Friday, February 29, 2008

Barry Manilow


Barry Manilow
Originally uploaded by rachelparker
Two in one day!


So Barry Manilow was last week. It was a soundboard shoot which kinda sucks. But you deal with it. I never realized how many of his songs I actually know. What I saw of the show seemed like it would be good. It's a very Vegas show act. Granted it is a vegas show so I guess I'm not really saying much am I?


Here's a few of the pics.
Barry Manilow Barry Manilow Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow Barry Manilow

Ok like I said before M5, Rooney, Jonas, MB20. Also I'm going to try and shoot Alanis and Mute Math tonight.

Later!
Rachel

One Republic


One Republic
Originally uploaded by rachelparker
So a couple weeks ago I shot One Republic at the House of Blues. They were pretty good, I wish I could remember more about it. I have their cd and it's nothing like the remixed radio overplayed version of Apologize. Its definitely more credible than that. I really think they will continue to grow and hopefully keep a descent fan following. I know how finicky top 40 listeners can be. Not to diss anyone who likes top 40. I just feel like that if that's all you listen to you miss out and are just listening to what the station is saying you have to. (I have to admit I get slightly bitter when top 40 picks up on artists I've liked for a while. IE: Sara Bareilles. But that's not to say I'm not happy for the artist success) Anyway! I already posted shots of their Opening act Josh Kelley.

The lighting on Josh seemed much better than that which was on One Republic. I still think I got some descent shots.

One Republic One Republic One Republic One Republic
One Republic One Republic One Republic One Republic

Ok still to come Manilow, Maroon 5 at Kidd Kraddick, Rooney, Jonas Brothers, and Matchbox 20. Wow I need to catch up!

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Josh Kelley


Josh Kelley
Originally uploaded by rachelparker
Well last Sunday I shot One Republic at the House of Blues. Those photos will be next in the blog! But I also shot Josh Kelley the opener. I wanted to shoot the other opener which was the band The Daylights but there was some photo pass drama at the box office. But got my pass got inside watched the rest of the Daylights set then shot Josh Kelley after them.

Now the lighting at the House of Blues is incredibly hit or miss. And during Josh's set it was hit. Great great great lights. Which was a pleasant surprise. I have to say I liked Josh better live than on albums. And what's sad is that I like his brothers band better than him but he's still a good performer. His newer stuff is quite a bit better than his first album.

But now some photos.
Josh Kelley Josh Kelley Josh Kelley Josh Kelley
Josh Kelley Josh Kelley Josh Kelley Josh Kelley



Ok so coming up are pictures from One Republic, Barry Manilow, and Maroon 5 at Kidd Kraddick.

Night!
Rachel

Friday, February 8, 2008

2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour w/Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire

So my friend Amy and I hit the road last weekend and went to the Bossier City stop of the 2 Worlds 2 Voices tour. I actually bought the tickets back in December during the KC fanclub presale Section 1 row D seats 7&8 which is alot better than the fanclub had been doing. Also the demand was less because tickets weren't being shipped which gets rid of the scalpers.

So I kinda wanted to kill myself Saturday because I was so tired Friday I fell asleep at like 6 now mind you this is after sleeping past noon that day too. I mean what am I a 5 year old? Who falls asleep at 6. But then to top it off I woke back up at 9 pm. And then I realized oh I'm so screwed. So I never got back to sleep. We got to Bossier and grabbed a bite to eat. I wish I had been more hungry than I was because my salad was pretty dang good. I have to say it said on the menu it had cucumber on it. My salad had no cucumber. It did have lots of Avacado though which I guess makes up for the lack of cucumber. Still wish it had it.

After eating we went and played the slots for a little while. The gambling gods were not with us. So we headed out and decided to go ahead and head over to the venue. But apparently a parade had just gotten out. So we ended up going down some street but I figured I'm ok with directional stuff so we just went south. Then we got to a street that I had recognized but that too was blocked off for the Parade. So we kept going and eventually found our way to another street that ran next to the river found the bridge which was partially blocked off for said parade. Went over the bridge and got onto the street the venue was on YAY! We headed up and found out that you didnt have to pay for parking which was quite a pleasant surprise. I ran up to the box office got our tickets and came back to hang out in the car till we could go in.

So being the idiots we are we went all the way upstairs to go in when apparently there's a floor entrance. But that's ok. It's good cardio! I've gotten to stop hiding my point and shoot finally because more of the newer ones are coming out bigger like mine. Thank god because it's such a battle trying to hide that thing. Oh how I wish I could take my pro cam.

I actually thought my point and shoot was dead a couple weeks ago. I turned it on and it said System Error 2. Which I read was like fatal. So as a last resort I dropped it a couple times (I dont condone this!) And it fixed it so. I'm not complaining. Well we found that area where people could come inside downstairs which was actually where the people were waiting for Meet & Greets. I said hi to a couple folks I knew waiting there. Then we went in to check out our seats which were great. I also said hi to another person I knew before we went to get something to drink and took a quick bathroom break, then returned to our seats. And even more people we knew came over and said hi.

