Scenes from the Gig: Up Close and Personal

When I go to concerts — particularly “General Admission” gigs where I’ll have to stand for the entire evening — I like to arrive ridiculously early. I’m usually one of the first dozen people to walk through the doors. This almost always ensures that I’ll never be more than ten feet from the stage. Ask me again why I hate going to concerts in large venues.

More often than not, the artists at these shows have no issues with flash-free photography from cell phone and/or single-lens cameras. I’ve almost always taken advantage of these opportunities.

This is one of a few sets of photos taken from various shows in Chicago, where I’ve lived since late 2020. As the saying goes, there’s lots more where these came from.

All of these photos — presented in no particular order — were taken with an iPhone. I’ve been to so many shows in the past four-plus years, I don’t have the exact dates these shots were taken. Sorry about that.

The cover photo is of Fareed Haque, taken at the Jazz Showcase.

Enjoy!