The above image is not a space ship. Nor is it a large claw from a creature crushing down on FedEx field and the DC area. It's the crazy over-the-top stage that goes along with the U2 360 Tour. And I've been sitting here the past two days trying to find the right words to describe this concert and mega-light show that went along with it.
You know what? I can't! There is no way to truly describe what I saw and experienced on Tuesday night, Sept. 29th. The U2 360 Tour came to DC and left 80,000 fans charged, out of breath and speechless.
The fact is, I don't typically go to big-time rock concerts. I was telling Joelle on our walk back to the Metro, my last real concert was Velvet Revolver in Tampa back in 2005. Prior to that I think it was either Jimmy Buffett or the Beastie Boys in North Carolina sometime in 2002. I just don't go to these big concerts, nor have I been real impressed. I recall a DMX concert that sounded like nothing more than muffled grunting. Jimmy Buffett was fun in the parking lot because of all the tailgating, but all I could see in the venue was the side of the stage and very little of Jimmy Buffett.
But U2 has officially changed my impressions of a big-time rock concert. The combination of inspiring technology, mythical lighting and amazing music left me completely astounded at the entire production. I would look over at my buddy Dan (who got us the tickets in a suite by the way - Thanks Dan!) and just shake my head, unable to say anything. There were moments throughout the show where I almost teared up from the emotionally charged messages sprinkled throughout. Watching some 50 or so members of Amnesty International walk into the 360 degree stage, all wearing the mask of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese pro-democracy leader who has been in and out of house arrest the past 20 years was incredibly powerful. Or Bono welcoming the young man wearing a turban and embracing the American flag to the stage for a sing along. All of these things added to a show that literally touched all of your senses.
I could go on and on about the production and details of the concert, but like I said, it's really hard to put words to this experience. I'll just leave that to Washington Post music writer Chris Richards. I will say this...if you enjoy music and theatrics, U2 is worth the money and efforts to see.
Below are the images I shot with my phone. They basically suck because it's, um, a phone. But you get a sense of the sheer magnitude of this production and why it's making noise in every city it visits. And I'll leave you with one last quote from U2 front man Bono that stuck with me all night... “America, a Great and Powerful Idea.”
This edition of the random photo of the day actually comes with two photos. So consider this your mid-week, hump day special treat. =)
The above photo was taken at Muse Lounge this past Saturday, September 19th. As you can see, it was myself, Rob Fairbairn, Francis Luong, Joelle Williams and Samantha Quigley. We hit up a rooftop party in Bethesda earlier in the evening featuring some of DC's best house music DJs and then made our way downtown. After a quick stop off at Stir, we decided to cap our evening at one of my favorite nightlife destinations. And sure enough, the hyper-active club photographers were out capturing our random moments of silliness. At least Francis and I aren't holding our boobs. But the angle on this photo makes it look like I'm grabbing someone else's boob.
This next image was taken earlier in the evening by Mr. Francis Luong. This one captured my cat Ernie drinking from the kitchen sink.
I have no idea why he does this, but ever since I moved into the apartment in downtown DC, Ernie has been begging for water from various sinks. He's sitting on the counter when I get out of the shower. He waits on the kitchen counter as I cook. The cat can't get enough of this water from the faucet. Oh, there is plenty of water in his water dish. But no, he wants this water and will talk to you until you give it to him.
Most of you know by now, I spend many nights at the clubs shooting nightlife photos. So it's always fun to come across images that have captured me in action like these included here of #8 DJ in the world, Markus Schulz.
This small passion of mine started a few years back when I worked for TBO.com and produced a weekly nightlife column. I started snapping photos of people at the clubs to enhance our nightlife pages and give these folks a reason to click on our site and read my column. Then I found it to be very challenging and yet enjoyable shooting photos of the artists on stage, while trying to capture the overall vibe of the nightclubs.
It was in 2006 when I finally purchased an SLR camera that gave me the flexibility to shoot in these low-light settings with limited or no flash. I quickly fell in love with this artistic side of nightlife photography.
Three years later I find myself rarely shooting photos of people at the clubs, but focusing my time and lens on the DJ's themselves. Of course, I try to capture wide-angle shots of the crowd and the occasional glow-stick kid. But my version of nightlife photography is built more on the artist moving the crowd and the lights providing the energy and excitement of a true nocturnal vibe.
