Glen Hansard at the Paramount Theater, Denver, Colorado 082424

Well, I was reminded last weekend of the challenges of concert photography, and the quirks of the Paramount Theater: 3 song limit, a dim single amber spotlight for the first two of those songs, access only to far stage left or right on the wall aisles with no photo pit, and reserved seating patrons (keyword: seated) at my hip. Well, I had the balcony or back-of-house access, but that’s a long way to go and a short time to get there in 3 songs. Queensryche at the Paramount years ago let me shoot from the center two aisles at stage-edge, but no luck this time.

That all said, holy crap was it fun shooting Glen Hansard, and then having another two hours to enjoy the show in the great sound and energy of the historic Paramount with my wife! We’ve been fans for soooooo long (since the movie Once, of course), and of course through The Swell Season and The Frames and his solo work. We finally saw The Swell Season last year on a beautiful night outdoors at the Levitt Pavillion with strings and a large band accompanying. I maintain that the The Frames’ anniversary show at Whelan’s is the perfect live set in a small venue, and we play it on repeat on the weekends to the point of bugging the neighbors.

Three songs and sixteen minutes, one hundred and forty shots processed over a week, and twenty-one keepers later, here we are. This was a night to remember.

Thank you Glen and band, for your excellence and your energy! I can’t wait to see and shoot you again!

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