Friday, August 24, 2018

Frank Turner!

For two days in July, the western side of Michigan was calling. I hiked in Saugatuck Sand Dunes state park, saw a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Grand Rapids, and most importantly, got to take my camera in to Bell's Eccentric Cafe to see Frank Turner! 







Thursday, August 23, 2018

Philadelphia and Asbury Park

Over the summer, I followed my favorite band, The Hold Steady, for a 3 night stretch. The adventure brought me to Philadelphia, PA and Asbury Park, NJ. I couldn't take my camera into the shows, but I did take in some sights, including the Liberty Bell, Edgar Allen Poe's house, and the boardwalk at Asbury Park. 






Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Bennyfit 7 - The Last Hurrah

For the past several years, I've been photographing as a member of Ben's Encore, a music charity created in memory of a good friend's tragic loss. The organization's work is coming to an end with the calendar year, so the final memorial concert was held recently at The New Dodge Lounge.  It's a great location with a balcony, and if you haven't noticed, I cover a lot of stuff in Hamtramck. 







Thursday, July 19, 2018

Nashville, TN

After the foray into Mammoth Cave in the spring, my traveling partner and I ventured to Nashville to continue the journey. This involved living in an AirBNB that was a Camper in someone's driveway, paying respects to Johnny Cash, and being amazed at what the night brings out in people. Here's a glimpse:










Highly recommend this town to music lovers like myself. Every building has "reverb leaking out of tavern doors," and it certainly isn't limited to country or rockabilly. Craft beer is also in abundance, as well as all the weird diagonal crosswalks you can muster.

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Mammoth Cave National Park

I went to a national park MONTHS AGO. I'm getting to it now because life is busy, you know? Anyway, before I got to Mammoth Cave, had to stop in a small town for a sandwich and a slice of pie.


Our Park Ranger was a wonderful guide who warned us several times that if we entered unprepared, we would die. An elderly gentelman ignored the warning, and then put us all at risk. Watch out for your old folks, people. 


 Look, caves don't photograph well. Go to one yourself if you want to see what it's all about. Cool? Cool.



When I go out of town without my son, I take a toy he's favoring at that moment and photograph it with stuff I see. Here's his lego man on the visitor center sign. 

Friday, June 8, 2018

World's Greatest Dad at The New Dodge Lounge, Hamtramck

First time shooting in Hamtramck since I used to do the Music Fest (and will be back there for a Ben's Encore finale in the fall), and a new location -- New Dodge Lounge. Taking the design of a stage at the front to catch the eye of the street, the view of the neon sign behind the bands lent itself perfectly to several shots.

World's Greatest Dad captured my ear thanks to a feature on washedupemo.com, whom I trust implicitly. I was certainly the old guy in the room, but it felt good to support a scene with the local openers, throwing me back to the hall show days of my high school years. I wrote a review, but I don't feel like editing it right now, after doing photo edits all morning. So, here's the bands:

Opener 1: Get Tall, album on bandcamp, twitter




Opener 2: The Doozers, facebook






Headliners! World's Greatest Dad from Atlanta, GA. twitter, official website
LISTEN TO THIS BAND. BUY THE ALBUM. THESE ARE GOOD PEOPLE. 







Criminally underattended and absolutely wonderful. Also, yes, this is the first post in forever, and I've been to another national park since, so I'll handle that post soon.