After spending the last few weeks in the clubs, it was a welcome change of pace to get to shoot a big rock show at the Verizon Center. I’d missed the last few shows at the Phone Booth (Jay-Z, Black Eyed Peas) due to scheduling conflicts, so I was very excited to shoot last night’s Bon Jovi show.
I know Bon Jovi aren’t the coolest band around, but I have to admit that they put on a great show. The venue was packed to the rafters with Bon Jovi fans of all ages ready to hear all the hits from the band’s vast catalog of songs.
The stage set up was somewhat like the recent U2 tour (although on a smaller scale, obvs.). There was a round catwalk extending from the stage separating the first five rows of fans from the rest of the arena. Photogs were allowed to shoot anywhere behind the fifth row, except for the middle aisle (which was presumably how the band would get to the catwalk from the stage). This actually turned out to be a great spot because it gave me a better angle than I would have had with a regular photo pit.
Armed with my trusty step-stool, I spent the first song focusing on getting close up individual shots of Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora from the left side of the VIP area and then moved to the other side to shoot some frames of Jon and Richie together. Lights were fantastic and the band were very experssive in their performance. My only gripe was I wish we would have been allowed to shoot three songs instead of just two.
I shot 85% of my frames with my Nikon D3 and 70-200/2.8 VR I. My D700 and 24-70/2.8 also got a little work but the long end of that lens was still a little too wide to get anything but full stage shots.
Click here to read the review in the Washington Post. And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter to see what I am shooting next!
Bon Jovi @ Verizon Center – Images by Kyle Gustafson
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