i have to admit, if i’m sitting at home thinking of a dream bill, this wouldn’t be it. poison, cheap trick and pop evil would be playing at the toyota music factory in irving tx. at first glance, not your typical lineup to be sure. while we play all 3 of these at any given time, we don’t normally play them together and you won’t hear poison really unless it’s an 80s night.
on paper, this is certainly a strange line up. cheap trick / poison? not too far off. i can go with it. let pop evil open? i’d love to know who set that one up and why.
in any event, this was the line up and i was approved to shoot at a live nation venue for all 3 bands. i was damn happy to do it because i do in fact like all 3 bands and was pumped up at the thought of being able to shoot them at a new venue and see what it’s like. i gotta say the people and staff at live nation could not have been more polite and professional.
i got there just in time to get in the pit to shoot pop evil and get my settings ready to roll. didn’t take long at all. sun still up, fast shutter speeds and i could already tell i was getting some amazing shots. the band was very into it somewhere along the line i finally got some good hair shots in that all photographers are after with matt dirito striking quite a few good poses for me.
i make sure during times like this to stop shooting and appreciate the moments and this was a good one. the 3 songs i got to see that close were boss’s daughter, ex machina deal with the devil. after that we’re whisked away and have to go into hiding until the next band so i missed let it go, 100 in a 55, take it all (their chevy truck hit!) footsteps, new song waking lions and closing out with trenches. pop evil is a good band that really deserved a bill more to their style as those coming for cheap trick and poison likely never heard of ’em but they still had a good crowd and played to them very well.
next up – cheap trick. talk about walking right into the front row of history. robin zander an rick nielsen of course are legendary. at close to 70 for both, both must have some incredible music memories. cheap trick is still creating new music and did their new song “the summer looks good on you” to an audience that is 50/50 on knowing it is even new. fyi – we have it in our rotation. 🙂
you get some pretty cool moments in this business and certainly watching cheap trick was a highlight to be sure. what i never expected was nielsen to call me over and pretty much flip a guitar pick right on me. personally. 🙂 i had to stop and figure out what happened and when looking down, there it was. next up is a canvas printing of one of his pics and putting the pick with it.
cheap trick did absolutely cover some of their best hits and wow’d the audience with the flame, i want you to want me, dream police, surrender and closed out their fantastic set with goodnight now.
perfect.
next up, 80s legends and glam rock stars poison!
can’t think of a better way to open their set than with “look what the cat dragged in”. snapping pics left and right brett and cc were the best photo opportunities i had based on position so i didn’t let it go to waste. the band was doing an amazing job entertaining a capacity crowd at the music factory and it was even down to standing room only on the lawn seating.
poison covered their best hits such as talk dirty to me, fallen angel, every rose has its thorn and nothing but a good time. in closing their set, however, they came back with a KISS cover of rock and roll all night.
if you get a chance to see this tour – do it. it’s a high energy show across the board and get there early enough to appreciate pop evil.
thank you again band management and the toyota music factory for your hospitality and allowing me to shoot some incredible pictures of the night! i’ll be back for sure.
iceberg
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