365 Days, 365 Photos: 08/30/2009

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One of my favorite recent photos. Although I really like the alternate one as well (if you look closely, you can see some stars).

365 Days, 365 Photos: 08/29/2009

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I just love the flare in this photo.

Photos: M.I.A. @ Street Scene 2009

Photos: Street Scene Day 1
Photos: Street Scene Day 2

After No Age, I thought I was done with photo duties (except for maybe Sharon Jones), since the security guards at the main stage told us we wouldn't be shooting MIA. Thanks to Andrew, though, I heard when that was changed and made my way over to the photo pit entrance.

And I'm glad I did. She was a ton of fun to shoot at Coachella, but there was so much space between the stage and the photo pit that it was hard to really feel connected. Not so much here. She was right in our faces, throwing water out at the audience and getting up on the monitors. And I loved every exhausting minute of it. And boy, was I glad I bought that ultra-wide angle lens...

Photos: No Age @ Street Scene 2009

Photos: Street Scene Day 1
Photos: Street Scene Day 2

After shooting the Dead Weather, it was off to the Casbah stage for a quick minute to snap a few shots of No Age. The lighting was absolutely terrible though, so after grabbing a few shots (and listening to a few songs) it was back to the main stage to watch the rest of Dead Weather's set.

Photos: Dead Weather @ Street Scene 2009

Photos: Street Scene Day 1
Photos: Street Scene Day 2

After getting shut out of the photo pit for Silversun Pickups (for whatever arbitrary reasons), I made my way over to the other main stage to wait for the Dead Weather's set. No way was I going to get shut out of THAT pit. I ended up being one of the first ones in (after witnessing some photog drama) and had a good spot right up against the stage. And wow - being that close to straight up rock, not to mention Jack White, was amazing.

Photos: Of Montreal @ Street Scene 2009

Photos: Street Scene Day 1
Photos: Street Scene Day 2

Next up was Of Montreal - once Public Enemy finally finished their set. Hints of more backstage drama had me (and a few other people) wondering if Of Montreal would even play their set, but they did indeed - bringing the craziness of their performance art with it. I can't even begin to explain it, but it was definitely something to behold.

Photos: Busta Rhymes @ Street Scene 2009

Photos: Street Scene Day 1
Photos: Street Scene Day 2

I bailed on Public Enemy's set before even getting in the photo pit, and I noticed a lot of audience members doing the same thing. I only hung out at Busta Rhymes' set for a few songs, but he definitely had the audience going.

Photos: Public Enemy @ Street Scene 2009

Photos: Street Scene Day 1
Photos: Street Scene Day 2

All of these photos were taken from the crowd, because they weren't letting the photographers into the pit until after Public Enemy started (for whatever reason). Which was almost a half hour late, by the way. And then they went over their set time by 35 minutes. And no one stopped them, despite the fact that it completely messed up the set times for all the remaining artists on both main stages. So unprofessional. By the end of their set, I was thinking, "Fight the power? More like CUT the power." Somebody should have.

Photos: Los Campesinos @ Street Scene 2009

Photos: Street Scene Day 1
Photos: Street Scene Day 2

The members of Los Campesinos weren't content to let Ra Ra Riot and Matt and Kim be the only raucously joyous bands at Street Scene this year. They packed as many people on stage as they possibly could, and even sent their lead singer out into the crowd at one point.

Pitchfork Photos - Bon Iver @ Hollywood Forever Cemetery, 09/27/2009

More photos can be seen here.

It was a pretty amazing show. More later.

Photos: Ra Ra Riot @ Street Scene 2009

Photos: Street Scene Day 1
Photos: Street Scene Day 2

Ra Ra Riot is a band that always brings a smile to my face. The best word to describe their live show? Exuberant. All the kids onstage look like they are having a great time, like there's nothing in the world they'd rather be doing than playing music, and the feeling is infectious.

Photos: Crocodiles @ Street Scene 2009

Photos: Street Scene Day 1
Photos: Street Scene Day 2

My second band of the day was San Diego locals the Crocodiles. They've had a great year so far, so it was nice to see them back at home, snarling even in broad daylight (which made the sunglasses appropriate for once). I rocked out for a bit at this set before heading on to the next one.

Photos: Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears @ Street Scene 2009

Photos: Street Scene Day 1
Photos: Street Scene Day 2

My first set of the second day of Street Scene was Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears. The music sounded great and definitely set the day off in the right mood, but I guess I was expecting more James Brown-esque shenanigans. I caught a couple songs, then headed over to check out the Crocodiles on the Casbah stage.