My Favorite SLASH Best Of Concert photos for 2012

My Favorite SLASH Best Of Concert photos for 2012

The last four years I’ve really had a great time shooting concerts around Portland. This year I had the chance to take photos more often at Portland’s big venue, the Rose Garden Arena, and of some of my favorite bucket list type bands. So, in calendar order, here are my favorite photos of the year. And you can always check out all my concert photos at www.FiveZeroThree.com. Here are my favorites from LAST YEAR (2011-Click Me)

James Mercer of the Shins – February 2012

I love this photo, and to start the year with this just made my day. He was just tuning and warming up and I was able to capture just him, no crowd. I love The Shins and James Mercer so this just melts my heart and is one of my favorites photos of the year. More photos here - http://www.fivezerothree.com/Music/Concerts/James-Mercer

Little Hurricane at Mississippi Studio – February 2012

I could really see Little Hurricane having a big second album, they are a fun band and have the early stage sound of The Black Keys, who’ll we see later. Plus they are some of the nicest people in music. More photos here: http://www.fivezerothree.com/Music/Concerts/Little-Hurricane-Session

Of Monsters and Men at Mississippi Studio – March 2012

Just like with Little Hurricane, Of Monsters and Men played a 94/7 session at Mississippi Studios. This is sometimes a very hard venue to shoot because of the tight quarters and low light. Of Monsters and Men was super fun to watch, they are from Iceland and it’s always fun to hear the international acts interact with the crowd. And just like every band from out of town, Of Monsters and Men were talking about getting VooDoo Doughnuts during their visit. More photos here: http://www.fivezerothree.com/Music/Concerts/OfMonstersAndMenSession/

Gotye at the Crystal Ballroom – April 2012

Gotye was the most hyped artist of 2012, hands down. He took over everything and it was well deserved; Somebody I Used to Know is a great song. He had a monster light show during his concert and even though I didn’t have a photo pass (we had some confusion), I was still able to get a good shot.

Rose Garden Arena – April 2012

And I thought this would have been the highlight of the year, COLDPLAY in Portland. This was an amazing show, they are just an excellent band who know how to play the big show. They blasted off the confetti early on and it was perfect. I was so glad I had set myself up in the right place and the right time. I <3 Coldplay! More photos here: http://www.fivezerothree.com/Music/Concerts/Coldplay-Portland/

The Black Keys at the Rose Garden Arena – May 2012

The Black Keys rock my socks off. I could listen to this band every second of the day. This was the second time I’ve had the chance to take photos of them and they went big at The Rose Garden, leaving behind their second home The Crystal Ballroom. I prefer them at the Crystal Ballroom, having only two people in the band makes the Rose Garden stage seem a little big. But this is just the beginning of them doing arena shows and time builds perfection. More photos here: http://www.fivezerothree.com/Music/Concerts/BlackKeysPortland2012

Bush at the Rose Garden Arena – June 2012

I’ve had a crush on Gavin Rossdale since the 90′s. His band Bush was HUGE during a very influential time in my musical growth. So, being able to take photos of them was very fulfilling. He sounded great, rocked like it was the 90′s, and made a grown man smile with his stage presence. More photos here: http://www.fivezerothree.com/Music/Concerts/Bush

Nickelback at the Rose Garden Arena – June 2012

It was odd to have Bush open for Nickelback but it worked, they rocked like they know how to do it. Yes, they are made fun of a lot but they are a gigantic band, the Rose Garden was going crazy and it was understandable. Being stuck by the soundboard to take photos sucks, but I ended up being happy it was this way because of the awesome pyrotechnics. More photos here: http://www.fivezerothree.com/Music/Concerts/Nickelback

Passion Pit for MusicFest NW at the Crystal Ballroom – September 2012

Good old MusicFest NW, they bring in so many bands and big ones to boot. The only problem with MFNW is they allow everyone who writes a blog or wants to write a blog about music to get a photo pass. This leaves zero room to take photos but just plant your ass and wait for the action to come to you.

Girl Talk for Musicfest NW at Pioneer Courthouse Square – September 2012

I’ve been wanting to see Girl Talk for a long time and that time was 2012. MusicFest NW does put on great shows at Pioneer Courthouse Square and the people pack the house. You don’t want to miss a GirlTalk show when he comes to town because it’s the most energetic show you could be a part of.

Leonard Cohen at the Rose Garden Arena – November 2012

Leonard Cohen was definitely the oldest person on my list this year, and maybe the biggest legend. You might think someone 78 years old couldn’t move around during a show, and he was slower than most, but he ended up covering the stage. He has the most legendary sound and he’s well worth a listen. More photos here: http://www.fivezerothree.com/Music/Concerts/Leonard-Cohen

Red Hot Chili Peppers at the Rose Garden Arena – November 2012

They don’t get much bigger than the Red Hot Chili Peppers, enough said!
More photos here: http://www.fivezerothree.com/Music/Concerts/RCHP2012

Metric for 94/7 fm December to Remember – December 2012

Metric is one of my favorite bands to see live and easily my favorite to photograph. Plus, Emily Haines of Metric is fantastic! More photos here: http://www.fivezerothree.com/Music/Concerts/Metric-D2R2012/

The Killers for 94/7 fm December to Remember – December 2012

The Killers are a huge band, and are extremely hard to get a photo pass for. Thank you radio station connections because this wouldn’t of happened if I didn’t have them. Plus, it ended up being a great time because this is one of my most epic photos I’ve taken. More photos here: http://www.fivezerothree.com/Music/Concerts/D2R-Killers-2012/

