More random fan shots from PMF2009. These were all from Saturday, Day#2. The crowds were massive, just a sea of people, really. For the most part we had sun with only a few short periods of rain. No mudfest like the previous year, thank goodness.

Of course, there was a little rain. It wouldn’t be a music festival with it.

OK, below one of my weekend buddies. Met him on the train later that night. Lots of fun. Next day, met him and his buddies on the train again on the way out to the festival, in full on costume. I really do love meeting fun and interesting people at festivals, which is one of the reasons I love PMF so much, as it’s generally laid back with a fun mello vibe.

So, I close out another year of Pitchfork Music festival and what a festival it was! Amazing music, good friends, good food (and drink), wonderfully run festival, and perfect weather. I got a chance to see old friends and make new ones. I met a Telletubby, a few aliens, a serial-barrier-jumper, a gorilla, a jedi-rabbit, lots of musicians, and many *ahem* happy people.

Each year the festival gets better and better, both musically and in terms of organization and everything that happens on the backside. This year was utterly fantastic. It’s so nice to work a festival that is staffed by such great individuals. It makes it all the more fun to go to work. It wasn’t until an afterparty on Sunday that I realized how utterly exhausted I was. Three days of walking, standing, climbing, crouching, kneeling, lifting, carrying, lugging, bending, and dancing (we can’t forget the dancing) coupled with very little sleep, had taken it’s toll on my body and my legs felt like heavy weights and my shoulders & arms were aching. So, I popped a few ibuprophen, got a couple hours sleep, and am looking forward to Pitchfork 2010.

Stay tuned for a more thorough recap and photos in a week or so.

Washington DC in January is COLD. Really cold. I spent 2 days in DC, photographed a fantastic concert (Frightened Rabbit), and witnessed the inauguration of our 44th president, Barack Obama. Witness is sort of a grand term. From my vantage point I could only see the proceedings on one of the massive jumbo-trons in the National Mall. Despite the bitter cold, and the hours of walking carrying my photo gear just to get into the National Mall, it was an amazing day.

It started at 5am when I woke and struck out in the dark morning, greeted by swarms of likeminded people. It is a strange thing to find yourself in mobs of people at such an early hour, still dark, shuffling towards the same goal. Luckily I grabbed a bagel and coffee on the way. OMG, It was crazy. More people than I’ve ever seen in my life. Fences, barracades, and lines of people as far as you can see. I walked and walked and walked, carrying my gear, trying to document the day. It truly was amazing. All these people, all cold, and yet, everyone happy and excited. People helping each other. It took me about 2 hours to walk all the way around to the other side of the National Mall to enter near the Washington Monument.

When the choir began to sing, we all started to get excited. When Biden was sworn in, it was dead silent. Two million people and not a peep. Then everyone just exploded with excitement. Now onto the main event. Oh, what? We have to wait? While we all enjoyed the beautiful classical music, we all were anxious to what was to come. It was like everyone was just bouncing with anticipation, waiting for Obama to be sworn in. Again, dead silence. Most were watching on the jumbo-tron, some were looking down as they listened, but all were quiet. Looking around, there was so much emotion. So many tears. Clenched fists just waiting for the moment. We all stood there, with tears of joy and hope, which turned into an eruption of emotion. Listening to President Obama’s speech amidst 2 million other people was an experience I’ll not forget.

It took about 3 hours to walk back to my car. That was an adventure in itself, at times a bit scary when a sea of people, me included, became trapped and unable to move. Thankfully everyone remained calm and waited it out for about 30 minutes until the passageway was cleared. By this time, the 2 days of walking, bitter cold weather, and lack of sleep were taking it’s toll on me. I was in pain. Everything hurt. I was cold. I just wanted to warm up and rest. I made my way out of the city and headed back to North Carolina. Oh what an experience.

I put together a slideshow of images from the experience. I hope it gives you a little glimpse into what the day was like being there in person. CROSSTIDE graciously allowed me to use their recording of (What’s So Funny ABout)Peace, Love, And Understanding, as the sound track to the slideshow. They’re a great band based in Portland Oregon. If you haven’t heard their music, be sure to check them out at www.myspace.com/crosstide and www.crosstide.net

Wasted Space is a tiny club in the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. It holds maybe a couple hundred people. So it was a special treat for the fortunate few who got the chance to hear Snow Patrol play such an intimate gig. I doubt they’ve been on such a small stage in some time. So, a treat for fans, although the guys seemed a bit cramped on stage with little room to move.

I had a great time shooting their performance. The crowd was immense. They were fantastic despite being exhausted. They literally had just gotten off a flight from Europe. When they left the stage, they were on their way back to the airport to fly off somewhere else.

Mercer Island, Washington

 When most people think of a traditional Eater egg hunt they picture children in their Easter best carrying pretty baskets combing the garden in search of colored eggs. Now imagine all that, and add about 30 adults hunting right along side those children.

As if all this isn’t enough, a wonderful brunch is served with separate children’s and adult buffet. Oh, and let’s not forget the clowns, Leo and Daisy. Daisy was a master of balloon animals/flowers/swords and face painting while leo entertained the younger guests with his tricks and carnival skills. While the weather was wet and dreary, it didn’t seem to dampen the spirit of the party goers one bit.