Brad Paisley brought his Virtual World tour to San Diego last night and I was there to cover it. It was the final show of the season at Cricket Amphitheatre and a really good shoot. There were only four of us photographing the show, and the rules were pretty standard for a country show. 2 songs. From the pit. But there was no pit.
There is a trend that I have been seeing for the last couple of years when it comes to country shows, and that is the performers really like to interact with the audience. That means no security between the band and the audience and no photographers or space for photographers.
Most of the performers also have an ego ramp, that is a part of the stage that juts out right into the crowd. Last night, there were three ego ramps and Brad actually came right down off the stage to play in the audience. This also makes it really tough for me to do my job. So instead of just looking for those great moments that define the performer, I look for the moments of interaction with the crowd.
And there is something pretty cool watching how the fans really just want to touch their idols.
Even with the 2 song limit and no pit to shoot from I was really happy with the images that I captured last night.
All photos taken with a Nikon D4 and D700 with a 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses
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