The Return of the Music Project
While out on a leisurely feral cat/bird watching outing I unexpectedly stumbled upon a birthday jam session that blew me away.
This past Saturday, our foster daughter, Wolfy (1) had a sleepover and so Erin and I had a little more “us time” than usual. As we like to do we went on a nice long walk around our neighborhood in Ocean Beach. We were walking toward the jetty to go visit the feral cat colony and do some light birding (#alwaysbebirding) as per the usual. As we approached the skate park (which is on the way) we could hear some loud music being played (mostly drums). We weren’t sure if it was a drum circle or what but it did sound a little more complex than your run of the mill OB drum circle (no offense), and those usually take place about a mile or so away over by Newport so I was a little confused, but either way the rhythm had me hooked.
As we got to the outside of the skate park we could tell there was what seemed like some kind of a jam going on inside. Erin could tell she’d be a little overwhelmed/uncomfortable if we went in together and offered to chill outside the skate park for a little while I went into the park and checked out the scene and shot a little. (2) So I confirmed she was cool (3), set a timer for 10 minutes, and went inside to check out the scene.
Walking up I saw there were two drummers both rocking full kits, a bass player keeping it funky, and a young dude getting jiggy wit it on the keyboard as another dude tickled the keys a little over his shoulder. There were some balloons and a handmade sign showing that it was someone’s birthday but I didn’t focus on that too much because my time was too tight and the music was too intoxicating. It was a rad scene to pull up into and I wanted to maximize on the experience.
Because I was on a time crunch I didn’t have much time to hesitate so after my quick assessment I started working the scene. I started wide shooting the whole scene and pretty quickly some of the musicians noticed me. I started locking in on them as they played and it became a clear give and take where the musician I was focused on would start what can only be described as: “fuckin’ playin’ that thang.” I shifted my way around the circle going from musician to musician as they took turns ripping it up. I felt like a director as I tried my best to make some quick portraits in my short window. I was using a compact camera which allowed me to really be able to get close and play with my compositions. The musicians “going off” really was an incredible energy exchange and a fun impromptu collaboration that made the photos. I could not have had more fun in that moment.
My time ran up much quicker than I would have liked but I was happy to have had that experience. I left my card [and no money](SORRY!) in a tip jar looking thing in the hopes that someone would reach out and eventually I connected with the birthday boy himself on insta. After connecting with him online I learned this was a jam/drum battle a.k.a. a “drum shed” that was organized for his birthday. After seeing some of the videos on his insta I realized I didn’t get ANY shots of him because he was not playing while I was there shooting (D’oh!). At any rate I had a blast and am just so thankful that all the musicians were so generous with their talent and their space. It also makes me super thankful to live in an area where there is real ass art and creativity all the time. I hope my pictures do “the shed” some justice and please go check the birthday boy (@john_mdrums) out on insta and his band Sweet Myths also on insta. They have an upcoming show on April 27th at The Holding Company in OB so check that if you can and aside from all that ummmm… remember to always keep it funky I guess.
I dunno.
I love you.
Bye.
-Richard :)
(1) Not her real name but also if you want to keep up with me subscribe to my newsletter.
(2) How fucking awesome is she?
(3) She was.
Boostive: a fan experience
If you read my post about the start of my music project, you might remember that for this project specifically I’m just kind of letting The Universe guide the experience and to be quite honest, it’s doing a hell of a job. So as we talked about in the first Boostive post I’d found out about the band a year after seeing some of the band and their friends rocking out at a BLM march. #BlackLivesMatter
Now a year later I’d finally had learned their band name so I’d been binging on their catalog on Napster(1)(2) for the past couple weeks and reached out to them to see if I could shoot their show and thankfully they said “yes.” (3) The show was at the Music Box in San Diego which is a newer venue to me. Since I’d never made it out before I was pretty stoked to check it out. Since I was allowed to bring my camera I decided that I would shoot the show from the perspective of a fan, and so that’s what this post is.
My man Samy Wats rockin the whip with his tunes.
I hoped into an Lyft because I wanted to indulge in the devil’s lettuce (4) and I don’t fuck around and drive. In the Lyft the driver was bumping some tunes, we got to talking, and it turned out he’s a producer/performer named Samy Wats(3). We had a good chat, and he checked out Boostive and vibed out on their sound before dropping us off. If you’re into hip-hop, or supporting San Diego artists, check out my man Samy Wats on Spotify or buy an album or some shit so he can get out of that car sooner than later.
