by TheJames

Steel Panther @ Jannus Live – March 11, 2023

Lets get an embarrassing fact out of the way in the beginning: I hadn’t heard of Steel Panther until fairly recently when a friend mentioned them, I saw that they were’ playing at Jannus Landing here in St Petersburg, FL… and I feel like I’ve lived an incomplete life until now. From start to finish, the show was an explosive and unforgettable experience!

Tragedy opened up the show. I had looked these guys up before the show so I was loosely familiar with what they’d play but I hadn’t actually listen to them. Hot damn! They’re right up my alley. Everything they played was fun, energetic and completely ridiculous! Their cover of The Weather Girls “Its Raining Men” opening up with Slayer’s “Raining Blood” caught me completely off-guard. And while I expected their cover of The Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” to be fun, I had no idea how much they’d absolutely kill it! 

Crobot followed them with a highly energetic set. Brandon Yeagley’s vocals and absolutely massive stage presence immediately drew me in. Their sound is kinda like Wolfmother meets Queens of the Stone Age but hard leaning on the Rock side of the sounds.  

Ok, Steel Panther… I don’t even know where to start. As soon as the lights dimmed and the crowd could make out the dim outlines of the band taking the stage, the crowd erupted into cheers and screams. Steel Panther wasted no time getting right into the music, launching into their signature brand of raunchy, high-energy rock and roll that had the audience bouncing and headbanging along.

The band’s musicianship was top-notch, with tight rhythms, blistering guitar solos, and soaring vocals that showcased the full range of their talents. But the main highlight was the consistent humor. Both in the song’s lyrics, and the band’s banter between songs. The comments they were throwing out about the inflatable sex dolls they had bouncing around the audience had me almost in tears. 

They played a bunch of their most popular songs that I expected to hear, like “All I Wanna do Is F**k”, and “Death to All but Metal”. But the most memorable song was when they pull up someone named “Mikey” from the crowd come on stage to play drums during their cover of Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher”.  I mean, thats an absolutely perfect song for these guys to cover. And whomever “Mikey” was, he killed it!

This show exemplified why Steel Panther is renowned for being one of the most entertaining acts in rock. I can’t wait to see them again! 

Crobot

Tragedy

Steel Panther

by TheJames

Dropkick Murphys @ Jannus Live

Dropkick Murphys on the main stage at Jannus Live March, 2023

Dropkick Murphys @ Jannus Live, St Pete, FL 04 March 2023

Its been over 10 years since I’ve seen Dropkick Murphys, and they were just as dynamic and fun as I remember them being! 

Jessie Ahern opened the show. While I wasn’t familiar with his music, I was immediately grooving to his songs. He’s a one-man-show and he really brings the stage presence. I grabbed one of his CDs after his set so that I can get more familiar with his stuff. I definitely want to catch him next time he comes around!

The Rumjacks was another great surprise! Man, I’m kicking myself for not looking these guys up before this show, because, damn… They had a ton of energy and some fantastic tunes. They dialed the energy up consistently throughout their set. And honestly, I’d never think that a band with a front-man who plays the tin whistle could rock the house as much as they did. I know… judgy-mcJudgerson over here. These guys rock, and I’m glad that I got to see them!

The thing that I recall most about the Dropkick Murphys last show (that I saw in like ’09.. yeah, I’m old, whatevs) was how much they engaged the audience. That hasn’t changed at all! They came out onto the stage dialed up to 11. Everyone in the front row, and as far back as I could see was singing along. Several times Al Barr came out onto the stage extension and encouraged a few lucky people in the front to sing along on the mic. 

This whole show was a ton of fun and an amazing amount of raw energy. 12 albums in and Dropkick Murphys are still bringing it! I’m excited that I got to see them again and can’t wait of for the next time!

Jessie Ahern photos

The Rumjacks photos

Dropkick Murphys photos

by TheJames

2022 – My Favorite Images

What a crazy year!

I shot somewhere around 75,000 images throughout 2022. I’ve been fortunate to work with some incredible individuals, and companies on some really rad projects. This is a bigger set of larger images than I shared in my social media post. Some of my favorite photos this year come from work with these clients: 

Special thanks to Kasondra Rose for helping make all of this possible!

Thanks everyone for making 2022 and awesome year of photography! Can’t wait to make 2023 look even better with you all!

Yes, this is Mount Evererst!!
The GNO Bridge and Downtown New Orleans
by TheJames

Girl Talk @ Jannus Live

From the show on 2022 Dec 09

I recently had the opportunity to see Girl Talk in concert for a second time. The first time I saw them was 12 years ago at this same venue (Jannus Landing, St Pete, FL) and I was once again blown away by their performance. Girl Talk, aka, Greg Gillis, expertly blended together a variety of different songs to create a frenetic and energetic set.

Girl Talk invites a random group of attendees on stage at every concert helping to bring alive the total dance party feel of his shows. 

Throughout the night, Girl Talk kept the energy high with an expertly crafted mix of old and new hits, cleverly weaving together an unexpected variety of genres to create a sound that was all their own. The lighting and visuals were also impressive, and the confetti cannon just added to the energy and overall atmosphere of the concert.

Gillis consistently dropped the right mix of hip-hop and rock to keep the crowd excited, and the buzz of the audience was palpable with every genre twist. 

Overall, 12 years later, Girl Talk’s performance was every bit as much fun as I remembered it to be. They kept the crowd moving and entertained throughout the entire night. It’s not often that you get to see a DJ of this caliber, and it was truly a treat. I only hope it won’t be another 12 years before I see him preform again.