No one knows exactly what their future holds, and when January 1st rang in the New Year I had no idea that 2022 was going to be the most epic concert year that I have ever had. This calendar year has afforded me the opportunity to see some musical legends and my favorite bands, and to have been approved with photo credentials for more shows than I have ever been credentialed for.
I discovered new bands that expanded my musical horizons even further. I met many new rock friends and shared time with friends old and new at shows throughout the year, across the country and on the high seas.
You might ask me if I am able to pick a single favorite show or band out of my epic year’s adventures. My first answer would be that every single show I saw kicked ass in its own right. Then I started debating if I could somehow quantify each show across multiple variables to see if there was in fact a mathematically proven top show of the year.
I kept getting stuck debating on what weight would each variable hold, and how out of town shows would potentially skew results as it does add an extra level of excitement to travel for a show which usually involves going to a new venue.
After some contemplation, a new Excel spreadsheet and a few conversations with my concert going brethren, I came to the conclusion it is a personally subjective outcome and that traveling for a show would indeed skew the outcome. I counted too many variables between the ones that I came up with and the suggestions of my friends added in and returned to my initial answer that EACH. AND. EVERY. SHOW. KICKED. ASS!
2022 summarized numerically:
37 shows
26 credentialed shows and 2 shows I was able to bring my camera. 2 shows I got denied (both
Iron Maiden) and 7 shows I didn’t try for credentials.
169 band performances
6 different states
14 different cities
18 different venues and 2 cruise ships
11 new venues I had never been to
My first show of the year was in early February at the sail away party for my annual excursion on the Monsters of Rock Cruise. Axeman extraordinaire Adrien Vandenberg was the headliner and it had been over thirty two years since his last performance in the United States. I was astounded at his jaw dropping playing ability as a teenager in the mid-1980s and to see and capture with my lens this man absolutely shredding right in front of me were moments of pure joy. And this was just the first show of the year!
He also played twice on the Monsters of Rock cruise so three times within less than a week I witnessed a true master of his craft at work.
The Monsters of Rock Cruise was beyond awesome seeing forty two performances over five nights and alongside a good friend who is a Jedi behind the lens and one of my photography mentors (Obi Wan). New friends were made as have been every music cruise I have ever been on. One as a result of me going “Hey, that is a cool t shirt – can I take a photo?” Even though I now abstain from indulging, that conversation has me an honorary member of the “Heavy Metal Beer Club”. Just that simple exclamation and question has led to a great friendship with a great metal and beer loving couple who live in Arizona.
Many great bands were seen onboard, some newly discovered as well as many I was very familiar with. This was also my first exposure to the Van Halen tribute band Nerd Halen. I shot their meet and greet photo experience and I had in front of the front row access for part of their pool stage show that both Obi Wan and I were still talking about weeks later and we both proclaimed as our favorite show of the cruise. I cannot wait for the cruise in 2023 as it is an incredibly stacked lineup.
A week after the cruise returned I flew out for my first ever visit to Las Vegas for my tenth time seeing Metallica and was a promised metal quest fulfilled for the Chief Metal Maiden’s first Metallica show. That the show was in Sin City was an added bonus! Thankfully no bail money was required.
Gretta Van Fleet was one of the openers and it was my first exposure to their music beyond what I had heard on terrestrial radio. I would for sure like to see them again and as a headliner. Crazy to see one of my local friends out there at the show, but we metalheads roll deep and travel for what we love.
Two weeks after Metallica I went with another friend and Jedi behind the lens photography mentor (Lord Nikon) to see Tesla at the Strawberry Festival. While I was not credentialed for this show, their security does not check for cameras so I brought mine, shot the whole show from my seat and ended up posting over a hundred shots.
The Cannibal Corpse show was my friend’s teenage daughter’s first ever concert (and her idea for them to go) and a people watching old mine. I witnessed a very interesting ‘exchange’ (that needs to stay unwritten) between a guy and his wife/girlfriend during one of Cannibal Corpse’s more anatomically graphical songs. Um, if you catch me at a show ask me about this story lol. Thankfully, while my friend’s teenage daughter also witnessed this said unmentionable exchange, I am beyond certain she had absolutely no idea what the band was singing about and I confirmed after the show that she is not scared for life.
