Madison Wisconsin

Recently I spent a few days in Madison Wisconsin photographing sites around Madison.  I spent a lot of time in Madison in my life.  When I was a kid the Capitol was like our playground.  A note would be pinned to my back with my Fathers office room number if I got lost and I would run around the Capitol.  This time home base was the awesome Hotel Red. Seriously check this place out. Super Comfy. Great bar and restaurant downstairs and right next to Mickies Dairy Bar. Getting to explore Madison again was super fun. Here are a few photos.

Dead Horses at legendary First Avenue in Minneapolis

This past weekend I got to travel with the band Dead Horses to shoot their set before Elephant revival at the legendary First Avenue in Minneapolis.

I have seen shows at First Ave before but never got to shoot a show there.  A little background on the venue. It opened in 1937 as a Greyhound bus station. The current floor in the Main room is the same floor from the bus station.  It first opened as a music venue in 1970 and Joe Cocker was the first to play.  It became a Disco for awhile and then in 1981 it became First Avenue.

It may be best known for Prince however.  He filmed much of Purple Rain there and the album version of the song was recorded live there in 1983.  You can search the internet for video of that night.  It is an amazing video as no one in the audience knows the song and they are all just listening. Prince is sweating and ripping it up. They hired a audio truck to record the performance and then edited it and put it on the album.

Everyone has played First Ave. Just read all the names on the stars outside.  From Prince to the Violent Femmes, U2, Husker Du, The Replacements, Soul Asylum and the list goes on.

Needless to say i was stoked to shoot a show in such a legendary place.  Had a good conversation with FOH man Myles about him being FOH for the Nirvana Nevermind tour.  Not bad at all.

 There is still a Parking spot reserved for Prince even though he has passed away.

The backstage wall is lined with past set lists of everyone from local boy Mason Jennings to Motorhead.

It was a great show.  Charlie Rose from Elephant Revival joined Dead Horses for a few tunes.  And Dead Horses jumped up for the final encore with Elephant Revival. Lets not forget that Charlie Parr was also on the bill...fantastic! It was an all around good jam.  Beers were drank and dancing was done by the audience for sure.  

There was even a sidewalk jam for 2 songs between sets!  While frowned upon by management the smiles on the faces of the fans was pretty great.

Now onto the photos. 

                               

As always big thank you to Dead Horses for taking me along.  Also big thanks to the crew from Elephant Revival for being awesome as well as the fantastic crew at First Ave. 

On tour with Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

Recently I had the great privilege to travel on 5 tour stops with the great bluegrass band Horseshoes and Hand Grenades.  We traveled from Sacramento to Las Vegas opening up dates for The Infamous String Dusters.  It was a great insight into being on the road with a band...which i fell in love with. I have always looked at tour productions when I went to a concert and wanted to run away with the circus.  Sometimes i feel more at home traveling then I do at home.  Anywho the band played 5 Venues.

Harlows in Sacramento
The Fillmore in San Francisco
Troubadour in Hollywood
Belly Up in Solana Beach
Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas.

Being able to shoot photos and hang out at legendary venues like The Fillmore and the Troubadour was amazing.  There are places you walk into and you can FEEL the history. Both of those venues were like that. You could feel the music that has been played in those rooms.  Big thanks to the gang from Horseshoes and Hand Grenades for inviting me along!

Go to www.hhgmusic.com to find a tour date for these guys near you! Its a heck of a good time.

Here are some photos!

you can go to www.facebook.com/tyhelbachphotography to see more photos from the tour.