To the top with ZZ Top

Hey folks. Lots of happening lately, more to come, but i just wanted to share a few pics of recent event we had in Ljubljana, where after few years the two longest beards in r'n'r known as ZZ Top played for us. It has been the concert i wanted to shoot for a while and i haven't had a chance to catch with them before. Texas guys were very friendly and what happened to prove this doesn't usually happen. We were hangin' outside the hall, just waiting for somebody from the band to come to their tour buses (each ZZ Top member has its own bus, and they are nice on the inside, it is their home for months) and they invited us, a bunch of press, to come inside for unscheduled short interviews and photo op. This really doesn't happen with such bands and you can imagine our happy faces when Billy Gibbons came, said hello, looked around the room we were in and asked us to go to his dressing room where the wall was nicer for cleaner images (actually it was sea blue). Billy then asked bass player Dusty Hill (the second man with a beard) to pose with him, not scheduled too, and we got a few moments of their attention while not being chased away by security. Made my day. Of course we then let our TV colleagues to do their few minutes and enjoyed looking those interviews too. As such moments are so rare in today's show biz i kept smiling for few days :)

U2 in Zagreb and more ...

Ok, so the biggest summer event in this part of the world was no doubt the U2 concert in Zagreb. All the music photogs (and many many others) wanted to be there but the space , as always, was pretty limited and those of us who made it into the list were all very happy to be there and be able to work. I knew from following the results of previous shows and seeing one in Dublin that it is not too hard, but that the light is very specific and changes a lot and overexposure is a common disease in U2 360 photos on this tour.

We got 3 songs in the pit where we could move, while the second group was taken way back and shot from quite a distance, but got a nice opportunity to get stage shots and some cool band shots. Not much else to say but the fact it was really cool and being able to work both concerts there gave me quite some minutes with the U2, not to mention my meeting with Larry after the Sunday show. The highlight however, that has nothing to do with concert was the fact that on the way back my car broke in the middle of Zagreb and the whole stadium of cars behind me. It has been a nie ride back home on a tow truck :) Anyway, altough i prefer indoor concerts for various reasons U2 have done it great and the amount of work tour staff has to put into this show must really be big. Just looking at the tour book staff list makes you think and then when you add the hard working local staff, imagine ... Pretty cool. Anyway, here are some pictures i made during two days in Zagreb. If anyone from U2 reads this , next time it would be nice to be on stage for at least 120 seconds :)

U2

Later today, more music from U2. This time just two hours away in Zagreb, while the below was taken in Dublin two weeks ago..who says august can't be cool :)

Elton John rocks Pula Amphitheatre

I just love concerts in roman amphitheatres, the feeling inside those arenas is always amazing. This time Sir Elton John visited the Amphitheatre in Pula, Croatia and finished his leg of European tour with two and a half hours of great playing. Originally scheduled to perform alone, he changed his mind and came with the whole band which was actually great as it gave so much power to already powerfull concert. For us it was work as usuall, except for the fact that when you're shooting a piano player he's usually seating in one place and looking down on piano. You're more or less stuck to one position and wait untill he picks up his head and looks towards audience. It is hard to make different pictures, so i focused on his emotions and typical moments. Well Elton did jump around and on a piano a bit after we were no longer in a pit. Pretty cool stuff and great night at work :)

Welcome Pula!

Typical Elton

The moment to catch

We always love those kind of looks from an artist

A bit of walking around the stage

Hey, Miro , i see you :)

Cowboy Magnifico from the back

Stage access photos of local artists are always fun to make. First, you can almost walk anywhere in the back of stage, normally trying to be invisible (those that know me will confirm, i wear black tshirts all the time, partially because of this too - i once saw an official photographer for an event on a big stage wearing white pants and yellow shirt and got more visibility that the artist on stage) and second, colours will always be very vivid as the light you catch from behind is set for people to watch from the audience and not for us to take photos of :) Anyway, here's a pretty cool shot of Magnifico during his last Križanke concert with the light directly above his cowboy hat and a very central composition. This image appeared as a two page spread in special "interview edition" of Mladina weekly this week. Rock on!

Simply Red - Ljubljana - The Last Time

Simply Red visited Ljubljana third time in their 25 year history. If Mick Hucknall doesn't change his mind, this was the last time too, as his plan is to retire Simply Red brand and work on other music and solo projects. Whatever happens, i will remember them in a positive light. The concert we shot in Hala Tivoli was pretty cool, and our positions for shooting first two songs were quite nice to - not below the stage, but on the stage. This is a very rare place to shoot on big shows with world names..(it only happened to me once with Robert Plant , but even that was on stage but waaay back from the edge of stage).

I knew Mick holds his microphone with his left hand and the mic wire stays in his right hand most of the time, so my position wish was stage right..to get him open...This is why it is importaint to prepare for such events in every manner and chances for great pictures will be better. Anyway, we were there for two songs and altough Mick looked at public most of the time, there were a couple of moments when he came like one meter away from my position. I could actually giv him Hi 5 , that close..and as you can see below this provided an excellent opportunity for nice picture from an unusual angle. I loved the cold beer after we finished with the business and enjoyed the performance too.

Hey Miro, i can see you :)

Sinéad O'Connor

Sinéad O'Connor - one 2 one mini session for 3 minutes in a hotel in Ljubljana before her concert in Križanke. She is very quiet, but altough she suffered a lot in her career still sings beautifull and i loved the concert.

Gipsy Queen and her hands

Had lots of fun shooting at Esma Redžepova concert in Križanke few days ago. Inspired by the fact that during a mini photo session in backstage she asked me to bring her(mostly golden) rings, so she can put them on for the photos (actually a lot of them and all of them quite heavy), i decided to follow her hand trough the concert...pretty fun actually, especially if you can shoot the whole set and do this after you're done with what you actually need.