The Cult sounded phenomenal and Ian Asbury still has an amazing voice. A one hundred percent amazing show in a nearly acoustically perfect venue. I so look forward to seeing them again.
Cruise to the Edge was an absolute blast, Obi Wan and I worked as part of the meet and greet photography team. We had a balcony cabin (my first time ever on my seventeenth overall and sixth music cruise) and woke up to paradise out the sliding door each morning. My first time ever with “Production” credentials. Which means there is no three song limit from the photo pit (which is the norm with media credentials) and I shot on stage with the bands at various times for the first time ever. Initially that was a terrifying experience as I took each and every step up there carefully, as I did not want to trip over a wire and bring the show to a halt. Shooting on stage turned out to be the most exhilarating experience I have ever had doing concert photography.
A special shout out filled with much appreciation to the Spicy Ginger for having us along on board. Overall I saw forty six performances (including the sail away party), Obi Wan and I each did four meet and greet shoots and again, new friends were made.
Jackyl was a fun show and also a people watching gold mine given the venue. I have always loved this band and every time I have seen them live they put on a great, very highly spirited rock n roll show, and this night was no different.
Shooting the Pussy Riot show was an experience. To say I was expecting an actual band to play, when the emcee of the night said we were minutes away from Pussy Riot hitting the stage and me only seeing a table at the back of the stage with a laptop on it I turned and asked Obi Wan “Where’s the drum kit?”
Let us just say I have a newfound enjoyment of electronic music after seeing this show. It was very hypnotic, sensual and angry all at the same time. It was a heightened crowd and ‘band’ as the show was the headliner show of the local Pride Festival. The major abortion ruling had just rippled through the nation earlier that day so hence my description of the anger I felt from the band but they used that to bring solidarity to the crowd and it was just a powerful evening in many ways.
Def Leppard/Motley Crüe/Poison/Joan Jett at Wrigley Field was an out of this world show, trip, and experience. For the review I wrote as a fan in the stands I came up with what I consider as my best title ever with “Pour Some Shout at the Devil on Me”.
A shout out of appreciation to my boss for the tickets, as much as I thought Motley Crüe kicked ass, I, the Chief Metal Maiden and those around us were in agreement that Poison stole the show.
Volunteering to photo the Girls Rock St. Pete end of camp concert was an unexplainable experience for the fact that some of these girls had never picked up an instrument before the Girls Rock camp started a week ago and here they were on stage performing to a packed courtyard at Jannus Live.
Obi Wan and I each submitted hundreds of shots and the reception and pure gratitude we received in return has us both anxious to volunteer again and photo as much of next year’s camp as possible in addition to the finale concert. This is a great organization and there are chapters all over the country. Girls Rock!
Lord Nikon, his wife and another friend did a road trip to see Tom Kiefer Band/LA Guns/Faster Pussycat at The Ranch in Fort Myers. It was a huge venue inside with a bar along the wall all the way around and a giant ‘dance’ floor in the middle as it was apparent from all of the signed guitars on the wall it was mostly a county music venue.
Conversation on the drive home included both how great the show was as well as how cool that venue was, how great the sound system there was and we all vowed to keep an eye on their event calendar.
Anthrax/Black Label Society/Hatebreed – Before we even went into the show I was in the presence of the Holy Quartet of Jedi photographers (Joel, Steve, Mark, Lord Nikon). While I and several other photographers were not approved to photo Black Label Society somehow we all got to shoot the whole set, while we all had the normal three song limit for the opener and headliner).
With the stage height only coming up to my waist at the House of Blues in Orlando, I got some of the best shots of any show I have ever photographed during their set (you should see the Holy Trinity’s collective jaw dropping shots – Lord Nikon did not photo).
It was a killer show and a fun, literal at the last minute road trip with Lord Nikon as I did not even get the approval that I was credentialed until 3:30 PM the day of the show and then had to make the trek from Tampa over to Orlando as doors opened at 6 PM. So worth it!
