Matador Records - Las Vegas Concert Photography

Last weekend, Matt and I went to Las Vegas for Matador Records' 21st Birthday Party - the Lost Weekend 3 day music concert. I had never been to Vegas before and having so many of my favorite bands converge at one point in time provided the perfect opportunity to go. I've been a fan of many of the artists since high school and college, and many of the bands have well, disbanded, since then, so seeing them reunite or seeing them for the first time live was a really amazing and nostalgic experience for me.  Matt and I also did some sightseeing in other parts of the city, like checking out the Pinball Hall of Fame and the vintage neon signs on Fremont Street, but the music was definitely the highlight. This was also one of the only concerts I've been to that allowed more than point and shoot cameras, so I was able to get some fun pictures.

The Japanese punk band Guitar Wolf opened and closed the first night and they were amazing. They played an after-party where I got  some of my favorite photos of the whole weekend.

Pavement was the Friday night headliner and even though I had just seen them the night before at the Hollywood Bowl and earlier this year in Berkeley, I can't get enough of their music. 

Saturday we went to the Strip and the Pinball Museum, but we got back in time to catch Spoon and Belle and Sebastian. Spoon didn't play "Sister Jack" and Belle and Sebastian didn't play "Slow Graffiti" but they were still great.

Sunday included another trip out of the Palms to check out neon signs and more of Las Vegas. Then back to see the last night of bands, starting with the New Pornographers.

And then Liz Phair, whose music I've loved forever but never thought I'd get to see touring. She played a short set of songs from only her first two albums, but they were perfect. Ted Leo joined her in a duet for her last song.

And then closing out the whole festival was my all-time favorite band, Guided by Voices. They retired in 2004, though I've seen Bob Pollard tour since then (and gotten his autograph on my one-of-a-kind vinyl Propeller!) This was the "classic lineup" with band members from 1993-1996. It was such a good show and a great way to end the weekend!

Other awesome bands we saw that I didn't get awesome pictures of were Sonic Youth, Harlem, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Superchunk, Yo La Tengo and many more. The rest of the pictures can be seen here. I had such a good time and have had such good music stuck in my head for the last week. Happy Birthday, Matador!

The LA Ri-Ettes vs. TRD - Los Angeles Roller Derby Photography

Thanks to the amazing Gori Spelling for giving Matt and I some tickets to watch the All-Star derby team LA Ri-Ettes play against Tucson Roller Derby team Iron Curtain. TRD usually skates flat track so the Ri-Ettes definitely had a home-field advantage, but it was a good game nonetheless.  Gori said I could skip taking pictures if I would rather just watch, but come on, if I hadn't brought my camera I would've missed out on all of these shots!

LA Ri-ettes win - final score 184 to 71!

Tough Cookies Win! - Los Angeles Roller Derby Photographer

I have been to my fair share of roller derby games, but I have to say the Tough Cookies vs. Sirens game last weekend may have been the best one. It literally came down to the last 15 seconds but the Tough Cookies scored the winning points in the last jam to win 135 to 130. It was pretty intense.

As with the other games I've photographed, the amazing and wonderful diva jammer Gori Spelling let me be her guest photographer. It was the first game I had a flash for, so I got to experiment with some motion blurs and try out my new lens. It was also Skatum O'Neal's birthday, so I'm glad I got to see her and give her a birthday mustache necklace. I had such a great time and can't wait for the next game. Here are a few highlights, with the rest of the set up on flickr.

Night at the Fair - Los Angeles Photography

I like fairs. I like the colorful lights and bad music and smell of funnel cakes. But I hadn't been to a fair in probably ten years, for whatever reason. So when I heard there was a  small one a few blocks away from my apartment, I knew I wanted to go. As I've gotten older, I'm less adventurous about going on very high or fast rides that can be built in a matter of hours, but it was still fun to walk around, take pictures and go on a few rides that were tame enough for the faint of heart. The Gravitron has always been one of my favorites and I couldn't stop laughing on the Bumper Cars. I took a few Diana F+ and Holga photos too and I can't wait to get those developed. In the meantime, here's a few of my favorites.