amazed at how venues have changed their policies towards cameras/audio/video.  Why do they even put signs up saying they are not allowed?  Dan just prior to playing new material that had not been recorded yet, joked about how quickly it would end up on utube – “oh that was so 30 seconds ago.”

Dan the Man melting hearts with “Sweet and Low“

Maddie Freeman, Kelly Rosenthal,  & Taylor Broom

We were treated first to Say Chance out of Baltimore Md.  Harmonies were great as was the music.  Looking to see much more out of these three young ladies in the years to come.  Check them out HERE.  Say Chance was my son’s most visually appealing band of the evening ; )  He came home and downloaded their 3 song EP right away and checked out their Utube Vid.  Great job ladies.

Graffiti 6

Taking the stage after the ladies was a new sound I had never heard.  I didn’t know what to think at first.  A little popish, a little rockish, some soul and R&B,……but then more rockish and they were really groovin’.  I started to get a little hooked.  Came home and downloaded their latest and am now cleanng my house to it!  Don’t you just love iTunes?  Go check out their new vid on his my space page.  Graffiti 6 is headed up by Brit Jamie Scott on vocals, TommyD on lead guitar, Pete Cherry on bass, and Leonn Meade on Drums.

Jamie and Pete.

Jamie’s a handsome guy and the girls really dig him…..personally I thought he should lose the hat and show us the full on Jamie!

Fabulous on the keys as well and I dig the logo.

Photo Geek Speak:  This was my first time shooting in the 9:30 club and it was challenging to say the least.  The venue itself is fabulous for enjoying the performance without a bad viewing area in the place.  Since there is no barricade for a photo pit you have two choices, shoot from the balcony, or plant yourself at the foot of the stage and shoot from that spot for the remainder of the night.  I chose the former as I thought I could get the most versatility from my position with my 70-200mm lens.  I shot wide open all night at f2.8 and rolled my iso anywhere from 1600 to 6400 constantly looking for the sweet spot that allowed for a sharp image.  These were the best of the best.  At one time I ventured to the floor while my son saved our spot at the balcony bar (the best seat in the house).   I tried to shoot from stage left and managed to get a few keepers.  With the floor being packed it was tough to move around at all.  I also had a 50mm prime f1.4 lens that I used but it just didn’t get me close enough.  I opted for my Canon 7D rather than the 5D Mark 2 as the 7D is known for being able to focus better in low light, and is faster on the trigger.  I love my Canon, but yearn to try a Nikon D3S with a 70-200mm f2.8 VR lens.  Its the hot one for concert photography.  I am still happy with my results and its darn fun to see great performances and be able to shoot them.

Click the image to see it BIG!

Working on some new techniques.  Very happy with my progress.  Really loving the portraiture, especially with bands and sports.  Here is my son starring in 4th grade basketball.

My very dear niece (and Godchild) Caitlin dropped in on me the other day to play in the studio.  She wanted me to capture some images she could use in future literature with her ministry work.

Caitlin is currently a senior at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, PA.   She will soon graduate this spring with a Masters of Divinity, and begin the call process to an Evangelical Lutheran in America (ELCA) congregation somewhere in the United States.  She will be assigned to one of 9 ECLA Regions on February 22 (Ash Wednesday) and soon thereafter will be matched with a bishop and a synod.  From there, she hopes to receive paperwork from open congregations and begin the interview process.  She expects to be ordained sometime this summer, at which point her official title will be the Reverend Caitlin Glass!  While she will be very honored with her new title she would prefer to be called something more candid such as “Pastor Caitlin Glass” or just “Pastor Glass”.

Caitlin is an absolute sweetheart with an infectious smile and a certain cheerfulness that lights up a room when she walks in.  My wife and I greatly enjoyed her visit.  The Lutheran Church is lucky to have her.  Needless to say her parents, brothers and sisters are very proud of her as is her extended family.  We wish her all the luck in the world in her journey.

The Pat McGee Band reunited for another night of music, humor, friends and fun at the Birchmere last Saturday to a sold out crowd.  (See post from the first night HERE).  I had not originally planned to attend but Friday’s show was so good and so much fun with my wife that she encouraged me to return with our son (a teenage rock guitarist) to show him what a truly polished band and great sound system/venue looks like and to inspire him to reach for his dreams.  Through the power of social media (Pat’s Fan Page) and my new PMB fan/friend Jeff Dennis, I was able to score some tickets.  So off we went to see a great show.  We sat up front stage left.  The Birchmere is tight and not really conducive to scooting around with your camera.  I shot from my seat all night….and I DO try to be discreet and not interfere with other’s views of the band.  I had no problems walking in with my Canon 7D and lots of fast glass!  Made for a much more fun evening and better images.  Enjoy!

