Baby steps, after the break!

The Lost Years: "The Concerts of 2009 & 2010"

I was already concert plotting when "An Experiment of Light & Sound" evolved into "Bored 4 Music" before the curtains of 2009 opened. Found myself always admiring local concert / photo blogs like Buzzbands.la, The Rukus, LA Weekly, The Nashville Sound, & my mentor Picksysticks over the generic music news sites. They always had cool highlights to geek about as I worked at my office computer. Really felt like I needed to be apart of those unspoken about moments eventually.

It wasn't hard to conclude that living in Los Angeles would ultimately be an advantage to garner clicks for Bored 4 Music either. But where would I find the time? Had to make sacrifices but was I ready to commit so much time while working over 50 hours a week already? Also had to figure out how this "non-credentialed" music fan would be able get a non-press camera in. Had to be small, inconspicuous, yet powerful.

Started with a 10mp Canon Powershot A1000is with a 4x zoom before switching to the bigger 12mp Nikon Coolpix P90 with a 24x digital zoom! The latter broke all my initial imposed rules but technically could be sweet talked into venues by explaining that the lens doesn't detach. By the end of 2011, I knew which security teams would give me issues but during this time I was always nervous. They usually didn't really care.

Keep in mind... during this time period... cellphones only had less than 5mp & weren't ideal in low light situations. We were at a weird consideration moment too as most artists didn't like cellphones at concerts but the idea of "going viral" was slowly becoming a normality. Kind of a double-edged sword back then that usually get positive spins in 2024. You want a viral moment nowadays whether it be an influencer using your song positively or a buzzworthy good/bad moment from a concert. For all news is "good" news technically.

Needed to do some "experimenting" and that's what this series of shows ended up being in my concert photography history! From a giant stadium show to a tiny room off Hollywood Bowl to ghosts of venues past. I started to trek Late Nights in LA. Leaving small footprints in the sand.

Ahead you'll find some fractured, dusty, memories with newly re-edited photos from all the events I captured in my early days...

U2 & The Black Eyed Peas @ The Rose Bowl

(10/25/2009)

The first unofficial show! Big sis really loves U2 & we wanted to knock them off both our the music bucket lists.

All I can remember from this show was how terrible the seats were, that we waited in horrible lines to get on a bus, all while being late. The Rose Bowl was made for football, not concerts. U2 and The Black Eyed Peas looked like ants. Loved the music though. Being able to say I saw Bono and The Edge live is still really cool.

These really bad, blurry photos were shot with my Canon Powershot a1000is. Happy to capture these moments despite how horribly dated they are. I still dig them.

PHOTO GALLERY

Bon Jovi & Dashboard Confessional @ The STAPLES Center

(03/04/2010)

I love Bon Jovi & Dashboard Confessional but I really went for the latter. Another bucket list show. Splurged on floor seats too & wasn't disappointed. Bon Jovi really stood out all these years later. Had another chance to see Chris & Dashboard Confessional a few months later.

This show was my first with Nikon Coolpix p90. Really loved the zoom but I didn't understand shooting in low light or ISO yet. We'll get there.

PHOTO GALLERY

Cary Brothers & Friends @ The Hotel Café

(04/12/2010)

Let's hear it for the first OFFICIAL Concert Showcase from the "Bored 4 Music" Days!!!

From this point on... our goal became simpler: seek Los Angeles late-night adventures and tell the internet all about them!

"NBC's Scrubs" & its awesome soundtrack had played an important role in my music life since 2004 so I was quite a fan of Cary Brothers. I remember supporting his fantastic 2010's project - 'Under Control' - on B4M until it got released in April. So this event was his album release party! My first ever one. Had plenty of special guests like Aqualung (whose music I also adored).

Was a fun night that really grounded my concert perspective. There isn't many places like The Hotel Café where up-and-coming artists really get solid placement.

Got to see Cary at The Hotel Café again in 2016. You read all about that adventure here!

