Muse @ Agganis Arena

[narlus]

had my first assignment w/ the boston weekly two weekends ago, to shoot Muse and Cold War Kids. was pretty excited, because 1) the light was sure to be good/interesting, due to the size of the stage setup and relative popularity of the band (they'd just played Madison Square Garden a few days prior) and 2) i'd been trying to get my foot in this particular door for a while, vis a vis assignments w/ the paper.

this was also the first time i got booted after 3 songs, as i didn't have a ticket. oh well. the pit was not crowded, only one other person for CWK, and then 3 photogs + band's videographer for Muse. one shooter was the house photog, whereas the other two were wielding P&S cameras. one had won some contest w/ Billboard, and got the opportunity to have a blog and review/shoot shows, which is pretty cool. the other i have no idea; she seemed to be more pre-occupied w/ dancing around and just being glad to being upfront rather than firing off photos w/ her camera. amazing.

here's the web version of the phoenix article:
http://thephoenix.com/article_ektid45375.aspx

#1


http://narlus.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p172785060-4.jpg

#2
http://narlus.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p384274328-4.jpg

#3


http://narlus.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p317659428-4.jpg

#4
http://narlus.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p352090022-4.jpg

#5
http://narlus.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p530608354-4.jpg

#6
http://narlus.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p462371705-4.jpg

#7
http://narlus.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p229495495-4.jpg

#8
http://narlus.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p54793985-4.jpg

there was a lot of opportunties for good shots (mainly of the lead guy, Matt Bellamy), and if you wanna see more, check 'em out here:
http://www.zenfolio.com/narlus/p611770361/

[DwightMcCann]

#7 doesn't do anything for me but the rest are nice. Fairly elaborate looking setup. Just three musicians? Would be nice to have a full wide view of the stage.

[tipsy]

Yes, just 3 and they're famous for their elaborate and stunning sets. Should have seen the one on the uk festivals last year!

Nice photos ! i particulaly like 3 although perhaps a little more contrast on it would be nice.

x

[DwightMcCann]

Wow, the drummer looks about 13 but he has in interesting looking drum kit and platform.

[narlus]

#7 doesn't do anything for me but the rest are nice. Fairly elaborate looking setup. Just three musicians? Would be nice to have a full wide view of the stage.

yeah, i wanted to drop back out of the pit during the 3 songs i was alloted, for a full stage shot, but wasn't allowed to. on a crop, the 17 could only go so far. here's another wide shot:
http://narlus.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p221322949-4.jpg

Yes, just 3 and they're famous for their elaborate and stunning sets. Should have seen the one on the uk festivals last year!

Nice photos ! i particulaly like 3 although perhaps a little more contrast on it would be nice.

x

thanks tipsy! i'm not sure what happened w/ #3...could be a result of me mucking about w/ aRGB and sRGB....i agree that it could use a bit more punch.

Wow, the drummer looks about 13 but he has in interesting looking drum kit and platform.

yeah, the riser had all these little LEDs which would change color too. very elaborate.
http://narlus.zenfolio.com/img/v0/p179432851-4.jpg

[dwarfmcdougal]

Wow, nice set here. Great to see some Muse photos.

I'm digging 1 and 6, but I would've photoshopped out the white circle. They must be killer live.

[shesgotthepic]

wow!!!!!

[rab_cilbup]

Awesome shots of an awesome band.

Knights Of Cydonia is one of the best songs ever :-)

[shesgotthepic]

Awesome shots of an awesome band.

Knights Of Cydonia is one of the best songs ever :-)

I used to hate Muse but that song sold them completely. I now love Muse.

[rab_cilbup]

Me too... that and Supermassive Black Hole

Rush should sue them for "Knights..." though ;-)

[shannyD]

you have such great shots all of the time. but its funny, the faces some of these guys make. cracks me up sometimes. great shots!
thank you for sharing.
hugs.
shannon

[theupsetter]

I used to hate Muse but that song sold them completely. I now love Muse.

Weird - the exact same thing happened to me! I even went out and got the 7" picture disc :). Now I regret missing them at Glasto...

Great shots Narlus. 1, 6 and 8 are my favourites. Plus I really like the second drummer one you put up.

-kevin.

[narlus]

Awesome shots of an awesome band.

Knights Of Cydonia is one of the best songs ever :-)

that was their closer, but of course i was long gone and in the bar across the street, eating my quesadilla before that ever happened on stage. :cry:

you have such great shots all of the time. but its funny, the faces some of these guys make. cracks me up sometimes. great shots!
thank you for sharing.
hugs.
shannon


thanks she, shannon, rab, upsetter, dwarf,and tipsy. it's certainly easier to get good shots from a band w/ a big pro lighting rig and the rock moves...i hope to get credentials for The Cure at this very venue next month. crossed fingers.

[skifurthur]

Very nice, narlus. 1, 4, 6 and 8 really look mighty fine to me. I'm not familiar with the band, but with that staging, and with your captures of the action, I would imagine they play hard and bring a show.

Good job.

[viewing-the-invisible]

I am envious. I would love to see/Photgraph this band. 1,6,8 are great. 7 looks out of focus.

[robbie321]

Great photos. Just out of interest how big was the stage and what lens' did you use?

[narlus]

I am envious. I would love to see/Photgraph this band. 1,6,8 are great. 7 looks out of focus.

yeah, i'd agree that 7 is OOF a bit. i should have touched it up w/ some manual focusing, as it was too dark for the AF to dial in the subject. since it's a silhouette w/ no detail on the subject, i don't think it's as big a deal.

Great photos. Just out of interest how big was the stage and what lens' did you use?

the arena is a good sized (~7K capacity) hockey/basketball arena, and the stage nearly stretched end to end on the floor. of course, the wings weren't use for stage space, so conservatively lop off about 20' either side. it was probably 50' wide easily?


i used my 17-55 f/2.8 IS and 70-200 f/2/8 IS lenses. i also had the 85 f/1.8 w/ me but didn't need it for Muse (i did for Cold War Kids).

[adam*]

Awesome shots. I went to see them last year and the stage was fantastic, was wishing I could take photos with that kinda light! For anyone who thinks Knights / Black hole are the best songs they should really listen to Showbiz/Origin of Symmetry - MUCH BETTER! Knights was very very good live though (awful normally).

[René Damkot]

#1 is best of the set IMO. I like #6 as well.
#7 and 8 would be nice if they were cropped tighter, straightened a bit, and sharper...

[Carjo]

Awesome. Just awesome. I'm starting to get psyched for when they play in Brisbane next month. :D

For anyone who thinks Knights / Black hole are the best songs they should really listen to Showbiz/Origin of Symmetry - MUCH BETTER! Knights was very very good live though (awful normally).

I agree. Origin of Symmetry is in my opinion their best album thus far. Gotta love the Absolution Tour DVD though. :)

[severinl]

did he have the piano up front? when i shot them last year he had it way back and it was really hard to get a good shot of it

[bacchanal]

Wow, great stuff narlus. Amazing what a little light can do for your photographs. Looks like you're on the way to the big time...or at least hopefully a few more assignments like this!

1 is my favorite, but a great set overall.