Elton John – February 3rd, 2014 – Budweiser Gardens, London, Ontario
17 Saturday May 2014
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
in17 Saturday May 2014
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
in11 Sunday May 2014
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
in05 Monday May 2014
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inWas very excited to see Tom Petty for the very first time here in London Ontario – which was also his first visit to London ever!
07 Saturday Sep 2013
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
in25 Sunday Aug 2013
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inWell, in a nutshell, the Rolling Stones were a well oiled rock ‘n roll machine at this Toronto show. I don’t know about other shows on this tour, but this one certainly impressed. It looked like they had rehearsed for a long period of time and were serious about getting the music and the vibe right. Continue reading
09 Monday Jan 2012
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
in13 Saturday Aug 2011
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
in04 Monday Jul 2011
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
in21 Saturday May 2011
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
in21 Saturday May 2011
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inIan Anderson:
Unequivocally, Jethro Tull are one of my favourite bands – and this 2007 show at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario was the first time I had an opportunity to photograph them.
14 Monday Feb 2011
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inFrom the Thursday of the 2008 Rock the Park Festival in Harris Park, downtown London, Ontaro. Skid row followed Metal Queen Lee Arron (pics to follow), and ahead of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and headliners Sammy Hagar and the Waboritas (pics to also follow for both).
Good performance, may have been hampered in that they did not have lead guitarist Dave Sabo (Keri Kelly filling in) and it was not the same as having original singer Sebasian Bach. Event is notable for a couple of consecutive images I took – the first capturing guitarist Scotti Hill in mid-head bang, with hair speed-blur suspended between weightlessness and the descending head bang.
Such an image has to be taken the proper milliseconds after the downward head-bang is initiated, taking into account shutter lag and certain other optical adjustments based on dewpoint and solar refractive factor… OK, I am BS-ing, it was just pure LUCK!!
The VERY next shot has vocalist Johnny Solinger acknowledging the shot I just got – “Dude, you got that one” (again BS-ing)
Though that was actually the next shot I took. Lotsa fun!!! .
14 Monday Feb 2011
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inAs part of Sarnia, Ontario’s Bayfest I picked up a general admin admission for the Scorpions and Cinderella. It was the Scorpions’ retirement tour (or so they say!), so I was pleased to finally see them live. I have always thought they were one of the great melodic hard-rock bands! Continue reading
22 Monday Nov 2010
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inFinally got to see ZZ Top indoors! Continue reading
12 Monday Jul 2010
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inSo we learned it might have ended up being only a night of tubas and accordion and sausage in Willowdale… Continue reading
16 Wednesday Jun 2010
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inOne of the most emotive and toneful Blues Artists out there, Robert Cray put on a wonderful show at the 2007 London International Blues Fest!
He can get some of the best live Stratocaster sounds I have ever heard! Highly recommended act.
16 Wednesday Jun 2010
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inOpening for Brad Paisley at the John Labatt Centre (actually in the third slot before Rodney Atkins who was on before Brad Paisley). I hear her career has come along some since then!
Gotta give her credit for writing all her own material and seemingly handling the spotlight well, as opposed to some of the other current Pop stars!
16 Wednesday Jun 2010
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inRick Nielsen of Cheap Trick at the 2007 edition of Rock The Park in Harris Park, London, Ontario.
Cheap Trick puts on a set that is more goofy than serious – to the point that some could misinterpret their attitude as being aloof or caviler. I think it is just them being them and they rock out in their individual style. Covered off most of the hits and were were fun to watch.
Rick is playing an 1958 Gibson Explorer, which is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Rick is a legendary guitar collector with over 250 and claims to have owned over 2000 guitars. He brings many of his vintage pieces on the road and plays a different guitar for each song. I estimated he had well over a million dollars worth of guitars pass through his hands at this London show!
02 Tuesday Mar 2010
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inWow – what great luck to be able to see both these legends together (and it was my first time seeing either!)! This was a short tour with dates in London, England, New Your City, Montreal and Toronto only! I was very stoked to up in the 5th row at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto: Continue reading
01 Friday Jan 2010
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inThought it was time for a post from a different category – this time back to the Concert Photography category!
Rush played The John Labatt Centre September 12, 2007, in their first show in London, Ontario since the Moving Pictures Tour gig out at the old London Gardens (I was at that show too!!).
Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart played a jaw-dropping set that was over two-and-three-quarter hours long!
