Last month I did a quick shoot for the Statesman at the Continental Club in Austin.
Robert Plant (lead vocalist of Led Zeppelin) and Patty Griffin (Grammy winning singer/songwriter) performed a benefit concert for HAAM – Health Alliance for Austin Musicians.
I contacted the venue ahead of time, hoping I could get a 5 min. portrait session in before the show, but they said no. A portrait wasn’t required for the assignment, I just though it’d be fun. I was told if I stayed until after the show, both Plant and Griffin would be hanging around chatting and I could get portraits then, but the show ended hours after I had to leave to edit and transmit.
Anyway, I got there and it was already a bit crowded. I made my way to a spot up front near the stage, but it wasn’t easy. No one wanted to let me in, not even for a minute. Also, the stage lights were dark, red, and I wasn’t allowed to use flash. I cranked up my ISO and shot with my D700 and my 24-70mm f2.8 lens.
Griffin was up first. She played a few songs on her own and I was able to move around a little bit, a few steps to either side at least, to get a couple different angles.
By the time Robert Plant arrived on stage, it was so packed that I could barely breath. I did what I could to try to move around, but I was basically climbing on people. All of whom asked, “will you be standing there for the whole time?”
Despite the crowd, it was amazing to hear classic Led Zeppelin songs straight from Robert Plant himself! If I could’ve breathed at all, I might have forgotten about my deadline and just enjoyed the concert.
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