last night was residency #5 for camp freddy at the roxy--the final night! going to all these shows when you have to work the next night has been killer but well worth it for the energetic shows, concert photography, and seeing the various guest artists performing with the band. finally tonight i got to see some people that i know have played with camp freddy before and was hoping they would be there (john 5!), other legends whom i've never seen live before (billy "looking very old and tired" idol and steve stevens), or who blew me away because i was never interested in their music but they did a great job performing (juliette lewis and pat monahan). no disrespect to the other guests if i didn't just mention their name right now but i wanted to point out the highlights for me personally.

concert photography can be a hazardous hobby due to the danger of the crowd or performers going insane and damaging your equipment or causing bodily injury. i have read some horror stories about such incidents. i had my first taste of it tonight but it was minor. a stupid bitch cut her way into the front and my friend let her but i digress. this girl spilled her beer over me, my camera, and my camera bag. i was fortunate as just before that moment i felt i should point my camera lens down. since my lens was down, it wasn't directly hit with the beer. i wiped down the rest of my camera and luckily the beer didn't spill into any vital area, causing damage to the internal electronics. however at first it did feel like the camera was responding slowly and i was starting to get pissed about it. she offered a brief "sorry" on her own which i must give credit for but then i let her have it in a polite way about how rude she was to cut in and take my friend's place and then her friend got into it too and i had to bitch her out as well. i know it's every man for himself at concerts at times but there is also some etiquette about being in the front, such as helping to save a person if they fall in the pit. one of those etiquette rules to me is to not cut off people like she did. you can maybe squeeze halfway in and hold onto the railing when things get tough but you don't completely replace the other person, then bring your friends in. that kind of shit will cause people to yell at you or push you away. as the night went on, my friend was getting pissed at all the cutting and finally started yelling at people trying to cut him off even further. it caused one bitch to back off, good. actually, i forgot to mention that before the show even started, one girl tried to get in front of him. i've never seen anything like it before. he's half sitting on the stage as it's low at the roxy and many wait this way. she puts one of her legs behind his so that it's even closer to the stage than his legs are. she starts to edge in sideways like a crab and puts her head right inbetween him and my other friend in the middle of the conversation, like she's part of it. she even tries to get some words in. and then she starts freakin' out that we're accusing her of trying to cut in. bitch, you need some serious help. her boyfriend was waiting right there for her to get in so he could get in after her. he didn't have the balls to cut in himself. he was the cutting in pimp i guess.

enough drama, here's some pictures i took:

let's get this party started!

robby krieger smiling

robby funny face but billy idol's smiling

john 5

dave navarro's eyes are in the shadow but he's looking right at me

nice hair on wayne static, reminds me of buck-tick

navarro hates 311 so i don't know why nick was there but it's a nice shot

juliette lewis definitely has the possessed rocker down pat

john shows that off several skills, including playing behind his back

up close and personal with billy morrison

pat monahan smiling

steve stevens showed several old school shredder moves, including the ever popular behind your back

naveen "lost" andrews

setlist:
hello there (cheap trick) - donovan on vocals
song two (blur) - donovan on vocals
paranoid (black sabbath) - wayne static vocals (static-x)
white man in hammersmith palais (the clash) - nick hexum on vocals (311)
los angeles (x) - donovan and juliette lewis on vocals
ain't talking about love (van halen) - juliette lewis on vocals, john 5 on guitar (ex-marilyn manson, rob zombie)
dirty deeds, done dirt cheap (ac/dc) - juliette lewis on vocals, chris vrenna on drums (ex-nine inch nails, tweaker)
rock n roll star (oasis) - billy morrison on vocals, billy duffy on guitar (the cult)
lil' devil (the cult) - mark mcgrath on vocals, billy duffy on guitar
rock and roll all nite (kiss) - mark mcgrath on vocals, jerry cantrell on guitar (alice in chains)
man in the box (alice in chains) - leah duors on vocals (mcqueen), jerry cantrell on guitar
emi (sex pistols) - mark mcgrath on vocals, naveen andrews on guitar
whole lotta love (led zeppelin) - pat monahan on vocals (train), robby kreiger on guitar (the doors)
la woman (the doors) - billy idol on vocals, steve stevens on guitar, robby krieger on guitar, and other members of billy's backing band on bass and drums?
dancing with myself (generation x) - billy idol on vocals, steve stevens on guitar, brian tichy on drums, and other members of billy's backing band on bass?
rebel yell - billy idol on vocals, steve stevens on guitar, brian tichy on drums, and other members of billy's backing band on bass?
i wanna be your dog (the stooges) - everyone