Tigers on Opium kick of a long night of music at the Star Theater in Portland.
You wouldn’t know it from the tattoos and ripped jeans, but the musicians I spent last Saturday night with are some of the nicest people anywhere. When I say nice, I don’t mean simply polite. These people are genuinely kind, thoughtful and generous; basically the opposite of every stereotype about rock musicians.
The show I photographed last weekend was the second time I’ve shot local band Tigers on Opium. I’ve also shot their band portraits and built a relationship with them thanks to their drummer, Nate, who also has been patiently trying to teach me how to drum for the past several months. When I shot their show last Spring they were opening for the Lords of Altamont. This past weekend’s gig was with another local band, Hippie Death Cult and Spokane’s own Kadabra. Never heard of any of these bands? Me either. But here’s the thing… they are truly talented and undeniably hard-working. If skill, creativity, persistence and passion were the keys to success, all of these bands would be household names. In the real world of rock and roll there are hundreds if not thousands of these incredible local bands for every Metallica and every night somewhere obscure they are lugging the gear they bought on credit and meticulously setting up, sound checking and then performing to very small groups of enthusiastic fans. They take time off from work to record, rehearse and tour. They make deep sacrifices for their music and the rewards are few but compelling.
Harry Silvers from Hippie Death Cult sets up his hulking drum set while bassist and lead singer Laura Phillips catches up with friend Charles Hodge of Tigers on Opium. The two bands maintain practice spaces in the same building in Portland and have forged strong bonds.
The biggest reward in the local rock music scene is the camaraderie between bands. Hours prior to each show, they are working side by side to assemble their equipment and dial in the sound for the performances to come. When one band finds themselves short an amplifier or mic stand, replacements are instantly shared. The appreciation they have for each other is tangible and the respect they display is inspirational. The bonds these bands form when they tour together sustains them through the long days and nights and nourishes their passion for the music they share.
No roadies here. Charles from Tigers on Opium weaves through the theater’s cluttered back patio with a stack of amplifiers. While major musical acts have armies of roadies to manage the loads of gear a band requires, local bands handle every piece themselves which takes hours of hard work before each show.
Once all of the instruments are assembled and staged, the wait begins. Here Nate Wright from Tigers on Opium catches a break to watch Hippie Death Cult set up for their sound check. To ensure great sound for the upcoming show, each band sets up on stage and performs a methodical sound check and then they move their gear to the side for the next band to repeat the process.
Harry from Hippie Death Cult works with the sound engineer to dial in the sound for each of his drums.
Photographically, I find these musicians immensely interesting. Aside from their wonderful attitudes, they bring a flamboyance and swagger that comes across well in photos. No one seems in it for the paycheck and every effort is serving an innate need to make music as well as they can. The dedication to their craft is refreshing and honest. I really enjoy being in the venue for load in and sound check as the performance hasn’t started so pretense has no place. The sound checks also give me the opportunity to explore angles, focal lengths and assess the visual perks of each performer. The stages in these small local clubs are incredibly cramped and cluttered, making clean compositions difficult. Before the stage lighting is fired up, it’s a prime opportunity to find good compositions and test ideas for images that I can try later during the show.
Hippie Death Cult’s Eddie Brnabic lets loose on a scorching solo during sound check. Once every instrument is tested, the band usually performs a song or two to allow the sound engineer to mix the instruments and adjust the monitors on stage.
Sound check is also a great opportunity to photograph the musicians in moments where the sound is all that matters. They haven’t changed into their show clothes or donned sunglasses yet and it’s the most honest moments of the night. Because the venue isn’t open for fans yet, it’s also great for me as I have complete freedom to move around.
The Star Theater in Portland is in Old Town, and as you’d expect it’s old. I think it was a burlesque theater back in the day and still has a lot of charm even after decades of hard living.
The bar at the Star Theater is a shrine to the venue’s history and heritage of booze and fun.
Laura Phillips is the bassist and lead singer of Hippie Death Cult. Even during sound check her stage presence is powerful and fierce. She seems to hold nothing back.
Phillips’ hands tell the tale of a real touring musician and her bass guitar has stories to tell in its scarred face.
