This is how it happened...

 

I hate the Tweeter Center in Mansfield, MA. It is just about the worst place to park in Boston; and it's almost an hour out of the city. Go figure! I haven't gone there in about eight years; it takes forever to get out of the lot after a show. It just sucks.

Still, when the Dave Matthew's Band was appearing there this September, I decided that I really had to go and see what they were like live.

Monday night was a drag. It took me 3/4 hour to drive there, and an hour and a quarter to get into the lot. I was miles from the stage, and damn if I wasn't tired too. The concert was good, but well, did I mention I was tired? And as the band went off after the set I couldn't help but think about spending two hours trying to get out of that lot. So when the encore started I did something I never do; I joined those ingrates that leave before the end of the show!

Driving home I swore I wasn't going back to the Tweeter Center for another eight years...

 

Which is kind of amusing, because the next day I was back at the Tweeter Center. This time with a Press Pass! What happened? Well, I got home and there was a call on the answering machine from the Dave Matthew's Band Fan Club. [Okay, I admit it; I joined the fan club because I wanted to get tickets to one of the Dave Matthew's/Tim Reynolds concerts that were held earlier this year] The Fan Club had held a contest to win a press pass to a concert. You had to send in a photo you had taken along with a little info about yourself. For fun I sent in a couple of pictures; but then I never heard anything....until I got home.

The message didn't actually mention the competition, and was kind of vague; could I call them about tomorrow nights show it asked? Now I knew they weren't calling to ask me to sit in with the band; so I really thought it must be about the competition...but you never know...

Sure enough, I finally reached them a little after 11am the next day, and they had a press pass available, and though it was last minute notice, could I go? Could I go? A Press Pass to the concert? Could I go?! Of course I could go!!

So there I was, ten minutes before the show, right in front of the stage, clutching my camera, trying to figure out what ISO and lens to use!

Metal barriers were in front of the stage, and in this space stood some security guys, two video cameras, two huge speakers, and me; crouched down, wondering what I was in for. Fortunately, there was another person there taking pictures too; so I struck up conversation hoping to gain some useful insights. Unfortunately, though she worked for a paper in Maine, she'd really got in because she knew one of the crew; she hadn't taken photos at an event like this before either!

We had just three songs in which we could take pictures.

It's hard to describe what it was like. I was so busy taking pictures; worrying about where to go, whether I should risk losing time by switching lenses, whether the ISO was right. It went by too fast. Three songs...

And then it was over, and I had to take my camera back to the car...

But I did get 9th row seats for the rest of what had to be one of the best concerts I've ever been to! And even though I couldn't help thinking about the pictures I missed; and how it would of been good to get out from in front of the stage for some pictures, I'm pretty happy with the results.

Maybe next time I'll get to shoot some video...

Michael