Anyway, showing up pretty early (5) there was a small line out front and we got in after just a couple minutes standing in queue(6). The venue was a modern, three story, industrial design (think fancy rave or like midtier venue on Guitar Hero). The stair access, merch area, and bar are all close by the door when you first walk in and there was a small gathering of people around here. Judging by the ages and outfits of the group (a lot of silver foxes and hippie attire) it seemed that these were some of the parents and music scene vets. I chatted one of them up who was friends with one of the parents of a band member and had back in his day written a song that was bought by none other than Neil Young. How about that?!
Further up in front of the stage it was pretty vacant save for all the cool kids glued to the seating along the wall. This made it super easy to get a decent spot a couple people back from the railing. As more and more of the youngsters started filing in it became like a who’s who of OB (7) people and I could feel the energy building. I mean, how could a reggae show not be full of good ass vibes?! Of course this show was gonna be bangin.
The opener Dread Kennedy kicked off the show with a great set that got the audience moving and by the time they had finished their set the place was stuffed to the gills. All three levels of the club were packed and the place nearly exploded as Boostive took the stage. Unfortunately, since there are like A HUNDRED members in the band (8) it took a little time to get everyone sound checked and I could hear some of the fans around me growing a little restless. Seems standard for a crowd that had already been drinking for over an hour at this point. For the record I was chillin (9). Once the band started playing all was forgiven.
They started with a slower jam and then eventually led into some of their bangers. The dancing in the pit was epic. The crowd was vibin’ HARD. It was as awesome as I’d expected it to be.
—Quick side note: the amount of big hats at this show was unthinkably plentiful. Like leaves in a rainforest plentiful. For which I say: what the fuck??? Also, the amount of tall people who show up just before the headliner and slipped in front of the crowd is certainly a detail about shows that I did not miss from my scenester days a decade prior. I understand every body type is different and they all have their advantages and disadvantages and I’m certainly not trying to body shame anyone. I get it, if you’re tall you have a better chance of dunking or getting a girlfriend in high school but when it comes to concerts you either need to show up early or fuck right off. I mean honestly tall people and big hats. At a concert?! What the hell is wrong with people? Ok rant over.
As the dancing to my left grew stronger and every person 6’3” or above conveniently found their place directly in front of me I went upstairs to catch a reprieve and get some different vantage points with my photos. I quickly found out the second floor was for VIPs only which was weird because they wouldn’t let me in (10).
I headed up to the third floor. Real fans are always reppin in the nosebleeds so it was good to check out the scene. It was an interesting vibe and as with any concert people were very protective of their places along the railing even just squeezing in for a second to take a photo was a big todo. Aside from that and a couple drunk dudes that seemingly came to a concert to converse loudly, there were a lot of good vibes up top and the band was connecting with fans even way up on the third floor. I even got a few pictures of band members looking and gesturing up to the fans which got big responses. “Did you see?! He pointed right at me!” exclaimed the woman next to me.
I stayed on the top deck for a while and then finished up the night by weaseling my way back into the pit during the last few songs. The energy was insane and the music was absolutely killer because well it was Boostive (11). I’m not sure if The Music Box had to file an insurance claim for damages or not but I am one thousand percent sure Boostive blew the roof off that fucker. They wrapped with 3rd Ear (12), took a band selfie with the audience, then proceeded to party with the fans as the venue made the slightest of transitions into a dance club.
It was bangin in there but I was wiped from a long day behind me. My night had run it’s coarse so I headed home just day dreaming about the next time I’ll get to see the band rockin it again.
That said, if you love good ass music and you have the chance to see Boostive, DO IT! Check out their LP if you don’t believe me cus that shit is crazy fucking good and they’re just as good if not better live. So that’s pretty much it. Boostive is fucking rad, go check them out.
Well what are you waiting for?! Go listen to Boostive already!
(1) Don’t judge me.
(2) Napster, formerly known as Rhapsody was the first streaming service and I’d been subscribed since like 2008 so if there are any Spotify loyalists squirming over you can save that noise you’re kickin and kindly Bioya*.
(3) The universe.
(4) Helloooooo it’s a reggae show.
(5) I like to watch the openers is that such a crime?! In reality I’ve found so many of my favorite bands by watching all the openers. If you don’t show up for the openers at concerts you’re doing yourself a disservice.
(6) So what I like to spice things in my writing. I’m not hurting anyone.
(7) OB = Ocean Beach. An area in San Diego famous for its hippie community and strong beach vibes. Lots of crystals, dream catchers, tie dye, street performers, that kinda stuff. You smell me?!
(8) Really I think there were like 9 members.
(9) I smoke weed baby!!!
(10) My mom tells me I’m very important but I guess that’s not the same as buying some sort of ticket or something. Who even knows?
(11) Helloooooooo?!?!
(12) My favorite song of theirs and an absolute BANGER
