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.

The Avett Brothers Breese Field Madison.

Recently got to shoot The Avett Brothers at Breese Stevens Field in Madison Wisconsin. This was a historic first show at the venue put on by Frank Productions and it was sold out. Brett Dennen and Nicole Atkins opened the night. Can not wait for more shows next year!

What I love about Live Music.

As I was editing photos of Flogging Molly the other night I started to think about what makes me LOVE shooting live shows and attending them.  Photography is like a addiction.  I found myself the other night as I was watching the show, trying to resist the temptation to pull my camera out and snap a few more photos.  I could not resist of course!  Anyway I got to thinking...what is it that makes going to a live show so great?  Why do I love shooting photos of live music so much?

I was raised with good music all around.  From The Beatles...My Mom playing John Denver...to my Dad playing old country in the car. I got a appreciation for many different kinds of music. 

First concert was Willie Nelson at the now demolished Holiday Inn in Stevens Point Wisconsin.  I was young not sure what age but I fell asleep on my dads lap.  I remember parts of it.  I remember Willie on stage ....what it all looked like.  Sounded like.

Over the years I got into theater ( thanks mom for taking me to my first musical at UWSP) I loved the behind the scenes work. Set building...running sound...making magic happen.

In high school I went to see Green Day in Milwaukee.  It was a school night and my mom was not going to let me go but then I told her I was going with Mark Little and hey what could go wrong.  I remember the feel of that first show...the crowd cheering and singing along.  The sound...the band running around on stage.  It was awesome.  That was the first of many long late night car rides home after a show.

Soon after I started going to a lot of shows. I worked at Alpine Valley for three years doing onstage/backstage security. Got to meet so many amazing people.  I always loved the anticipation of the crowd waiting for the show.  Running down the hill.  The smell of brats cooking and the smoke wafting over Alpine before the show started.  It was a addiction.

There was one photo that made me want to do music photography....this one.

You could feel the raw emotion of the show through one photos.  You got it right there looking at that image.

Fast forward to now. I have gotten to shoot so many shows.  From bars to big stages.  From Mark Little Tuesday nights to Farmaid. It never gets old. I thought back to the other night at the Aragon Ballroom and how standing in the photo pit before the show... a sea of people behind me...a great band about to come on stage...me with camera in hand.  There is NO rush like it.  Lights go down...crowd goes nuts and out walks the band. There they are 5 feet in front of me.  I feel home and relaxed even in the chaos that is the first three songs.  It is like a drug.  The first chords of that Guitar...it sucks you in. You have three songs to capture the feeling and magic of that show.  Your job is to make someone who was not there feel a little bit of what it was like. Remind someone that was there how it felt. I have more then once found myself snapping photos while singing along with the band.  On the bigger shows three songs and you are out.  I am lucky enough for some shows like Steel Bridge Songfest to get all access and can shoot whatever I want.  The rush never stops!  That is why I keep doing it.  I get to combine my passion and appreciation for live music and my passion for photography. 

I have been lucky to meet so many amazing people that have helped me and given me access. I can say thanks to all of them but there are way to many to name.  My dream is to do this for a living some day.  In the last few years I have gotten the opportunity to shoot some great shows. From the Avett Brothers to the Violent Femmes last show with there original lineup.  A few years ago I never would have dreamed to have this kind of access.

Sky is the limit from here on out!   Anyway here are a few from The Avett Brothers in Green Bay awhile ago.

And here are a few from the Aragon Ballroom a coupe weekends ago. Flogging Molly. 

Chateau Hutter

I had to take down the last post I did of a old resort here in Door County due to a neighbor or the property accusing me of vandalism.  Unfortunate some people ruin it for others.