david kleeman, concert photographer

I’m not a real photographer but I play one on TV. Back in the day, I used to shoot my friends hardcore band(s) mostly for the hell of it but mostly for the art of it. I landed some shots on their 7-inch and a mention in the liner notes and that was pretty much the penultimate for me. Since then, it’s been shots of flowers and sunsets until recently again when I shot Jonneine Zapata at the Troubadour… One of, by the way, if not the most incredible artist I’ve ever run across. If my pictures could have shown even half of the energy she creates, you’d nary be able to gaze upon them.

A photo pass means little more than you can bring your DSLR into a club that otherwise frowns on anything but camera phones; but, for me, as I angled for shots and poured through hundreds of frames of virtual film it gave momentary pause. This could have been my life if things hadn’t gone the way of product design. I may have been truly great at this with a little more bravery and a little less love of paying my rent consistently and eating three squares a day. This was the Troubadour, this was a kick-ass band, and I was the guy that I often wanted to be when the night was late enough to not think about responsibilities and schooling and other passions.

And it may still be as life is short in the long term and long in the short. I might be that guy after all, on tour and behind the scenes. I’ll say this, at least: it was a great time.