Just thought I'd throw this photo out there as record of the fabulous AARP team that took part in the 12th Annual National Press Club 5K. The team consisted of myself, Kim Keister, Marlece Lusk-Karamitsos and Tina Johnson-Marcel (not pictured).
The race took place in downtown DC on Saturday, Sept. 12th, with a course taking us down Pennsylvania Ave. towards the Capitol Building, Union Station and back. It's been about two months since I really got into running, so I was anxious to see if I could improve on my personal best time. And wouldn't ya know it, I killed it by about 3 minutes. I finished the race, according to my clock, at 24.53 minutes with a pace of 8.01 minutes per mile. I can definitely be happy with that. Of course I'd love to get my time down to the 21 minute range, but at-least I'm making some progress.
On a side note, the race actually had an interesting twist that made for a colorful run. The 9-12 Project was hosting their protest of big government, socialism and nationalized health care. They lined up at Freedom Plaza, which was right at the start and finish of the race. As we came around the corner to start and on the way back, we were cheered on by thousands of protesters. They lined the streets and made a nice path for the runners to go through. Honestly, it felt like I was finishing the New York Marathon, running through a crowd cheering from both sides.
The most interesting part of this was the mixed reaction from some of my fellow press colleagues. Some took such offense to our fellow Americans exercising their 1st Amendment rights. One man standing near me gasped "they were so mean!" Another sitting at my table post-race said "such nasty people cussing us out and flipping us the bird."
I gotta tell ya folks, I think these members of the press ran in a different race. I didn't see one nasty thing done when I ran by. I didn't see one "mean" person or "nasty" gesture. I saw lots of cheering and clapping. But the words "mean" and "nasty" would never come my mind when thinking of these particular protesters. Then again, I tend to agree with the protesters limited government/free market ideology, so I'm not as quick to label them or belittle them. The fact is, most running in the race didn't agree with their message of freedom and liberty. So they didn't take a second to notice the celebratory mood of the protesters or the fact they were actually showing us support as we ran by. It's pretty interesting how two people can take away completely different experiences based on our political ideology.
I honestly can't believe how time flies these days. I started thinking about writing a small review of the recent International Lindy Hop Championships the day it ended and next thing you know, we're half-way through September. So now I'm going to attempt to put into words the greatest and yet most disappointing Lindy Hop event I have ever attended.
Did that catch your attention? You don't expect to see the words "disappointment" and ILHC used together do you? It's not really what you might think.
Let me get this out right away...ILHC was amazing. I've been lucky enough to attend some of the biggestLindyHopevents around the country over the past two years. Almost all of them are fun simply because it's next to impossible to gather a large group of Lindy Hoppers into a town and not enjoy yourself. I think it's in our blood to have a good time. But ILHC is more than just fun. It's the perfect combination of talent, competition, innovation, organization and, yes, fun!
I walked away from the first ILHC feeling it had set the bar among dance competition weekends. Everything moved so smoothly and the transition from workshops to competitions to dances was seamless. And never before had I seen as many professional Lindy Hoppers in one room. Well the organizers of ILHC improved upon 2008 (seriously, was there even room to improve?) and made the 2009 version of ILHC even better. This year they had a Thursday night dance at the hotel, great bands, excellent DJs and even more professional dancers than the previous year. Not to mention, there was a crazy increase in the general level of dance talent. It's hard to imagine topping the inaugural event, but they did. I'd say it's safe to assume ILHC is now the premier Lindy Hop competition.
The Disappointment I hope it's clear by what I just wrote, ILHC is in no way a disappointment. No, the disappointment here is within me and my desires to improve as a dancer. I've gone back and forth over writing about this particular feeling. I don't want to come off as arrogant or selfish. And I don't ever want to assume I'm a better dancer than what I really am. But this is my blog, and this is where I can express myself and vent my frustrations. And with some encouragement from The Godfather and ILHC organizer Jerry Almonte, I'm going forward with it.
In 2008, I made the open jack and jill finals and placed 4th dancing with Krista Parrish. In 2009, I didn't make finals. You have no idea how upset I was over this. You see, I've taken to competitions because I see them as a chance to judge my progress, take in some constructive criticism and because they embody what Lindy Hop was in Harlem in the '30s. So when you feel like you've made tremendous progress over a year, you expect to either move up or place higher.