Eddie Brnabic’s guitar is a tool that he masterfully uses to hammer out incredible riffs. I enjoyed being able to focus on his hands during sound check.
Before he even arrived at the venue, Nate told me how much he liked Chase Howard’s drumming. Nate’s affection for the other drummers at the show was obvious but he holds an especially strong opinion of Chase. As soon as he sat down at his kit for sound check I could see why. He’s incredibly charming and friendly, working relentlessly to bring some fun to the hard work.
Once everyone had the opportunity to get set up and the sound engineer was happy with his adjustments, the bands had about an hour to hang out as fans were allowed into the venue. There was a very small green room below the stage where the bands could relax but I didn’t even try to make any images there. It was packed with three bands taking a moment to center themselves for the show and I didn’t see an unobtrusive opportunity to make a good image. This happens with me sometimes. I’ll have an idea of a shot but the reality doesn’t warrant the intrusion. I’m not shy, but I do know that a person with a camera in some places is not respectful. Perhaps someday I’ll get this pre-show moment in a way that feels good to me.
With the bands getting ready to take the stage, I spent some time evaluating the stage lighting. For the opening act, Tigers on Opium was given a deep orange lighting scheme which I found compelling. I love the color orange and all of the guys in the band have white instruments, which pick up the color well. This shot of the instruments lying in wait was a test shot for exposure, but turned out to be a winner for the color and textures.
Juan Carlos Caceres and Charles Hodge, along with Jeanot Lewis-Rolland and Nate Wright, make up Tigers on Opium. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know these guys and I consider them friends now. To photograph them in their element is incredibly satisfying.
Juan is the lead singer and unspoken leader of the band. He’s a gifted guitar player but I find his singing most compelling. He brings a depth of emotion to each song and when all four members of the band join in they have wonderful harmony.
Because I spend 30 minutes with him almost every week, I know Nate the best. He’s an incredible drummer. On stage he plays precisely and with little showmanship, but he’s still incredibly photogenic.
Tigers on Opium opened the show and I asked them earlier in the day where in the lineup they liked to play. Nate immediately said “first” and everyone else agreed. I expected them to all say that they would prefer to headline the night, but they explained that the opening band gets to set the tone for the night, get over their own nerves quickly, and finish first, which allows them to enjoy the rest of the show as fans. This makes sense to me.
Jeanot always looks like he’s in heaven playing guitar. As the only member of Tigers on Opium with long hair, he brings the heavy metal vibe to the group.
The Tigers circle up. Shooting from stage is not something I have had the opportunity to do before and I had a blast capturing the performance from the band’s perspective.
I’m not sure how many concerts I’ve photographed in my life, but it’s a lot. in my newspaper days I shot many and it was always from the same spot, usually at the foot of the stage right in front of the speakers. I’ve never shot a show where the space immediately in front of the stage was cleared for photographers, so most of my old concert shots are from the side and down low. At last weekend’s show I found a good spot on stage behind the bassists’ amplifiers and next to the drummer where I could shoot freely but not be in the way. My experience as a photojournalist is to always work to be unobtrusive and I still embrace that. No one pays to go to a show and watch the back of some photographer. During the Tigers set I spent a couple of songs on stage and I used my Leica Q3 camera for most of the shots there. The Q3 is absolutely spectacular in hard light and even with a wide open aperture it delivers crisp images. With its fixed 28mm lens I was able to get comfortable compositions and achieve an immersive feel without distortion. For the subsequent bands I returned to the spot on stage and shot a lot of images with the Leica and the Sony A7RV with the Sony 14mm GM lens.
My Leica Q3 has wonderful image quality in difficult light, which worked wonders on stage.
Perhaps now’s the time to talk about the settings I used to make these shots. I brought my two workhorse cameras to the show: my Sony A7RV and the Leica Q3. The Leica has the fixed 28mm F/1.7 lens and for the Sony I brought my low-light beasts: the Sony 300mm F/2.8 GM, 50mm F/1.2 GM and 14mm F/1.8 GM. For most of the show I shot everything wide open at their widest apertures. This gave me the best possible shutter speeds to freeze the action. I tried to maintain shutter speeds of 1/500” or faster but with the wider lenses I snuck down to 1/30” for some shots. The lighting for each band was different (as you’ll soon see), so my ISOs ranged from 3200 to way up to 12600. The trick with direct, colored stage lighting is to not allow the highlights to blow out to white. I almost always use manual exposure mode and for this show I relied on my histograms to guide me. In total I shot about 1,400 images and kept 850 of them. The rejected shots were either missed focus, bad framing, or LED light banding issues. The stage lighting at the theater is all LED lights, which are great for venues but a hassle for photographers as LED lights flicker. My Leica seemed to handle the flickering pretty well, but the Sony really struggled, especially with the main spotlights illuminating the people at the front of the stage.
