Road Trip: The National at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, 1.20.18

Over the weekend I took a road trip to Vegas with my friend Jeff to see The National at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. It's been awhile since he and I have done a road trip show but knowing he bought the tickets months ago and who am I to argue? It was a quick trip, just 30 hours away from my family...We left San Diego early Saturday morning, arrived in the afternoon and checked in to the hotel, gambled a little, had an amazing fancy steak dinner at MB, then caught the show. I had a photo pass to the band's show in San Diego back in October so I reached out to the publicists again, and after some back and forth, I was still holding out hope for a photo pass in Vegas. It never happened, but fortunately we chatted with the box office before the show and they seemed to have an open policy so long as there's no "detachable lens", so I decided to take my Samsung point and shoot into the venue. I was afraid I wouldn't pass the metal detectors, but clearly cameras aren't what they were looking for, and despite the massive line to get into the show, getting in took very little time at all.

The show was incredible. There was no opener but before they came to the stage, the lights dimmed and the house music went to Big Thief's "Shark Smile", probably because the band will be opening some 2018 tour dates in the Southeast, and then, because it was the day of the Women's March, played "Women of the World Take Over".

So let me say something about my pictures...I'm 5'3" and was about 6-10 rows of people from the stage, depending on how many people tried to shove in front of us. Several people had their phones out and above their heads almost the entirety of the show, so I'm trying to focus my camera over the shoulder of the guy in front of me, working around cell phones, trying to not be obnoxious myself. The band members are barely lit with the exception of Matt. I think it's intentional, but I really tried to get pics of the others, especially Bryce and Aaron, who are also up front, but nothing decent came out. It would definitely appear I'm trained just on Matt, but I think that's kind of the way the band prefers it.

Photos: The National at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre, 10.12.2017

The past few weeks I've had a ton of photo passes which means I'm backlogged with gigs and gigs of photos. In three songs at The National, I shot 405 photos. And I've been a little shy about posting because I'm slightly intimidated by the far more talented photographers in this town and their amazing gear that isn't filled with scratched mirrors and spotty sensors and image dust bunnies, but Darren gave me a pep talk, and I get some incredible access to shows that not a lot of people get, so I promise as things start to slow down as we get deeper into fall, I'll get around to posting more photos. I'm on such a high from Thursday night that I wanted to get these pics of The National up right away.

Thursday nights are tough because we have soccer practice in PB until 6, which means by the time we pack up and leave the area, it's 6:30 and the 5 south is in rush hour. Jeff and I made arrangements to meet at Tribute before the show. I should've studied the menu and pre-planned my order, because that place is busy. It was delicious, but not somewhere to go if you're in a rush. As it was, we had to take my pizza to go when it was finally ready, dropped it at my house, then made our way to SDSU. I had a photo pass, but arrived during the fourth song from Daughter, so this was the best I could get from my point and shoot from my seat. They sounded fantastic and were a solid choice as an opener.

Oh. This is a funny little side note about the photo pit. I haven't shot at OAT in several years but I have a pretty great relationship with Casey from LiveNation. I'd texted her that I wouldn't make it for the opener because at the venue, everyone has to meet at the top and get escorted into the pit. Except when we got to the pit, the band had dead cases piled and taped to the part where we get in. So imagine a dozen photographers, climbing up the cases and jumping the four feet down into the pit. One girl was seven months pregnant and wearing a dress! It was pretty funny and I was super glad that I always opt for comfy and sensible clothing choices. Getting out was even more hilarious because there was no step up, so you had to be an acrobat climbing out, unless you're flexible yoga girl Kaitlyn from 91X who basically vaulted over in one beautiful, graceful motion, making all the rest of us look like assholes.

I don't know what to say about The National. All told, I've seen them live about half a dozen times, they're always amazing, and I have nothing but love for Matt Berninger. We've been dealing with Nova being sick, girls from our soccer team being sick, and hearing that hacking cough everywhere you go, so when I saw him coughing during the first song, even at times into the mic, I couldn't help but feel sad for him, but also what a superhero to power through when you feel like shit. The setlist was a beautiful mix of new stuff and favorites. Matt had his bottle of wine to help him get through it, but his throat and voice were definitely strained where you'd expect them to be. You can see eight videos here. 