More appreciation goes out to the Spicy Ginger as she invited Obi Wan and I to the Monsters on the Mountain festival. Over the three day period I saw twenty eight performances, did five meet and greet shoots and met one of the most interesting, friendly and personable guys ever.
For simplicity and to protect the identities of the innocent, I will call him Sparky and let me just say, within a few minutes of getting in for a ride in his (I have free candy but I am not a serial killer stalker) van, meeting and chatting with him it was like we had been friends for decades. I cannot wait to hang with you again Sparky! It has been great to keep in touch with you and follow your cross country adventures.
Obi Wan and I hope this festival returns to Gatlinburg again next year so we can put a day on either side of the festival to explore and photo the area. For this trip we didn’t arrive until after 2 AM the morning of the festival (Friday), each ‘worked’ almost forty hours and had an airport pick up at 5:15 AM on Monday. Such a fun trip and Sparky was only one of the new friends I met.
Seeing Paradise Kitty and The Iron Maidens in Milwaukee was the record breaking show for the year and it was not even September yet. This was my twenty sixth show of the year, breaking my previous record attained in 2014.
The Maidens sounded awesome and even played the hardly ever performed live “Rime Of The Ancient Mariner” which clocks in at over thirteen minutes. The Kittens rocked the house and the whole night again solidly proves that Girls Rock!
What I called and considered the Tour of Biblical Proportions, Testament/Exodus/Death Angel absolutely obliterated the ground in and around Jannus to where I witnessed a portal to Hell open up in the mosh pit.
Another people watching gold mine show, this was another show where I had to remind myself that I am not skilled enough to headbang and take (good) photos at the same time.
Iron Maiden in Chicago was the longest wait in between ticket purchase date and the show date I have ever had to withstand (non-pandemic related or rescheduled). Ten months since the charge hit my credit card to the time the Chief Metal Maiden, two of our ‘Lake Bluff Bubble’ peeps and I entered the United Center for what was all three of their first time seeing this legendary band. To say it was an awesome show was an understatement.
The set list was pure brilliance, a great time was had by all in our group and I still had the local Tampa show to look forward to in two weeks.
The Iron Maidens at OCC Roadhouse had the same people watching gold mine qualities as this venue always has. This time here my view was from side stage as we were allowed to photo the whole show from inside the crowd and the Maidens put on another stellar performance. They really mixed up the deep cuts of their set list from only a few weeks ago.
Iron Maiden in Tampa I guess technically was a longer wait from ticket purchase to the show but you get the idea it was a long wait. This show was a reunion of three buds, Timbro, The Foz and it and was Timbro’s son’s first ever concert. We reminisced about how Timbro’s first concert was with The Foz and I back in 1987 (Motley Crüe and Guns n Roses).
The sound quality of this show was far better than in Chicago and to where I would say the best ever sounding show I had ever seen at that venue. Four of my last five shows were Iron Maiden related, and three of them were in October so instead of Rocktober I referred to it as Maiden Month. One other item to note was this show was the 139th and final performance of the ”Legacy of the Beast’ tour that started in 2019 and of course was pandemic delayed.
I had attended the opening night of the North American leg in Sunrise, FL in 2019 and got to close out this tour with a treasured, highly detailed, ‘Easter egg’ filled Iron Maiden event shirt commemorating the tour itself. Only time in my life I have ever bought four shirts at the same tour (three online, saving that hour long wait in the merch line) and for the one I got in Tampa, when I popped out quick during one of the songs and came home with fabric gold!
Twist of the dial with a (mostly) reggae show in Virginia. While the trip also included a Lightning hockey game and some sightseeing, the chance to catch an out of town show was high on the list and much appreciated. The show was super chill with some extremely talented musicians. A nice change of musical pace. Definitely more reggae shows in my future.
The Scott Stapp show was the other where I was not photo credentialed for but still was able to bring my camera. I had won tix for a section in front of the VIP section (SVIP – a new higher priced category I had not yet heard of) and this eventually got me on the rail up front. Scott still has his amazing voice, it was perfect weather for an outdoor show, and I got some great shots.
