Road Stories : Black Stone Cherry, 2009 vs 2011
The 2011 Carnival of Madness tour was the last tour I photographed, health played a huge role in my decision to hang it up after 20+ years. I caught the tour in Huntington, WV. it seemed a good fit. seeing how I decided to set my roots in WV 2 years prior.
Carnival of Madness was my 2nd attempt at photographing Black Stone Cherry (which I did), but My first attempt was back in 2009 in Corbin Kentucky at the newly built Corbin Arena, very close to home, it was only a 25-minute drive from Williamsburg, KY where I lived (sigh) but my credentials for that show never materialized.
I went through their record label to set everything up, roadrunner records had always been good to me, Amy, Lily and Jessica were amazing . And they had always made sure I was on the list at the will call when I arrived at the venue in any city. Once at my destination, I waited; waited for over 2 hours at the “will call” area so to be verified for my credentials, which never were confirmed by the venue.: they said they could not locate the list for credentials. this is by no means a reflection on their label (Roadrunner), cause I have always had great communication with them, nor was it anything to do with BSC and their management or the band whatsoever, cause they had no idea I was supposed to be there, this squarely fell on the shoulders of the Corbin arena and their staff.
Lost lists happen, miscommunication between staffers at a venue happens, but one becomes a little suspect when you see the one’s that are working the door at the said venue just letting people they know in without tickets. The same thing happened at a .38 Special show I was supposed to have photographed the year before in Corbin. Then again 2009 was not a good year for the city of Corbin anyways.
So was it worth the wait to finally photograph BSC after the 2-years after the Corbin ordeal? My final answer is an emphatical yes! The show was wonderous beyond anything I could have imagined. I hardly was able to keep up with their electrifying performance. I did see them afterward as they headed to do a meet and greet, I was sitting on the ground dripping of perspiration, breathing heavily into a towel as they started to pass, I somehow was able to put 2 words together and blurted “great show” and one of them replied, “are you alright”?
Final words on this matter, sure. I am not bitter or angry about the first attempt to cover a Black Stone Cherry concert, I am however grateful to had the opportunities to do all the things I’ve done over the years, good or bad. They’re my stories.
Web : www.blackstonecherry.com
Gear : Nikon D200 w/Tokina 20-35mm f/2.8
All images edited with Capture One Pro 20
*Color versions of some of the images can be found in the archives by clicking here. [Archives]