I think it’s important to include the crowd when you can. I shot a lot from the audience during each set and in the packed house it was awesome photographically but a real chore to navigate the sea of dancing bodies with drinks in hand.
Juan and Charles drive it home.
Juan and Charles.
Charles is the Tigers on Opium bassist and he never disappoints. His smile is radiant and like all of the guys in Tigers, he always seems to be right where he wants to be.
I loved the energy of the crowd at the show. They came to see their local heroes and everyone seemed to level up to please them.
Juan doesn’t mess around.
Like I mentioned, the place was packed with fans, and I had a few spots where I could get clear shots. One was from the side nearest Jeanot. Unfortunately, his mic stand blocked his face for many of my shots. Here he snuck out to jam and I was able to squeeze him in between the stand and a happy fan.
I really like the silhouettes I was able to get of the fans at the front of the audience.
Here’s a good comparison of the image quality I enjoy with the Leica Q3. This shot is the Leica and the two above from the same spot are from the Sony A7RV with the Sony 50mm F/1.2. There is a difference in processing between the two cameras even though they have the same size and resolution sensors. The Leica’s lens is probably the reason as it is so contrasty and sharp, even wide open like this.
I shot quite a few shots with my big 300mm F2.8 lens. I liked the compression and tight perspective I got from the lens, but shooting through a whole room filled with stage smoke make for images that were pretty soft. Here’s Nate from about 60 feet away.
That said, the 300 is a great lens for getting in tight and cleaning up the background. Here Juan thanks the fans. Unlike the shot of Nate above, Juan was out at the front of the stage with no direct lighting straight down on him, so the smoke was less of a problem.
When Tigers on Opium wrapped their set, the stage was set for Kadabra from Spokane. They were concluding an eight-week tour with Hippie Death Cult and seemed no worse for wear. The trio of young guys absolutely stunned me with their energy and sound. For their set the sound engineer dialed up a green lighting scheme that proved to be tough to shoot. I came up to my spot on stage for several songs and tried to capture the kinetic energy of this incredibly hard-working trio from my home town.
Kadabra is Garrett Zanol on Guitar and vocals, Ian Nelson on bass, and Chase Howard on drums.
The lighting was tough and Ian was fast, but Garrett stayed put at the mic which helped me keep up.
I think bass players are incredible. Ian drove such a hard tempo and seemed lost in his music, spinning around occasionally to make for awesome shots like this. One of my favorites from the night.
I opted to process a couple of the images from Kadabra’s set in black and white because the green was so dim. I was pushing my ISO so high (12600) to freeze the fast-moving band. Sometimes black and white just works better for shots like this.
But the green color was also cool. It’s not a color I’ve seen used a lot in rock stage lighting so I appreciate the variety. The lights were evenly-illuminating some parts of the stage and in other places, like near the bassist, they were very spotty, making interesting patterns.
Eye contact is wonderful when you can get it. Garrett was wearing a cap so for much of their set I didn’t see his eyes at all, but for a moment we connected on stage. I loved his look with the braids, tattoos and work boots. Pretty much Spokane. This might be my favorite from the night.
One more with Garrett. Here using black and white I’m able to get more from his tattoos and the finer textures of the denim in his pants. I love that these guys love what they do so much. It’s hard to overstate how hard they work and how little they make for the effort. I’d like to think guys like Garrett, Ian and Chase will get the recognition they deserve. Look up their albums. They are really good.
Being on stage with Garrett and Ian up front is incredible enough, but to turn to the right and find a maniac totally crushing his drums is an absolute bonus. Chase Howard is a brilliant showman and his drumming is next level. He needs all of those sticks.