Here is Alex Lifeson with a nice Gibson Custom and Historic Shop Les Paul and a mounted bouzouki:
Geddy, Neil, & Alex in the pocket:
What a great show – I still think they have the best musicianship live of any rock band!!
02 Wednesday Sep 2009
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inGreat Show at the John Labatt Centre, London, Ontario.
One of the greatest guitar players of all time so there shall be two pics -first features the grey-paisley Crook Telecaster:
and this is the blue-paisley Crook Esquire Custom:
I was quite pleased to learn that Bill Crook uses USA Custom Guitar’s necks in all the instruments he has built for Brad (each of the pieces that Seppo of Frankinstein Guitar Works built for me has a USA Custom Guitar’s neck)!
11 Tuesday Aug 2009
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inA fun show – still the biggest spectacle in rock – an aural and visual sensation!
Great set list covering most of the “Alive” album in order, with the long encore being later hits (i.e. 1976 -1980-ish). It was not the same without Ace Frehley (though Tommy Thayer is an excellent guitarist).
09 Sunday Aug 2009
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inSolid show by American/(and now)Canadian band Styx. I mention Canadian because the new lead singer is classically trained Toronto pianist Larry Gowan, who had a solid career in Canada in the 1980’s.
Amazing how well his voice matched the Denis DeYoung recorded vocals (he is a great showman too)!
I have always held Alabama-born guitarist Tommy Shaw (seen on acoustic in this shot) in high regard, both as a composer and player:
04 Tuesday Aug 2009
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
in2008 London International Bluesfest.
Eclectic Canadian Bluesman who ruled college pubs and blues bars in the 1980’s. Serves up a rather unique, uptempo, finger-picked, distortion drenched Telecaster onslaught.
Lyrically imaginative and often quite humorous (and his onstage persona features contorted facial expressions!) – always worth seeing live!
22 Friday May 2009
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inMany Canadians consider this their “Woodstock”, not for cultural or generational change reasons – mostly from an endurance standpoint!
The rational was two-fold: have a great big concert to let the world know that Toronto is safe and has bounced back from the SARS outbreak, and to honour the front-line health care workers who dealt with the crisis (and many of those lost their lives to the disease).
The Rolling Stones were quick to jump on board as they have a close connection to Totonto (they often rehearse in Toronto before major tours, Keef’s bust in 1977 help him get clean, and Michael Cole, the Rolling Stones’ world tour producer is from Toronto). Many major acts soon followed. One Rush were announced were playing you could count me in (see Geddy Lee on the big screen?):
08 Friday May 2009
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inAnother great Canadian blues-slinger. This was from his passionate and slick set at the 2008 London International Bluesfest.
He has had quite a career that started out with him sneaking into clubs in Saskatchewan when he was just 16 to jam with the likes of Muddy Waters and Stevie Ray Vaughan (whom took James under his not-so-little wing). Lots of cool pics of Colin with some giants are here on his website.
30 Thursday Apr 2009
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inJeff opening for Kim Mitchell (ex Lead Guitar for Max Webster) at the London International Ballonfest. No hints in his playing that he was ill – he played exceptionally with passion and precision. We so soon lost him, IIRC only about 9 months later. Such a survivor, genius player, and scholarly Musicologist (world’s largest collection of Jump Blues 78 RPMs from the late 40’s and early 50’s)
I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff back in around 2001 at the London International Bluesfest after party jam at a small hole-in-the-wall just before he laid down an hour and a half of said Jump Blues with Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer pianist Johnny Johnson (Chuck Berry wrote “Johnny B Goode” for/about the gracious Johnny Johnson). I believe they had just met for the first time that evening, but it truly sounded as if they had been playing together for decades.
See the Great Artists while you can.
12 Sunday Apr 2009
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inLondon International Bluesfest, 2008
Powerful and diverse set from a legendary ‘Woodstock’ alum.
Set highlights included a interesting take on ‘All Along The Watchtower’ and a very cool version of Gary Wright’s 1976 synthesizer-driven hit ‘Love is Alive’ with great interplay with Havens and his excellent female Cellist.
22 Sunday Mar 2009
Posted Concert Photography, Uncategorized
inOK just a random pic to get the concert pics going (I should figure out the categorization and tagging thing next).
Roger Glover and Steve Morse (truly one of the world’s best guitarists!) of Deep Purple having fun at the Rock the Park festival in London Ontario 26 July 2007. Taken with my girlfriend’s Fuji E900