Still, raspy voice and all, it was a beautiful night in San Diego. Matt was charming and funny at moments, and had a few "Fuck Trump" moments, as well as attributing "Walk It Back" to Karl Rove, "but he keeps refusing the royalties." On my way out of the pit, while waiting for everyone to climb out, I got a lingering high five/handshake from Matt and I felt like a girl whose junior high crush finally said hi to her. Toward the end of the night, Matt joked about playing Eminem, so the band finished the show and walked off stage, the stadium lights came up, and the snarky soundguys played "Lose Yourself" which brought Matt back out onto the stage as stagehands all around him worked, and he pantomimed Em while shaking hands of fans and giving out setlists. Matt Berninger. He's just like us. A man of the people. Swoon. Tons more photos after the jump.

Really Old Photos: The National & Ramona Falls

In my last blog post of really old photos, I posted about the House of Blues Anniversary Show. I had avoided writing about it for so long because I hate being negative but I had to be honest and it was really bugging me that I hadn't posted those photos after having the privilege of getting a photo pass.

In this case, I haven't posted about The National because I'm insecure. When I'm sharing the photo pit with Andrew and Natalie, believe me, I know I have no business being there, but while I'm not a photographer, I love taking pictures, so below is the best of what I've got with my limited skills and tools.

As far as the show went, I was captivated from beginning to end. I thought Ramona Falls was a perfect opening act and would love to see them again. I spent the majority of the time trying to take photos of the drummer who was not only awesome on the kit but more than that was really charismatic and attempted to engage the audience between songs. I couldn't get a decent photo of him because I was trying to avoid the death trap of stairs that were in the photo pit, but there are a couple after the jump.


The National do it for me every single time. My regular seats were 12th row on the right side (Thanks again, Jeff), but after taking photos for the first three songs, I spied some empty seats in center that were probably the bands holds and comps, so we moved over to get a little closer to the action. It also meant we got to be closer to some of my friends who were there. I love seeing shows at Spreckels. I know it can be awkward with the whole should-we-sit-or-should-we-stand dilemma, but the sound is fantastic and I love the lighting, how it changes from black and white shadows to deep hues of red, purple, blue, or turquoise, all fitting the mood of each song. Chris (SoundDiego/Owl & Bear) wrote a review of the show and suggested that Matt might've been a little preturbed by the crowd, but I totally missed the exchanges he was talking about. Then again, Chris was sitting in the 3rd row, so he was privy to more than me.


I loved the show, but The National are the kind of band that can do no wrong with me. Even the part where Matt poured wine all over the stage and everyone wondered if he was being funny or being a dick. So far they've always made a point to stop in San Diego and I hope that never changes. I've got more photos if you 'keep on reading'.

Street Scene 2008: Photos From Day 2

My day two of Street Scene started with me waiting at the bus stop until I realized Jake wasn't really mad at me and he was gonna pick me up after getting Dagart. So after 10 minutes at the bus stop, I waited for them at the Ken Club and had a bloody mary. Todd makes them so tasty. Eventually Dag and Jake showed up, but we picked up Sean and he took forever so I missed The Whigs. Oh well. Shockingly, that bloody mary turned out to be the only drink I had the entire day. One sponsor of Street Scene was "UpShot" which is a pomegranate energy shot. I drank one with major naivete, like, hey, I like pomegranate! The shit tasted terrible and seriously fucked me up for the entire night. It made me nauseous, shaky, and I felt like shit all night. But, a blogger's gotta do what a blogger's gotta do, so I endured and took some pics of the day. The bands were great, and when Natalie sent me a text that said "The National will make you feel better" she was almost right. All my pics after the jump.


By the time we arrived and I got my photo pass, I'd already missed The Whigs, but made it in time for some photos of Spiritualized. Man, were they amazing. Their sound was beautiful and made me wanna group hug everyone. And I don't believe in God, but they made me feel like I did.