Slipknot in Zagreb - and more masked musicians

Ok, let's continue where i stopped back in March. I am still here, happy as always and working as normal (altough i had been stopped by two police officers that jumped around the corner in downtown Ljubljana just yesterday and saw me with my iPhone, they are probably not Apple fans i guess ;) ) I have been a bit lazy blogger lately, i admit, but things have been busy with regular photo jobs all over, and as the summer concert heat is here hopefully late summer nights will be cold enough to post some more stuff and get back the tempo of posting more regulary.

Anway, last post showed Lordi, this one shows Slipknot. Their common thing is they're both masked and perform really cool. Zagreb hosted Slipknot just this night and altough the music they play is not my personal favourite it was pretty cool to see the show. Great one, indeed. Metal fans were all up and head banging all over. Great warm up for MetalCamp :) Here are some shots. Enjoy and thank for reading this little blog of mine :)

P.S.

(yeah - i know phone-and-drive is dangerous and learned the lesson, will be using bluetooth headset from now on)

Lordi - beasts from Finland

Time to wake up this place a bit. I have been pretty busy last weeks, plenty of work all over the place, lots of great pictures, just no time to post it here. Anyway, let's start with Lordi, the winners of Eurovision song contest few years ago. These beasts from Finland came to little town of Cerknica and played on friday the 13th. This is one of those gigs where most of the people watch, lot less will listen, which is bad as their music is done well and sounds very cool, especially if you listen only and not watch. What else can i say, well maybe the fact that there was so much firepower in front of the stage like this was pyrotechnic show not a concert..and when it all fired..it was loud and bright. Here are some beasts as seen in Cerknica....

Oasis - from snow to a great show

After few days off and some great skiing in Italy, another great thing came and took me and my camera to work. Oasis came to Treviso and did a great show. I saw them for the first time and was happy to be in the pit for the time allowed. Shows in Italy are always very good, simply because italian fans are super wild and loud from song one, and bands simply love it. Here are some moments for all Oasis fans ... Enjoy!

James Burton - the man who played with Elvis Presley

Sometimes a crazy day turns into a great evening. So was last friday, when a true living legend came to Graz, Austria. James Burton, a name that might not be widely known to non-mucisians, but a living legend. He was the guitar player of Elvis Presley for many many years, played with musicians like Johhny Cash, John Denver, Jerry Lee Lewis, Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello, Roy Orbison and many many others. His biggest fan Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, gave a speech on his introduction to Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, he has been nominated for a gremmy this year too.

James Burton is also known by his unique style of playing called chicken picking, which is otherwise known and used in country music scene. Take a look at his guitar lesson here. It is very interesting and you'll see how familiar this sounds and how hard it is to play :) We were lucky to have met him backstage for a little interview, which happened in between the concert (yes, they actually had a 20 minute break and we were let into backstage to do it, something new for me too, as usually this things happen before or after the gig), where he played with two other ex-Elvis Presley famous TCB band..Jerry Scheff and Glen Hardin. So cool, again :)

James Burton with his famous Fender Telecaster shining gold ...

Altough he is always very calm and quiet, he sometimes rocks too :)

At the end, he even gestured to throw his guitar to the fans below :)

And a special in-between backstage shot of the band and legends in there...
from left, Jerry Scheff - bass, Paul Leim - drums, Glen D Hardin - keyboards and James Burton with his typical hat and a bit of smile too...

Psycho Path - the last gig

Slovenian band Psycho Path had their last gig. No more Psycho Path. I never was their biggest fan, but loved their music (they describe themself as Sexy, heavy, sonic indie rock band from Slovenia) when i had a chance to hear it and take pictures. Their singer Melée is usually in another world when on stage and her performance is cool to listen and watch. It was the same in SubSub club last week during their gig where all former band members joined them too. I never shot the last gig of one band before, but i don't think this is the last gig, they'll be back, fans want it. Here are some moments and their last group shot after stage was empty. So long PP!

How do i refill my batteries?

There are concerts. There are concerts that are very cool, there are concerts that you enjoy, there are concerts where you work and enjoy(well most of them are like this), there are concerts that you work and wish you could enjoy more and there are concerts where the performer gives you so much energy that the word "enjoy" is not the correct selection anymore. One of those performers is Salomon Burke, a soul legend from USA. I saw him first back in 2005, this time he came to Graz and played in my favourite Orpheum theatre. Mr. Burke can't walk anymore, but his voice walks all over the place, with big steps and leaves you with open mouth for some time. Salomon Burke lives with 21 children and 98 grandchildren and tours all the time. He says he'll continue doing it while he can. And to answer my question on top, this is how i refill my batteries, completely, for a long time :) Of course, holiday season was excellent too and few days off during New Year and Xmass break felt really good.

I wish everyone a great 2009 and thank you for reading this blog lines and coming back :)

On stage with ex Bijelo Dugme singers

Another great night in Tivoli. This time no screaming teenagers, but a few thousand screaming lovers of ex you-rock group Bijelo Dugme. 3 of their legendary singers (goran Bregović is not cooperating in this project) joined forces and created an event where they sing all the known songs and make halls go crazy. It was no different this time, and lots of emotion in the hall. Great night, great work conditions and again some stage shots. At first i didn't plan to be there at all, but it turned out it is possible so why not :) It is always nice to get a photo with artists loking at you and screaming fans in the back..it is just so cool :)

Mladen Vojičić - Tifa, Željko Bebek and Alen Islamović posing for me :)

Alen Islamović

Željko Bebek in his typical white dress

Tifa and the lights ...

.. the end ...very loud and crazy..