PHOTO GALLERY

The Watson Twins @ The LA Times Festival of Books

(04/24/2010)

Being a newer fan of Jenny Lewis, I was happily supporting The Watson Twins' fantastic 2010 project - 'Talking to You, Talking to Me' - regularly on Bored 4 Music. So I followed Picksysticks to The LA Times Festival Books to see them perform live at the event. Turned out to be one of my favorite early concert highlights because hanging all day with Manny personified this new era. We even met David Lynch & Carol Burnett alongside some of our coworkers.

Plus photographing day shows are always better than dark, red lit, venues.

PHOTO GALLERY

Jenny & Johnny, Farmer Dave Scher, & WHISPERTOWN @ The Troubadour

(10/05/2010)

Always confuse this show as our 1st Bored 4 Music Showcase. Not sure why.

Again, was a Jenny Lewis fanboy around this time but I really dug Johnathan Rice too. So their collaborative project got plenty of spins on my 2010 soundtrack as you know. This show was also my first time back to the Troubadour since 2008. Still consider the venue as "My Homecourt". Need multiple hands & feet to count all the shows we saw there.

Was the perfect environment to learn how to capture low light photos for sure.

PHOTO GALLERY

Lissie & Dylan LeBlanc @ The Troubadour

(10/07/2010)

Supported Lissie on her road to her 2010 debut album - 'Catching A Tiger' - after her Cudi cover went viral. She put on an awesome introductory showcase with her raw vocal power. Sucks that she got lost in the shuffle in recent years. She made one hell of a first impression back then.

Love how all these photos came out! Especially Dylan LeBlanc's portion.

PHOTO GALLERY

Maroon 5 & OneRepublic @ The Greek Theatre

(10/10/2010)

My first time at the Greek Theatre. Think we got cheap last-minute seats towards the back but both Maroon 5 & OneRepublic were amazing. Weird that they toured together but seems kind of perfect in hindsight. Both played all their hits & my favorite tracks at the time. Remember leaving on a high note.

Glad my Nikon Coolpix p90 was able to get super close. Was definitely the first time capturing a concert in an Amphitheatre.

PHOTO GALLERY

August Rising @ Rock Candy

(12/04/2010)

There used to be a record shop right down the hill from me. It was called Rock Candy. I would frequent it regularly to dig through their used vinyl, CDs, & rock band tees. Felt like a dream in suburbia. They used to hold concerts in their store on random nights & ended up checking out a indie band called August Rising on this evening.

Felt great to support new artists in unique places, especially in the hometown.

PHOTO GALLERY

KROQ Acoustic Christmas 2010 - Night 1 @ Universal Studios' Gibson Amphitheatre

(12/12/2010)

featuring: Brandon Flowers, Broken Bells, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Florence + the Machine, Neon Trees, Phoenix, The Black Keys, The Temper Trap, & Vampire Weekend

Picksysticks & I were on a strong concert run in 2010. Both reaching new peaks throughout this age. I improved greatly as we continued to find great joy in the LA night life alongside the day-to-day demanding day job.

So... how did we concertholics celebrate? At an epic show of course!

Always wanted to attend KROQ Acoustic Christmas and we couldn't miss the legendary two-day lineup that featured all the iconic names above alongside The Smashing Pumpkins, My Chemical Romance, Social Distortion, Jimmy Eat World, & the rest of Night 2 metal heavy artists. Recall having the bigger say on whether we went to Night 1 or Night 2. I only really liked Smashing Pumpkins & My Chemical Romance so opted for the more pop heavy Night 1. Still don't regret my decision either. It was the better lineup.

Don't worry. Saw almost all these artists (in some form or another) in the years after this event. Didn't really compare to this legendary night though!

Manny & I drank beer and watched an amazingly epic concert at a venue that no longer exists. Have plenty of personal family memories tied with the deceased Universal Amphitheatre that photos like these below conjure up a lot of feelings. To being able to experience a concert with one of my closest friends before it was taken away means more than you know.

The Florence + The Machine photos are my favorite. She was a illuminating goddess that night.