I've had a personal rule to stay in a certain division until I place in the top 3 of that division. Because of my 4th place finish last year, I figured I'd stay in the open level, hopefully place and then move up to advanced in 2010. Prelims are always interesting because you have no idea who you're going to be paired with. And more and more, you're not sure you'll even know the person you're dancing with. I've embraced this idea all along and usually go into these comps feeling pretty good now. That was until I was paired with a few dancers who couldn't swing out and couldn't follow a basic tandem charleston. (For the record, my second dance with Sharlene Choy was awesome!)
Like I said, I've always tried to be modest in rating my abilities as a dancer and understand what level I'm truly good enough to compete in. But not making finals a year after you've placed 4th is pretty hard to swallow. And then watching the finals knowing you could/and probably should be out there really left me wondering. I suppose I walk away wishing more dancers would employ a similar personal critique I use and understand there is a time and a place to compete. And maybe ILHC is not the best time to throw your hat into the competition field when there are basic skills you have not mastered. Trust me, I would love to be out there in the advanced level looking like I belong. But this is a competition. I know my limits. I just wish others did as well.
The Memory For me, there are a ton of memories to walk away with. We'll start with Thursday night, seeing a few of my JCC dance students show up. They sat along the back wall and were mesmerized by the effortless dancing of Carla Heiney. They watched Crista Seipp and Andreas Olsson put on a show - one that was leading up to the two winning the open strictly. Side note on that: you could just tell Andreas and Crista were poised to win. Watching them dance that first night, it was clear they were "on." They carried it all the way through the finals. DC!!!
But I digress... my second memory comes from Friday night, competing in the open strictly with Caroline Seipp on my birthday. When we walked on to the floor, the amount of cheering and happy birthday wishes really warmed my heart. One thing is certain among the lindy hop world, we're a close bunch and I couldn't have asked for a better birthday than to spend it with them.
My third memory and the one that stands out comes from the Champions strictly final. So much has been said about this one particular competition. Putting these dancers on a floor against each other makes for natural excitement and inspiration. But what we saw that Saturday night was more than dancing. It was the entire spirit of Lindy Hop take hold of two couples and engulf the entire crowd watching. The spotlights ended with the standard swing out line. Most of the couples went into their own thing. Skye and Frida and Max and Annie continued to swing out. They didn't stop until a few moments before the end of the song. Each swing out lifted the crowd higher and higher to the point everyone in the room was screaming for them. Watching Skye's face light up in the middle of all this, feeding off the crowd and the music is something I will probably never forget. This is why we dance!
The Summary You know, there really isn't much more I can say about ILHC 2009. If you didn't go this year, you missed out on one of the best Lindy Hop events of the year. Congrats to the winners and thank you to everyone who helped make the event possible.
Okay, okay, so I know I'm terribly slow in my updates as of late. I guess I've been telling everyone that I would post photos of my new apartment and never actually did it. And sure enough, I was called on it this past weekend. So last night I busted out my camera and shot a few photos of the new apartment. Without further adieu, Casa de Doug...
Folks have been asking for me to throw a house warming party, but I'm not so sure I'm going to do that just yet. I'm thinking I may host something in my clubhouse or rooftop, but I still need to learn more about the building and any rules they might have in place. So stay tuned...
Welcome to urban marinade...a blog that lets you stew in the cultural crock pot of Washington, DC. I'm here to rant and rave about anything and everything in my little urban world. Generally speaking, that includes nightlife, photography, dancing and DC urban development. So there!
The above image is not a space ship. Nor is it a large claw from a creature crushing down on FedEx field and the DC area. It's the crazy over-the-top stage that goes along with the U2 360 Tour. And I've been sitting here the past two days trying to find the right words to describe this concert and mega-light show that went along with it.
The fact is, I don't typically go to big-time rock concerts. I was telling Joelle on our walk back to the Metro, my last real concert was Velvet Revolver in Tampa back in 2005. Prior to that I think it was either Jimmy Buffett or the Beastie Boys in North Carolina sometime in 2002. I just don't go to these big concerts, nor have I been real impressed. I recall a DMX concert that sounded like nothing more than muffled grunting. Jimmy Buffett was fun in the parking lot because of all the tailgating, but all I could see in the venue was the side of the stage and very little of Jimmy Buffett.
