It’s been a while since a journal post. Life is constantly happening. Clearly, I’ve been hiding out from the music scene, though it brings me great joy to see all my friends playing gigs. The recent windstorm finally took out our old deck. Mr. D and I spent yesterday starting the process of removing old wood. I have to say hitting nails against concrete during these crazy political times allowed me to let go of some angst. I was tired, hungry and cold by the end of the day.
As I was shedding my winter clothes, Mr. D shares the news Andy Gill has died. I was a little confused by this news. He seemed too young. I remarked that photographing Gang of Four at the Modern Sky festival was a definite highlight for me, and that my photograph of Andy cast in blue light has always been a favorite.
Gang of Four was the last to play after a long day of photographing. I was on my feet all day and the day before, true to Seattle, it was a torrential downpour, followed by blue sky the next day. By the evening, no rain, but it was cold. The Modern Sky festival had some of the best lighting I have ever seen at an outdoor Seattle Center performance. My energy changed and so did the crowd’s when Gang of Four took the stage. When I’m photographing shows, sometimes it’s easy to become bored. I think I’m as only good as the energy of the band or person on stage. Luckily, only a handful of people have made me feel this way. I truly did not feel this way watching Gang of Four play. I try to make a point of photographing everyone in the band in a single photo and a series of group photos. That night, I was mesmerized by Andy and the dynamic between him and band. At one point, Andy made eye contact with me. It threw me off my game for a moment – the brief fear of intrusion of the artist space. I saw in an obit that Andy made a point of looking at the audience.
I remember when it was all over feeling excited, albeit exhausted,. As I started to view hundreds of photos, I found myself smiling. There was Andy, not in the stance he’s was well known for, but staring out into the audience. I wonder what he was thinking.
