Northeast Ohio musicians pay tribute to Tom Petty by performing Wildflowers in its entirety and a selection of hits at Akron's own Goodyear Theater on Saturday May 21, 2022.
Part One: Eating Pasta with the Band in the Catering Room
Any chance I get at all access I will never pass up for one reason: the quiet before the chaos is always my favorite. For me, it's my time to meditate and connect with my environment, my camera and most importantly, the artists I'm working with. On an episode of Gilmore Girls, Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry) tells Rory (Alexis Bledel) that she must agree not to "interfere with the integrity of the event" when she's allowed to tag along and write a piece on "The Life and Death Brigade," an elusive society of Yale co-eds. That scene plays rent-free in my brain (In omnia paratus! IYKYK), and is a wonderful reminder when I can tag along behind the scenes. The way I see it, the person who performs on stage is only the performer when they are on said stage. When they're backstage, they're no different from the rest of us so it's really important that my presence doesn't influence the environment. Although sometimes there are moments when the subject can't help but interact with the photographer and vice versa; those are the golden ones. Here are a handful of some golden moments and quiet ones:
Part Two: Take Me to Church
I've heard my favorite artists refer to the Nashville Ryman Auditorium is as "Mother Church," or made reference to going to "church." Whether that's because of its history as the Union Gospel Tabernacle, I prefer to believe it's because congregating with your community to sing along to your favorite music is one of the most spiritual experiences you can have. Being around live music is good for your soul; to quote Henry Rollins, "Live music is the cure for what ails ya." While I can't say every live music experience feels soul "cleansing," I can say no two experiences are alike and there are some that you carry a little closer to you than others. This night was one of them. This night was like going to church.
Featuring:
John Anthony (The Vindys)
Emily Bates (The Shootouts)
Ed Davis (The Vindys) Rick Deak (The Vindys)
Shanna Delaney (By Light We Loom)
Ben Evans
Ryan Humbert (The Shootouts)
Corey King (Ohio Weather Band)
Jeff Klemm
Paul Lewis
Brian Lisik
Cody J. Martin
Jackie Popovec (The Vindys)
Marc Lee Shannon
Tracey Thomas
Erin Vaughn