“Turn the Page” by Bob Seger.
Story by Rina Marie Braley-Yanko
for Rock Legends Photographers
and Concert Photos Magazine
Disclaimer- this story is not about any one artist, but it is probably true of most!
Devon Allman goes backstage to try to cool off during a performance in the hot sun with no stage cover.
Every time I start to charge camera batteries and gather my gear to
shoot a concert this song plays in my head. Sometimes I will even sing
it out loud, sometimes it comes naturally, and sometimes I have to put
it on my check list. Once I grab my camera bag the weight of the gear
reminds me of the words written and sung by a great musician and artist.
The artist I’m about to shoot may be living this song’s words. He may
be missing a lover, numb from the amplifiers still ringing in his ears
from the night before, or lack of sleep from nothing familiar for days
except airport terminals or the smell of the diesel coming from the tour
bus.
“Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
There I go
Playin’ the star again
There I go
Turn the page”
I have to be prepared that I might be photographing you on what may
be your ‘Turn the Page” day. If it is, you will still greet me and the
fans with an exuberant smile, allowing me to capture a few photos as you
stop and shake hands just as you get off the bus. You will politely say
no, you don’t have a sharpie to sign a cocktail napkin as you notice
off to the side the your merchandise table sits with memorabilia to be
sold and signed. You also notice that the person responsible for your
pay to perform is nowhere to be found.
You keep smiling as you are lead to a six foot table with no chairs
for an unorganized meet ‘n’ greet where folks pass right by your
merchandise table full of shirts, 8×10 glossy’s and CD’s, but have the
nerve to ask if you they can get a picture with you. They hand their
cell phone to their friend that does not know how to work the picture
process of that phone, so you wait while the line is getting longer.
Finally a click, and there goes another blurry photo that will spread
all over social media not capturing your best features. In the corner of
your eye you see all kinds of food and beverages that you desperately
need for fuel, but won’t get a chance to get until it’s probably too
late… and you wonder , how did all these folks get back stage passes?
As a photographer that is supposed to photograph you with the fans
during the meet and greets to promote the band and venue it is really
difficult knowing that the page has turned for you. It’s hard to capture
your genuine smile with your best features when they are covered with
sweat in the shade and you are about to go on a stage with hot
spotlights making the heat index 110 degrees… just like you did the day
before in another town.
You do it, giving it all your best. Your
best is what the fans get at a live show because you won’t let them see
the exhaustion, but I do! I just patiently wait for that second wind,
which is your passion that kicks in when all the attention is on you
during your guitar jam, drum solo, or building your strength to get out
that last high note. I saw one drummer rip off his shirt and pour a
bottle of water over himself which was very sexy, and the fans were
going nuts. What they didn’t know was that he had heat exhaustion and
had to stop himself from throwing up. I was at another show where the
performer was doing a duo with the lead guitar and sax and again the
fans were going nuts, but the sax motioned for the guitar to take over
as he went behind the stage to throw up from the heat. The Fans never
notice, but I do. I keep my camera down or focus on the lead jam and the
crowd response with their hands in the air having the time of their
life at your concert.
Turn the page
End of part 1
Stay tuned for part 2
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