Man of the hour…..er….the next 4 hours; Pat McGee

John Small on the Big Bass.

Big Al Walsh smiling all night long.  He would treat us both nights with a solo James Taylor hit.  If you closed your eyes you would swear JT was singing in front of you.

The highly energetic Chardy McEwen on the Bongos.

Step aside Bon Jovi, its the San Antonio Rose……Jonathan Williams.

Drummer Nate Brown kept the beat all night and then some….treating the crowd to a heart pounding solo/duet with Chardy towards the end of the evening.

Can you feel the love?  Michael Ghegan melting hearts on the Sax.

Pat is known for pausing at times to share a humorous story or two about early life on the road with his bandmates.  Sometimes he digresses into stories of his early youth and life growing up in Northern VA.  His stories ring especially true for me as I ran around some of the same streets as he in my youth.  I am roughly 9 years older, attended the very same Catholic School (my baby sister was in his grade), and many of my friends went off to O’Connell High School as I entered the public school system at Thomas Jefferson (now a magnet school in Nova – Pat’s sister Darcie was our soccer team manager – 30 years later I would make the connection they were brother and sister).  His stories of CYO basketball, swim team in Fairfax, or driving around looking for the elusive keg party could have been written from my own story.  I’ll bet ‘ol Pat even spent an evening or two with his friends on top of the old Pinecrest Golf course (before it was developed).  Being younglings with no place to go we would drag our coolers up there and stay late into the evening rolling around on the green like something out of a John Cougar Mellencamp song.  On a clear July night you could see the fireworks surrounding the Washington Monument!  Oh to be a kid again.

No shortage of attractive women, young and seasoned, enjoying PMB.  Many were obvious long time fans and new every word to every song.  I swear at one time I saw a gentle tear roll down this fans face.  A moving performance.

Please, no cameras or video in the venue : )  How times have changed.

Patrick McAloon joined Pat on stage once again for two different tracks from Pat’s new album.  Towards the end of their set they seemed to engage in a sing off trying to best each other on the high end of the scale.  Despite McGee’s terrific range, I believe McAloon bested him in the end….but only by a little.  I spent a few minutes in the lobby talking with this delightful young man, very appreciative of being part of the music scene.

The very talented Tony Lucca, who performed a terrific solo set of his own prior to PMB, returned for the encore performance, Rebbecca, to a standing/dancing/shouting crowd.

For the ladies.

(my son: “why are you taking a picture of his butt?”  me: “leave me alone, I’m an artist and its a cool shot.”)

Proud brother Hugh looks on.

You can almost hear that bass resonating.

I greatly enjoyed how each member plays off the other.  Many times improvisation would take over.  What starts as tuning your guitar might turn into a Prince intro……or even a fun rendition of Eye of the Tiger.  The second to last song of the night was Paul Simon’s Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes.

Pat made sure he expressed his appreciation for everyone’s support along the journey…..and once again thanked his parents, dancing in the front row, for their belief in his dreams.

After the show, my son was adamant about meeting Pat.  I did not think it was possible figuring Pat would be mobbed as any successful front man would be.  But he was in the lobby, and graciously spent just a moment speaking with a star struck young guitarist with dreams of his own….a moment in time that just may influence my son’s own musical journey.  Kinda sounds like a youthful Pat McGee story don’t ya think?

Pat McGee and fellow band members remain a class act.  I’m hooked….what the heck took me so long?

(more photos can be found on my FB Fan Page HERE)

If you like what you see, consider leaving me a comment on this blog.  I love to read your feedback.  And yes…..I am for hire.  If you have an event you need coverage for, let’s talk.  Thanks for stopping by.

Pat McGee reunited with old friends for a sold out show at the Birchmere in Arlington VA.  (See an earlier post on Pat HERE).  The show was nothing short of fabulous as Pat and company took a stroll down memory lane in music and story to keep the crowd entertained for hours.  It reminded me of a Bruce Springsteen show of old when you walked away feeling like you got every penny’s worth of entertainment you possibly could.  The hits just kept coming and just when you thought we were headed for the end we were reminded they were just warming up.  A break in the action allowed for some solo performances by Al Walsh doing a James Taylor hit, Jonathan Williams with a country tune he wrote in honor of his father, and a duet with Pat and Rhode Islander Patrick McAloon performing two hits off Pat’s latest album No Wrong Way to Make It Right.  John smalls was groovin’ on bass, often switching to a six string so large it “needed its own zip code!”  Michael Ghegan was masterful with both sax and tenor sax as was Chardy McEwan and Nate Brown handling percussion and drums.