About 5 minutes after 8 Melissa Peterman came on and Kristi a friend of ours a few seats over had FINALLY gotten there. They got stuck in traffic but finally made it. I blame that parade. Melissa was hilarious. And gotta say I really enjoyed the fact she was talking to some guy named Mike in the front row giving him a hard time. So she did her stand up and then there was a bit of an intermission.

So Kelly and Reba's set was them both on stage together the entire time. And most the songs were done together. On a few numbers either Reba or Kelly were singing back up for the other and it worked out nicely. I really enjoyed getting to see Kelly and Cory (Her guitar/keyboard/violin/everything player) singing back up doing these little "Dances" in sync. Like they wernt dancing it was more like bobbing to the music but they were both grooving together.

The lighting rig on this tour is freaking fabulous. My one criticism would be to add 2 extra spotters. Because most artist have atleast 2 spotlights on them during the show. And I'm pretty sure they just had the 2 split. I may be wrong though so. But the LED lights and the rig is great. The stage is also pretty cool. It's nothing Fancy. For Kelly it's a bit of a step up in the production level because she normally doesnt have a stage this big or that many lights going on. And for Reba it's a major step down because she's all about the costume changes and elaborate stuff. And about the outfits. Kelly wore Jeans! JEANS! She normally wears these black pants. But I am shunning these black pants cause man wearing the same thing on stage since 2005 is so uncool.

Lets hop skip and jump into the music and the setlist. BUT First of all I want to say. My mom loves country music it is what she listens to. I'm pretty eclectic, country is included in my listening. I mean living with her I grew up on the stuff. So of course I grew up with some Reba. I've never been a huge huge fan but I do like a good deal of Reba's music.

Now anyone who knows me knows Kelly is my favorite. She is an incredibly talented person. And on top of this she is one of the nicest people I've met (and I've met her multiple times). She's tried hard to keep her roots and stay unaffected by fame. And that just appeals to me. And some people know I wait tables as well as shoot. And she has come into my place of work. She was polite and nice and right before she left I asked for a picture and got to chat with her for a few outside and she wasn't any different from the time's I had met her before.

So back to the set list. It was a little Reba heavy. I could have done without a couple of the Reba song's and had another Kelly song. Like Sleeping with the Telephone. Not a big Faith Hill fan. So that was one that I found disposable.

I have to say I really liked the arrangement for Beautiful Disaster. Which all the Kelly fans seemed to think was retired because she didnt do it on the last tour. But it made a strong return. The song The Greatest Man I Never Knew which the both of them did on Crossroads, sounded even better in person. Also after the acoustic set they did Reba's song Love Revival which was pretty cool. It was one of those songs you can get down to so I liked that.

There are 2 reba songs that Kelly was doing back up on that I really would have liked to have heard Kelly sing a verse on, "And Still" and "Is There Life Out There." But with "Is There Life Out There" Kelly did get to riff all over the end. She definitely tore it up in a good way.

Another highlight was during "I'm a Survivor" when Melissa Peterman came back out, Beer in Hand by the way. She had Reba hold it for her. Then she couldnt help but join in during the song. It was hilarious.

After all that we got a treat with Kelly doing A Moment Like This. The last time she did that on a tour she rocked it out just a tad. This was like the original. And what was really cool was when I was singing along she was looking me dead in the eye so I smiled and she started to smile all big while singing it at me for a second. Which was really cool. And that was the last number before the Encore. Which was Since U Been Gone, Because of You, and Fancy.

And every Kelly fan knows you jump during the chorus on Since U Been Gone apparently the Reba fans didnt get the memo because my friend and I were the only ones jumping. But during the 2nd chorus Kelly saw us and pointed and started jumping too. So take that or something people who didn't want to jump!

After the show I got a Kelly Program. Or well my friend in the merch line already got it for me and I gave her the money for it. Still the same. Then we ventured out to find a Hotel. Yep were morons who dont book hotels before we go to a city. It took us a while but we found what had to be the one room left at the Hampton. Score! The odd's of pulling that off Mardi Gras weekend in Louisiana has to be slim to none.

So that's that. Sorry if this was a tad bit lengthy. Picture Time!

Opening Act Melissa Peterman:
Melissa Peterman Melissa Peterman

Reba and Kelly:
Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire
Kelly Clarkson Kelly Clarkson Kelly Clarkson Kelly Clarkson
Aben Eubanks and Cory Churko Kelly Clarkson Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire Musical Director Jason Halbert
Kelly Clarkson Kelly Clarkson Reba McEntire Musical Director Jason Halbert
Kelly Clarkson, Reba McEntire, and Melissa Peterman Kelly Clarkson, Reba McEntire, and Melissa Peterman Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire Kelly Clarkson