Seeing W.A.S.P. in Orlando was the culmination of a teenage dream so many years ago to see them live. Life and their tour dates never matched up until this tour was announced and not quite as long of a wait as Iron Maiden, but we bought the tix back in January.
An epic road trip which finally introduced Lord Nikon to The Foz and the show was beyond epic in itself. This time I only have to wait a mere seven days to see them again!
W.A.S.P. in Chicago may be the epic adventure of the year. Lord Nikon’s connections back home got us tickets to the sold out show on the first of the only back to back stops on their tour.
Then prior to the Saturday show he and I both got to watch a bit of the W.A.S.P. sound check and also check out the Arcada Theatre.
He and I agreed that this was the coolest venue either of us had ever been to. Then we got to hang out for the Armored Saint sound check before returning to the venue a few hours later for the sold out show we originally bought tickets and planned
the trip for. It was concert history for me as it was the first time I had seen the same band for three concerts in a row and my third time seeing W.A.S.P. within a week.
Cannibal Corpse once again decimated and laid waste to Jannus and by far it was the darkest show I saw of the year as one of the opening bands literally had the crowd chanting “Hail Satan.”
There were dozens of people there proudly displaying their face corpse paint and upside down crosses on their foreheads. Thankfully this show was on a Saturday night so it was not too long before I could get to church and repent. I saw all four bands and did not understand a single word being sung. That is awesome!
Jinjer was freaking amazing– I had never heard a band sound so good at Jannus. P.O.D. certainly has me as a new fan after hearing more beyond just their radio tunes. To say that Tatiana mesmerizes me is an understatement and my review of the show spawned this literary gem of me describing her on stage.
She transitions from that super sweet girl next door with a smile that will melt your soul to an alluring succubus that will rip your f*cking heart out just for the fun of it. I already yearn for my next Jinjer show.”
I would say it is hard to put into words the experiences I have had this year, but here we are almost thirty three hundred words later. All I can say is wow! What an amazing year.
My favorite show of the year? It has to be seeing Metallica in Las Vegas. It is Metallica. It is Las Vegas. They finally hit double digits in my overall count. A promise was fulfilled to the Chief Metal Maiden for her to see them for her first time. The week leading up the show was a whirlwind tour of the city and part of the Grand Canyon. The show itself was absolutely awesome as those guys are still kicking ass.
Months prior when I bought the tickets Ticketmaster received much ire from me as we should have had great seats, but one of the infamous Ticketmaster SNAFU errors put me back in the queue at the time of purchase. Still, it was freaking Metallica in Vegas and if tomorrow they scheduled another concert there I would find a way to make it!
Serious contenders for show of the year has to include Anthrax/Black Label Society/Hatebreed (for the photo experience I had). Both Iron Maiden shows (Tampa for the sound quality, but also for the band to put out what I think is their best ever event shirt). Def Leppard/Motley Crüe/Poison/Joan Jett (for the epicness of the whole trip, the venue and the show).
Tom Kiefer Band/LA Guns/Faster Pussycat (for how fun the adventure was and how killer all three bands sounded) and the second day of Monsters of the Mountain which had me seeing a Ratt iteration for the first time since 1991 and Queensrÿche kicking ass. I could add in several more shows here – seriously, the whole year kicked ass.
All three festivals I attended (two of them cruises) were the funnest times ever (I say that about every music cruise). Great people, great friends, great bands and great destinations. Good times.
My favorite newly discovered band is Nerd Halen, by far. I got to see two of their shows and I shot their meet and greet sessions on the Monsters of Rock Cruise and at Monsters on the Mountain.
Their performances are musically so spot on accurate, entire Van Halen career spanning and with the mixed in comedic gold of lead singer Hal Sparks I was laughing my ass off and headbanging through both of their shows.
Both of their shows left Obi Wan and me still talking about it days and weeks later, and they were months apart. After getting to spend some time with them in and around the meet and greet shoots I count them all as new friends and say that they are the nicest, most humble guys you could possibly meet.