It was a happy, energetic time.  This was my first visit to the Birchmere.  I’ve only been trying to get there for….uh….30 years.  The venue was top notch as was the staff.  The music mixed to perfection with out being overly loud, and the L.E.D lights cast a delightful glow on its stars all night to include the drummer who is often missed with the spotlight.  His lighting was perfect and as my wife said, gets the award for having a great time as he smiled all night long.

Photo Geek Speak:  I like to shoot shows.  The Birchmere website and signs indicate a strict policy for no cameras or recording devices.  I often wonder if this is just a sign of the past as no sooner did I get in, out popped cellphones, point and shoots, and even some big DSLR cameras.  I was really missing my high end Canon equipment as I had great seats.  But I did have my little Panasonic Lumix which is a great little camera.  Its great at capturing low light activities (with no lash) that I can clean up in both Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.  I would love an opportunity to shoot these guys in a venue such as the Birchmere or other….with the right equipment.  The Birchmere is pretty tight as far as moving to take a photo, so all my shots are from my seat on stage right.  I was not able to capture Al, Chardy, and Nate to my liking.

Darn good show.  Can’t say enough.  Met some very cool people, had a great time with my wife, sister, brother-in-law, friend and introduced myself to Mr. and Mrs. McGee.  I went to high school with their daughter (my sister went to grade school with Pat).  Enjoy!

Pat McGee

Michael Ghegan

John Small (bass) and Jonathan Williams

The highly coveted Bayou Brick of which only three were made…..or so the story goes.  Pat keeps his in his back pocket for good luck.  It certainly worked last night, not that he needed it.

Pat Sommers Rock Shop kicks off their 2012 Tour at Jammin Java in Vienna VA on January 14 (1:30 PM).  Six bands with many talented musicians, singers, and performers.  Makes for a great time.  Tickets can be purchased HERE.  See you there.

Graham Colton performs at Jammin Java to a packed house……and included all his hits!  12-9-11

The Angelic Maggie

Always a pleasure to attend an acoustic performance by young musicians with the Pat Sommers Rock Shop.  Pat’s new studio in Tyson’s Corner VA never looked better and sounded sooo good as one by one his kids took the stage and performed hit after hit.  “Unfinished Business” was like a step back in time as they played songs from Meat Loaf, Kansas, Aerosmith, The Pretenders, and even a little Ozzy and Judas Priest….many others.  The music was fabulous as were the kids and the crowd.

These are a few of the best images from the evening.  Shooting was challenging as the mood was very low.  I shot most of the night with a Canon 7d and 5d Mark 2 anywhere from 3200 to 6400 iso with a 24-70mm f2.8 lens, a 70-200mm f2.8 lens, and a 50mm f1.4 lens.  No flash.  Minimal tweaking was required.  I did clean up some of the noise in photoshop.

You can catch these kids again this January 14 at Jammin Java in Vienna where they are expected to kick it up a notch with an all electric show.  You don’t want to miss out.  Tickets are on sale right now and you can pick yourself up some right here: TICKETS.

More photos from the night can be found on my FB fan page HERE.

Andie and Josh.

Danny playin’ the blues.

The multi-talented Dibbles

Tim!

 Andrew and Katie.

Bill Kirchen is truly still having Too Much Fun after decades of rock and roll.  He and buddies Jack (drums) and Maurice (bass) played to a packed house at Jammin’ Java in Vienna VA for their annual Honkey Tonk Holiday Show.  He did not disappoint!  The Austin-American Statesman said it best when describing his genre of music; ”

“Bill Kirchen rules.
It’s just that simple.
[His] no-nonsense diesel guitar attack, powered by great booming, bottom-heavy licks still covered with axle grease, is undoubtedly the real thing, scattering scorching guitar runs in all directions, it’s all immediate, in your face and more than a little dangerous.”

Add to that a little rock and roll Holiday music “played in the key of dispair” and your in for a very fun evening!

I first discovered Bill whilst hanging with my high school buds back in ol’ Annandale at the Sunset Grill – 25 or so years ago.  My wife hired he and his band Too Much Fun for my 40th birthday.  He is still kickin’ it and its always a pleasure to see him perform.  Among his many crowd favorites is “Hot Rod Lincoln.”  Yes indeed the same tune recorded with Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen back in 1972 (I was 9 years old and spun this 45 on my record player non-stop.)  You can read more about Bill on Wiki HERE.  And check out his music HERE.

Bill always finishes off the evening with his trusty trombone, parading up and down the aisles, giving everyone in attendance a close up performance.  I didn’t see anyone moving towards the doors until the last lick was done. – Happy Holidays