It comes with great sadness that I write this memorial to one of my biggest idols, Jim Marshall. To say that Jim Marshall took some of the most memorable live rock’n'roll photos is an understatement.Jim was known for more than just the quintessential live shots; he was also renowned for his casual shots of musicians as well.

Like Jim, I was brought up on music. All kinds of music. Everything from classical, to jazz, to rock’n'roll. This can’t do nothing but help anyone who wants to get involved in the music business, whether it be in promotion, or visual imagery or whatever. It gives you a deeper appreciation of all music without preconceived “categories” or prejudice built in. In other words, there is no “contempt prior to investigation”. Jim was one of those guys. Brought up on a slew of jazz masters, such as John Coltrane and Miles Davis, this kind of genre of jazz can do nothing but expand your musical horizons, and with Jim, it did.

Jim often said when it comes to his casual shots of rock stars, especially back in the day of no clearances and mgt. constantly on your back, that he adored natural settings..no flash, no contrived poses…just natural light, and whatever happens, happens. He so desperately wanted to be invisible in situations like this, where the artist is at peace, having fun, and simply recognizing that Jim is not even in the room. This takes time and patience, situations like these..they don’t come easily…I’ve been in similar circumstances…Soundgarden comes to mind…got to spend two days with the entire band, doing not just live photography, but pose, and daily experiences on life on the road. It comes down to an issue of trust, me and the the band, and that I’m not trying to take advantage of them, or provoke anything. You simply want to be invisible, like Jim. It takes a lot of balls to stand your ground, convince the bands and managers that your purpose is just, that you’re damn good at what you do, that you appreciate the band, etc…and try your best to capture everything in a natural setting, with no flash. Jim had this in spades..I’d like to think that I do too, although the times have changed dramatically. Back in the day, when Jim was at the height of his powers, there weren’t as many restrictions, let alone problems with access as there are now..but this is all besides the point…the focus is on Jim Marshall.

His live photography is something to behold..the shots he took of Jimi Hendrix at Monterey as evidence enough. Go ahead, find them on line. Take a look. Shots like this, with Jimi lighting his guitar on fire, simply don’t exist in this day and age, because of rules such as “first three songs, no flash” Such bullshit, from publicists in general. Like Jim, I like to fight the fight. I take as much enjoyment in “convincing” whomever is in charge of my accomplishments and what I’m about, as doing the actual live photography.

Long live Jim Marshall, the legacy of his live music picture taking. My goal is to live beyond the age of 70, and still have the desire to uncover new bands, and be on the front-lines. Jim did this and then some.

10: The Pixies-  Aragon Ballroom- 11/20/09: Terrific show, great camaraderie,and awesome to hear “Doolittle” in its entirety
9:  Rob Zombie- Aragon Ballroom- 11/22/09: A blast furnace of a show, even for a Sunday night, Rob being ever the showman.
8: Mastodon- Aragon Ballroom- 10/17/09: Another scorched earth and take no prisoners kind of show..a sonic, mind melting experience from beginning to end..they should have been the headliner!
7: Bob Dylan- Aragon Ballroom- 10/31/09: Have seen Bob 4 times this year alone…having photographed Bob at least 50 times by now over the years, this night was without a doubt one of the top 3 performances I’ve seen of him..he sounded great, the band was great..maybe because it was Halloween night..
6: Kylie Minogue- UIC Pavillion- 10/07/09: First time on a major tour of the states; it was a raucous affair, elegant in every way..a high spirited dance event in every way
5: Flaming Lips- Allstate Arena- 12/11/09: A celebration of life and all its joy, sung through the bandleader Wayne Coyne and his companions..visually striking, musically satisfying.
4: Pet Shop Boys- Chicago Theatre- 9/14/09: They do not skip a beat..Neil and Chris are the absolute kings when it comes to sophisticated electronic dance pop..they can do no wrong
3: Leonard Cohen- Chicago Theatre- 05/05/09: A deeply spiritual ultimately uplifting evening on all counts.no one is more debonair, elegant, humble and thoughtful than Leonard Cohen..I mean NO ONE..
2: Nine Inch Nails- Northerly Island- 05/29/09: A searing, blistering affirmation on the complexity of Trent’s music, pushed to the hilt with a backup band that could do no wrong in blasting through these songs as if they knew in advance that armegeddon was the day after..
1: Tool- Lollapalooza- 08/15/09- The absolute total concert experience..superb visuals, superb band, superb song selection…the craziest crowd that I’ve experienced in all of my years of shooting shows…a shout out to the United States Marine Corps for helping protect me from the onslaught of body surfers and mosh-pit fighters..

I must reflect on the King of Pop.

I think it is hip to honor him, just as much as I would give praise to any of my favorite bands of the moment- Fleet Foxes, Passion Pit, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr, etc.. You have to love his solo albums, like “Off the Wall” and “Thriller” in particular, which generated such incredibly catchy tunes, great dance music, forward thinking videos, and on and on. To this day, my favorite album of his is still “Off the Wall”. The album as a whole bursts with enjoyment, a celebration of life and dance. It encompasses incredibly catchy arrangements, with sophisticated production from Quincy Jones. There’s no mistaking of that quirky falsetto of a voice- lyrics sung with such heartfelt emotion…word had it that he was an absolute workaholic on the making of this record- Quincy would often say later that he was very much impressed with his work ethic paying attention to every little detail imaginable, down to correct vocal phrasing and nuances, brass arrangements, bass playing- that he was considered the illegitimate offspring of Brian Wilson.

Upon hearing the album on my way into work today, I feel regenerated and filled with immense gratitude for Michael Jackson, leaving us with such great treasures in his musical catalog.
I should also reflect at this moment that I have not listened to “Off the Wall” in its entirety in quite a few years. Too many to count if I want to be absolutely truthful. Well, not anymore. I can sing the praises of many an indie band and artist and wax poetic with the best of them at any given time…but I will also sing the praises of Michael Jackson and his music, and I don’t feel ashamed to admit one bit admitiing this.

Nothing really tops sophisticated, thoughtful, catchy pop. Nothing.
Thank you Micheal for your huge contributions to this genre.

Instead of just babbling on and on about Opeth and Enslaved (two extraordinary live bands by the way), I thought I’d keep this part of my review nice and simple, and do my best to get you to the pictures.
Keep this in mind- No signs of slowing down for both bands- and they deserve all the respect and praise that gets thrown their way.
As much as  I feel drained from this intense onslaught, It’s for good reason..you can’t help but be drawn into every single note from all of this insanely dark beauty- and as much as I admire Mikael Akerfeldt and his tight-knit band Opeth, the same holds true for Ivar  Bjornson and Grutle Kjellson of Enslaved, and their commitment to all of this dark and brutal beauty that they muster up live and in person…I’m drenched from head to toe and love every minute of it!
What’s the sign of a good show? When you finally get home, hug your wife, and she says “you’re stinky!” Success indeed..

Find out what bands are playing when

Friday, Aug 7th

Saturday, Aug 8th

Sunday, Aug 9th