Shooting through drums is a challenge, and the mic stands are the worst.
Chase.
Could I just shoot an entire show of just Chase? Yes. Yes I could.
Back down from the stage, I worked the end for shots of Ian and Garrett in the sidelight.
Ian.
I concluded Kadabra’s set over in front of Garrett. That’s a well-deserved beer, and Devil’s horns from a fan.
For some perspective, I arrived at the theater at 6pm to catch the bands setting up for sound checks. The doors of the venue opened at 8 and the show started with the Tigers at 9pm. When the main act, Hippie Death Cult, finally took the stage it was after 11 and well past my typical bedtime. Working in a crowded venue, moving through the crowd and up onto the stage and back, while juggling a couple of cameras is quite a bit to manage. Add to that the intense assault that close proximity to big speakers brings and by this point I was feeling pretty beat up. My feet hurt from the concrete floors, my knees from kneeling on the stage, and my head from the sound. I was wearing very good ear plugs but the sound goes through you and rattles your bones. I was ready to pack it in but the main act was just getting ready to go.
Hippie Death Cult is Eddie Brnabic, Laura Phillips and Harry Silvers.
Laura is a force of nature.
Laura’s side of the stage enjoyed great backlight, and for their set the Hippies got the multi-hue treatment with the lighting mixing amber, blue and red tones.
Obviously, photography is about light and inn performances the light is constructed to dazzle and entertain so it’s always changing. For the first two acts, the lighting was fairly constant and mono-chromatic. For the main act, it came to life, sweeping across the stage with different colors and intensities. Nothing like the elaborate light shows at stadium rock concerts, but still pretty cool. I enjoy the challenge of finding good light in these conditions and backlighting, rimlighting and other dramatic light is the stuff good images are made of. The trick is finding good angles like the shot above.
Shooting from stage puts you opposite of the intended viewing angle of the lighting, which gives a nice dark background and good side light. Here Laura is caught between bright lights and I caught her in reflected light.
Harry’s drum set is really big and there was a large monitor next to him that I could lean over, but the angle was tough. My Leica’s two batteries were exhausted (as was I) by this point so I’m shooting this with the Sony A7RV and 14mm F/1.8 lens. The 14 is very wide and I don’t care for how much it distorts subjects in the corners, but it does allow me to get close and that’s cool.
Whenever musicians circle up I think it’s awesome. Here Laura and Harry jam while Eddie soars through a solo. I like this shot for the difference in color. Blue and Orange complement and when I can get them together I go for it.
This is so rock and roll. Wide stance, big hair, big sound. So much fun.
During Hippie Death Cult’s set, they had a couple of videographers filming so I was extra careful not to get in the way. My time on stage was pretty brief and I went back out into the audience and up to the balcony for most of the time. By this point my fatigue was beginning to kill my creativity so I began to wind down. The music was great and the crowd was hyped so I turned to them to spur me on.
The audience at this show was large for the space and quite diverse. There were old rockers and 20-somethings head banging together. I saw a guy with a walker and talked with a couple of older ladies who didn’t seem to understand what they were in for. There were lots of dudes with beards and denim jackets festooned with patches, along with quite a few women that looked like they could throw down if necessary. I loved the mix.
Portland being Portland.
At some point balloons appeared and the party upshifted into high gear.
Laura leans in.
It had gotten crowded enough that I could no longer get to the other side of the theater so I shot Eddie from the far end of the stage. The sidelighting was great, but my camera struggled to manage the LED light flickering. Here you can see the vertical banding in the color. It works here thanks to the curtains in the background, but I do hate it.
Eddie is an incredible guitarist and I’m sorry I didn’t get any great head-on shots of him during the show. I’m sure this won’t be my last chance to photograph him.
Hippie Death Cult outlasted me. I made a few shots from the balcony and then packed up and went home a little after Midnight.
I was born in the same summer Woodstock launched full-throated Rock n’Roll, so it’s in my DNA. I grew up listening to it and I’ve never stopped. I love almost all kinds of music, but Rock is the music in my head. I’m fortunate to be able to connect with great local bands and photograph them close-up. I’m in awe of their talent and fortitude. If you are like me and you’d like to meet a few great bands made up of really sweet people, click on the links below to find them.