Spiritualized







From Spiritualized, I was on to Dengue Fever who have an incredible back story which you can read pretty much everywhere on the web, so I'll spare you. But the Cambodian influence is strong in the music and the band appeared to be having a great time on stage, which always wins me over. I thought they were great, but I could easily see how they are a love them or hate them band with a sound so different to your average American.

Dengue Fever




I am pretty sure I have seen every Cold War Kids appearance in San Diego, aside from perhaps private radio station shows. Saw them open for Two Gallants, saw them play the sidestage at the House of Blues, have seen every Casbah show, sold merch for them at the Belly Up, and have seen their giant stage shows at Indy Jam and now Street Scene. The band had a really unfortunate stage set with monitors lined up all the way across the stage, so my pictures really sucked, but I held my photo spot because I knew Nathan would hit the keys, so here were the best I could get.

Cold War Kids




I'm surprised to see so much shit talking about Tokyo Police Club. They're fast, fun, and super young, and after seeing them 3 or 4 times, I still like them.

Tokyo Police Club




I've seen The Hives before but never had the opportunity to take pics of them and I can say they are hilarious and enthusiastic and I love their false bravado and false egos. They embrace the "We Are Rock Stars" mantra and play it up throughout their entire performance. It was awesome taking pics of them because all the big deal photogs with their monster zooms couldn't adjust to the band standing directly above us. Suckas!

The Hives






I was so excited to see Ghostland Observatory again, so I got to their stage half an hour early, just to make sure I got to the pit and so as not to be bullied by the one dude from Getty Images who seemed to think he was more important than everyone else with his ridiculous lens and his girlfriend in tow. I held my spot, but of course forgot the crazy fog machine, which pretty much made my picture taking completely worthless.

Ghostland Observatory






I think it was on the way to The Hives that I took that goddamn energy shot and it was during Ghostland Observatory that the goddamn shot made me want to vomit. Not that I was gonna go join into one of the many dance circles that had formed, but I was pissed, and I left Street Scene and hit a taco shop a couple blocks down. My food was terrible but it was food and I thought it might make me feel better or settle the crazy caffeine jitters I had. And there was a customers only bathroom, but I'm sad to say there was some disgusting man who used it before me and the smell was so horrific that I waited until I was back at the Street Scene port-a-potties. Seriously. Good job on that one, Hagey! Anyway, when I got back, I listened to X as I sat near the tree planters in the parking lot just hoping I'd feel better. Eventually I made my way to the stage where The National was going to play, but they said photographers weren't allowed in just yet, so I chilled out. I actually laid down with my purse as a pillow as I felt like a freakin tweaker. Natalie and Pete joined me, and as we chilled near the photo pit entrance, Matt, the singer of The National came out from backstage to say hi to friends. I popped to my feet, and as he returned backstage, I asked if we could take pics with him, and he was so kind and obliged, though unfortunately my amazing photographer friend Natalie took the worse pic ever of us, so I'm not even posting it. Still, it was nice that he introduced himself and chatted for a sec right before his show.

As for their show, I am ever amazed by The National. And apparently most of my friends don't get it. Which is fine. I could give a shit. Because seriously, there are maybe 4 bands or musicians that I consider my 'go to' bands that I listen to when I'm loving life, when I'm depressed, when I can't sleep, and when I want to party: Rocky Votolato, Ryan Adams, Okkervil River, and The National. I loved their set and I always love seeing them. (like the last time when I snuck onstage) Matt was having some serious trouble ("Something in my throat broke") and they cut the set about 10 minutes short, but I still loved every second of their performance. The security lost count and allowed photographers for 4 songs, and when I tried to tell them it had already been three, they argues it was 2, so I went back in and took more pics.


The National








After The National, I realized I'd used up my entire memory card on my camera, so I wandered trying to find Jake and Dagart. Honestly, while The National made me feel slightly better, that stupid energy drink still had me feeling like shit so I was ready to go. We hung out for a while listening to Devo from afar and then catching one song from Man Man before we finally called it a night and put the seal on another Street Scene. Despite the energy drink crap, I had a great weekend. Honestly, I don't care where Street Scene is held. If you're a lover of music, there is always something to love.