In 1994, while in NOVA for high school, a friend who had grown up in Vermont introduced me to a band named Phish around the release of their fifth album, Hoist, and I became obsessed. As a classical-metal-progressive rock music fan, I loved it.
My first show was in 1994 at the George Mason Patriot Center. I got a ticket the day of the show. They were not a sellout band just yet. I was able to move seats to sit with my friends.
I caught a few more shows in the 1990s around the DMV venues and got to see a couple more in the 21st century. I pored over the physical CDs with art and photographs of Phish’s A Live One and Hampton Comes Alive so many times when in photo and film school at VCU. I loved the concert and studio photography tradition used on album covers, all inspiring me to develop my drag-shutter expressionistic style.
First filming and photographing high school friends’ bands, then college friends’ bands, with now over two decades in the Richmond music scene, I always dreamt of getting to photograph a Phish show. And this week, for night one at the Allianz Amphitheater in Richmond, Virginia, I was awake, present, and taking pictures.
On show day, while teaching current students about Stanley Kubrick’s photography career, his friendship with Weegee, and the importance of photographers being able to enter and document so many different scenes of human expression, I got a notice to fill out some paperwork to be considered for a photo pass.
I quickly managed protocol, and a few hours later found myself with many camera colleagues in the photo pit for the first 15 minutes or three songs, whichever came first. In our case, we got two songs before we went our separate ways: “Buried Alive” > “Free”.
Knowing my colleagues and other lens people would get many crystal-clear and gorgeous photos of the incredible Phish light rig, with stunning portraits of Page, Mike, Trey, and Jon with their instruments, I did what I do, trying different settings combinations to generate and capture my expressionistic and distinct style of photography.
I still can’t believe it. A night full of amazing songs, many of my old favorites, including the nod to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, the funky version of “Also Sprach Zarathustra” that is featured in Hal Ashby’s Being There.
Joyfully running into other RVA Phish fan friends in the audience, as is sung in their song “Joy”:
We want you to be happy
Don’t live inside the gloom
We want you to be happy
Come step outside your room
We want you to be happy
For a night on the Richmond riverfront, I was able to see a lifetime favorite band and have the chance to take their picture. And I was glad I was able to leave my room doing something that brings me joy, photographing live music in Richmond.
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