“The music is made first, and the interviews or photos to keep it alive come later as a necessary evil, I suppose.” -Jack White
Event: American Nightmare at FYF 2012
Photographer: Ted Maider
What Ted Says: “To photograph American Nightmare was a dream come true, and this was the shot of Wes Eisold I had always dreamed of snapping; dark, sinister, and poetic.”
Event: The Eric Andre Show at FYF 2012
Photographer: Cap Blackard
What Cap Says: “The Octomom didn’t know what hit her. Another unsuspecting pseudo-celebrity caught in the wake of Eric Andre’s surreal physical comedy. If you haven’t seen The Eric Andre Show on [adult swim], you need to take care of that.”
Event: Pearl Jam at Made In America 2012
Photographer: Michael Zonenashvili
What Michael Says: “As I said, I’m not the biggest Pearl Jam fan, but standing near Eddie Vedder was awesome in itself. And for photography? Even the rain couldn’t mess up his hair.”
Event: Elvis Costello at Riot Fest 2012
Photographer: Heather Kaplan
What Heather Says: “This was my first time seeing Elvis Costello and he just nailed it. I was in awe of his coolness. I took a lot of tight shots so everyone could see his impeccable attire!”
Event: Iggy and the Stooges at Riot Fest 2012
Photographer: Heather Kaplan
What Heather Says: “What can I even say about this photo? If you’ve got it, flaunt it.”
Event: Odd Future at Santa Cruz’s the Catalyst
Photographer: Ted Maider
What Ted Says: “It’s amazing to see Tyler, the Creator this calm. Normally, he’s a swag-spaz on stage, yet here he is playing it totally cool, rocking that Supreme hat (Say “Hi” to Lil’ Jav Nunez for me).”
Event: St. Vincent and David Byrne at the Chicago Theater
Photographer: Heather Kaplan
What Heather Says: ”An amazing performance, made even better by the fact that David Byrne encouraged the audience to take photos and videos of the show. As I was sitting in the third row, this made my assignment very easy!”
Event: Peter Gabriel at Chicago’s United Center
Photographer: Michael Roffman
What Michael Says: “I was surrounded by a bunch of professionals, and they all had these Imperial-styled lenses. My camera looks like Peter Parker’s on a bad day, though this made maneuvering easy. This shot happened because I kept tracing Gabriel back and forth, snapping like wild. He looks like Terry O’Quinn IRL.”
Event: Swans at Milwaukee’s Shank Hall
Photographer: Jeremy D. Larson
What Jeremy Says: “Swans played in a tiny venue, it looked like a small-town VFW club. Gira got down on his knees and just clawed at his guitar, mouth open. I very much wish I didn’t have the urge to take a picture of him and just got to watch him transcend.”
Event: Ty Segall at Chicago’s Logan Square Auditorium
Photographer: Jeremy D. Larson
What Jeremy Says: “Ugh — I was in the middle of a mosh pit for most of this show and a big beer spilled all over my lens. It was a great show, but I got a large bruise on my thigh and a sticky 28mm now, so enjoy this photo x 10.”
