Music Blog

The Joy Formidable at the Parish, 3/17 (Photo By Jake Nussbaum)

Sometimes bands do all the work for you, and as a photographer all you really need to do is show up. Bands with charismatic frontpeople are definitely the easiest to photograph.

 

Killer Mike at Fader Fort, 3/19 (Photo By Jake Nussbaum)

 

Wild Flag the Parish, 3/17 (Photo By Jake Nussbaum)

 

Bon Iver at Fader Fort, 3/19 (Photo By Jake Nussbaum)

Hand gestures are a way to give visual context to a mostly sonic situation. This was the only picture I took of Bon Iver setting up his pedals, but I think it's one of the better shots I got at the show. It's much more visually interesting than the many ones I took of him singing into a mic or playing his guitar, even though I snapped it before the music ever started.

 

Bear Hands at the Driskill Hotel, 3/17 (Photo By Jake Nussbaum)

 

Lil B at Fader Fort, 3/19 (Photo By Jake Nussbaum)

One image alone could never do justice to Lil B's weirdness. He went on rants, brought books on stage, took off one of his shoes while he was performing... For an artist so strange as B, I prefer to shoot for multiple images instead of trying to sum it all up in one.

Lil B at Fader Fort, 3/19 (Photo By Jake Nussbaum)

Lil B at Fader Fort, 3/19 (Photo By Jake Nussbaum)

 

Kanye West at the Good Music Showcase, 3/19 (Photo By Jake Nussbaum)

I guess I could've tried to get closer to this stage for Kanye and Good Music's epic performance on the last night of SXSW. But I didn't want to spend my last night at this incredible music festival pushing my way to the front, even in the name of art. Besides, virtually everyone at this concert was an acting photographer  (notice the incredible number of smartphones, digital cameras, flip cams, etc...) At best, my pictures capture the perspective of the average audience member, catching the occasional glimpse of a superstar on stage. And sometimes, an average audience member is what I want most to be.

Kanye West and Jay-Z at the Good Music showcase, 3/19. (Photo By Jake Nussbaum)

 

Kanye West at the Good Music showcase, 3/19. (Photo By Jake Nussbaum)

 

Jake Nussbaum is a photographer and writer based in Portland, OR. You can follow him on twitter @LegLegArmHead, and see more of his coverage of SXSW for us here.

 

Tagged: SXSW 2011, photo review