Joy Formidable for 94/7 fm December to Remember – December 2012

It doesn’t happen that often but I love how the drummer is out front with the band instead of just seeing the back. The Joy Formidable rocks the F out and are a lot of fun to photograph. More photos here: http://www.fivezerothree.com/Music/Concerts/Dec2RemGrouplove

Atlas Genius for 94/7 fm December to Remember – December 2012

END OF STORY! Can’t end the year any better than with this from Atlas Genius!
More photos here: http://www.fivezerothree.com/Music/Concerts/D2R-AtlasGeniusSheppard/

baby / photographer squid / squid — Comments Off
30
May 12

It’s a BOY

It’s almost undescribable the feelings I’m having of the news Trisha and I learned today that our little “it” is going to be a boy. I feel proud and very happy beyond anything I’ve felt in my life, almost as joyful as when I asked Trisha to marry me. Such an amazing time in our lives right now.

mount saint helens / Mount St Helens / squid / www.fivezerothree.com — Comments Off
18
May 12

32 years ago

May 18, 1980 changed the landscape of a NW mountain, into a volcano shaped visual delight.

I love this Mountain, I’m shocked it doesn’t get more attention. Driving up to the Johnston Ridge Oberservatory you pass a few closed viewing and learning buildings. It must of blown it’s budget, get it, blown, as in eruption. ha ha, but I digress. Enjoy what you’ve got because it can change at any moment. Try looking up pictures of before it blew it’s top, the mountain is weird looking as a whole piece, but i guess it’s because I was 3 when it erupted. It’s like only knowing your uncle once he became bald. You don’t remember the flowing hippy hair that he had before he became a forehead farmer.

I love you Mount Saint Helens,

Squid

Black Keys / concert / portland / squid — 2 Comments
08
May 12

Black Keys “We love being in Portland. We say that in every city, but we mean it here.”

You can check out my photo’s from the Black Keys show at the Rose Garden here!

You can check out my photo’s from the Black Keys show at the Crystal Ballroom here!

You can’t say much about the Black Keys besides they rocked the hell out of every show. I’ve seen them one time before at the Crystal Ballroom and it was a small show compared to what last nights show was at the Rose Garden. They’ve graduated from that loveable band that you need to get tickets 2 seconds after they go on sale to arena show, I can wait 3 seconds to get tickets. I love this band but when watching them you see a huge difference between them and a band like Coldplay who’ve played a billion arena shows. But with time the Black Keys will make it a visual spectacle and not just a band that sounds perfect, no ego’s on stage and gets it done son!

photographer squid / portland / squid / www.fivezerothree.com — Comments Off
27
Apr 12

The Portland Pirate

coldplay / concert / portland / squid / www.fivezerothree.com — Comments Off
25
Apr 12

Coldplay rock Portland

Check out my photo’s from last nights Coldplay show here

Coldplay is an amazing band. I’ve been to a lot of concerts and I don’t think I’ve seen or been part of a crowd that was crazy from floor to nose bleeds. I’ve seen Coldplay once before at the Clark County Amphitheater a few years ago and like this show, they put on a rock show. Before they even went on stage the Rose Garden blew up with flashing lights. They weren’t your normal camera or cell phone or lighter, they were these amazing wristbands that had a huge sponsor logo on them from Twitter. They were not just wristbands but they were controlled by remote. They would flash, they would stay on and they would turn off. All at various times during the show. It was like the applause sign at a live taping of a tv show. Almost reminding people to go crazy. It wasn’t like they needed it, Coldplay puts on one of the best live shows around. It’s been over 10 years since they played the Roseland Grill for their first show in the US. Yep, Coldplay played to what seemed like the most sold out show I’ve ever seen at the Rose Garden but their first show in the US was for a few dozen people at a venue’s 2nd stage for the radio station 94.7 KNRK over 10 years earlier.

mt jefferson / olallie lake / squid / www.fivezerothree.com — Comments Off
20
Apr 12

Is it over?

The forecast for weekend weather has one day in the 70′s, does that mean winter/spring is over?

follow me also at these fine locations:
twitter.com/squidvicious
facebook.com/squidviciousphoto
pinterest.com/fivezerothree/

squid / www.fivezerothree.com — Comments Off
19
Apr 12

Places to be seen

With a new social media platform being released every 30 seconds it seems, I wanted to give you a heads up where you can see my work, my point of view and my love.

The main place to see my photo work is my portfolio website to view and buy if you’re looking for something on your wall: http://www.fivezerothree.com/
The latest is Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/fivezerothree/
My facebook photography page: http://www.facebook.com/SquidViciousPhoto
Twitter: https://twitter.com/squidvicious
Instagram @Squidvicious

These are my main places for sharing with this “www.squidvicious.com” being my place of words and photo’s and general things. Pinterest being the youngest of these sites is a pretty fun and exciting site. It’s a lot of fun to not only search out work that might have been pinned already but to post work and to see what “boards” your friends or general people put them on. I have searched using the words “Portland” and “Portland Oregon” to see what pops up and I’ve found a few different things of mine that people have pinned. It’s even more fun to tell them that is your photo. I don’t think they know how to react some times. Being so new it will be very interesting to see what happens over the next few years. Will someone purchase it and change it in a new direction for better or worse?