Every time I show up at a festive happening, no matter if it’s a concert, sporting event, party or adventure without my camera… it never fails someone will remark “Ahhh, good… you get the night off and can enjoy yourself.” For six years now, I’ve been blessed to carve out a career photographing my passions in life… from music and sports to travel and people. I usually make a joke and comment that “I have my iPhone camera… so watch out”. Truth be told… when I am at a show without my camera… I am constantly noticing the lights, the facial expressions of the musicians, the rockstar moves, the shadows on the playing field, or some random absurdity of life…. and CONSTANTLY wishing I had a way to capture those moments only now burned into my mind. Whether it is Bruce Springsteen at the United Center, U2 at Soldier Field, or fantastic singer/songwriters like The August or Shawn Mullins at the very intimate venues… I find myself constantly pulling out whatever camera I have on me if I have one… be it my Canon 50D, a point & shoot Panasonic Lumix ZS7 or even just my iPhone…. snapping away. Some people dance, some sing along… my way to truly enjoy a show that inspires and rocks me… is to try to capture a lasting image. I will put the camera away time and time again… only to tear it right back out when the lights get just right or the show builds in energy. It is an addiction… an itch I have to scratch.
I am always amazed by those who buck the normal career path, take on uncharted waters and fight the battle of art or passion as a living. I have often wondered… what is it about the creative kind that makes them crazy enough to not know when the next paycheck might be coming, living with the instability while following the passion… I think I finally figured it out… I believe we all have a “creative itch” and it all depends on how you scratch it…
I am not sure when I first noticed this theory in the musicians and other artists that I have been lucky to get to know… As many know, for the past four years I’ve been the official photographer for a thriving company in Atlanta called Sixthman (www.sixthman.net) to document all of their cruises. What grew from one event a year… The Rock Boat (www.therockboat.com) is now a company producing 10+ entertainment fan based cruises a year by artists as varied as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Barenaked Ladies, Kid Rock, Lyle Lovett, 311, Zac Brown Band and more to a health and wellness cruise by Jillian Michaels. They were not content doing one event… and they have grown by leaps and bounds. The artists they book all have one thing in common… they LOVE what they do and it shows.
I have seen countless jam sessions, duets, and partnerships in music I will never forget.
On the final night of this very cruise, we all ventured to the penthouse of the ship to have a cocktail and relax having worked 12 or more hours a day for close to a week. I have seen it happen many times before and hope to see it happen a thousand times more… a guitar is presented, a piano tuned and a mini jam session breaks out. At this moment in time, it was Nashville singer/songwriter Katie Herzig starting to play a phenomanal and heart wrenching song called “I Hurt Too”. Brandi Carlile sat down and joined her on the piano with a violinist adding to the mix in the background. I wish I could remember his name, but it escapes me at this time… The song and atmosphere was electric.
But it is what happened during the song that has stuck with me ever since… The incredibly talented Vienna Teng… watching from the sidelines… so inspired with what she is seeing and listening to… climbs to the second piano, squeezing between Katie’s guitar and the piano bench… listens for a moment… and starts to play along. She could not stand to watch as a spectator… she had the “creative itch”… they all did…. and the only way to scratch it was to saddle up on the piano to play. And we were better for it. Awesome.
Katie Herzig “I Hurt Too” with Brandi Carlile and Vienna Teng on Cayamo from Will Byington on Vimeo.
I saw this happen again In September, when we did the Zac Brown Band cruise… “Sailing Southern Ground”. Zac and his bandmates are known for playing hours… and I mean like 3-4 hours on stage… without stopping. They give you an extra large helping of music and free desert as well. It is rare in this economy to get more than you paid for… and they do every time they play. On his cruise… they continued that tradition. But it is what happened later that inspires me. At 3am in the casino…after something like a 3 hour main room show… there was Zac Brown and members of the Colorado based roots/rock/Americana powerhouse Oakhurst and a few other musicians including Cadillac Sky… playing their hearts out in the middle of blackjack tables and poker. In the middle of a casino. In the middle of the Caribbean. At 3am. Unreal.
This Sunday I saw it again. This “creative itch” theory of mine. There’s this little band from the UK that is my #1 band of 2010… and after seeing them now 3 times… I can already say I will be a life long fan. I am talking about Mumford & Sons. If you do not have it… Buy their CD… right now. I will wait. You can finish reading this later. You will thank me. It is one you can listen to from start to finish and then repeat. I saw them first at Lincoln Hall in Chicago – capacity 450 I think… next was a PACKED set at Lollapalooza in front of thousands and this past Sunday they trekked back to Chicago as part of their sold out US tour to play The Riv. They started the day with an short acoustic set at the Abbey Pub as part of XRT Radio’s Live From Studio X. An intimate experience featuring the band looking like they had rolled out of bed 20 minutes prior, in the clothes from the night before, and right onto the stage… yet the minute they picked up their tools of the trade and started to rock… you would have thought they were back in front of 30,000 at Lollapalooza. They smiled, laughed, joked around and performed as if it was their last show. Yet… they had a Sold Out show in just a few short hours in front of the most rabid, loudest and most packed I have ever seen Riviera Theater.
My friends and I arrived late… just after Cadillac Sky (add them to the list) had begun and squeezed into an open square of space between a bar and the soundboard. Sadly we could not really see the stage but we could enjoy the music and dance as we desired. It was a perfect night and an excellent show. In fact… probably one of my top 3 shows I have seen. Maybe ever. Yes I am high on Mumford & Sons… Yes, they are not for everyone… but if you like their music…. you will LOVE their show.
As the show ended… my friends all rushed to get home as it was late and a school night with work coming early Monday morning. I waited around… enjoyed the calm after the storm and the smiles on the faces of the satisfied crowd as they headed for the exits. I also thought I would check around and see if I might run into my friend Levi Lowrey… one of the most insightful, talented, and soulful singer/songwriters on the scene today… I ran into Levi in the alley behind the Riv and we caught up talking music, travels and the such. He had recently joined Cadillac Sky and has so much music pouring from him that a successful solo career is not enough that he joined an excellent band. Eventually we ventured backstage and grabbed a beer while continuing to talk about new bands, life on the road, etc. After a short while, rumor spread to head out into the venue… a jam session was in progress… That was an understatement. We emerged from the underbelly of the stage which Bob Dylan had graced the night prior, crisscrossed gear being loaded into the night and made our way to the floor of the venue… empty now except for crews sweeping and bar keeps stashing away the nights leftovers. And there, in the corned to to stage left, on the floor of the Riv… were members of Cadillac Sky and Mumford & Sons… sharing instruments, dancing and laughing. An old time hootnanny of a revival for an audience of tens… maybe 15 people… maybe 20?
Sadly my camera battery was dying… as I captured just under two minutes of magic… but I am glad I did. It was a moment that I don’t know if others would believe if I tried to tell them.
Here I was, in the deserted Riviera Theater… with 8-10 world class musicians, who had just rocked 2,500 people to their core… playing for two hours + and leaving nothing out… with weeks to go in their sold out US tour… countless radio and appearances ahead of them… and yet the creative juices were flowing… and they just had to scratch…
Mumford & Sons with Cadillac Sky backstage in Chicago from Will Byington on Vimeo.
What’s your “itch”?
