Girl at the Rock Shows

I took a chance on my Saturday night. Although it was at one of my usual venues, Saturday night’s show was far from a regular show for me. There wasn’t a band, there wasn’t a setlist. Instead, it was a DJ with an audience that got to choose what we, the audience, heard. It was an interesting concept brought to life by Red Bull, and I was excited to see how it all was going to work out. On top of that, I was excited to have an opportunity to see Anderson .Paak in the flesh (and in the form of DJ Pee .Wee). So was it worth it? Was it worth ditching my usual kind of show?

There were a few red flags as soon as I got to First Avenue on Friday night. First, my contact wasn’t even there when I got to the legendary venue (and my home away from home). I went through security, went up to get my media pass, and was ready to ask a million questions, only to be met with blank stares and confusion from familiar faces. The people working the will-call desk admitted to me that this event was not running as smoothly as one would have hoped and that it was more like Red Bull rented this room as an event space rather than booked a show. Fair. It happens, and thankfully, being a constant fixture in this venue allowed me to get past some red tape before my contact could even be there, but I was a bit lost. The stage was still there, but beyond that, something felt different about the room. There was no photo pit, and the room seemed to be chaotic, even though the only music was that of a DJ. It was okay, I opted to pop over to the bar next door to grab a round while I waited for my contact (although, at this point, I was admittedly already a little annoyed and felt like maybe this was going to be a complete bust of a night).

As I waited for further instructions and details about where I could photograph from and other rules and regulations (like those of a normal show), I received a text from my contact: “Do you have a camera or an iPhone?” Red flag number two. This is when it sunk in that this was definitely not a normal show. Typically, cell phones are not considered “media” when it comes to live concerts, but in the case of this Red Bull event, that seemed to be the norm. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I was in the world of the influencer- a type of media person that I just don’t understand. I’ll never consider myself an influencer although, I guess, when you break it all down, that’s precisely what I am but when I hear the phrase “influencer,” I think of someone who just kind of slaps stuff on their social media platforms rather than someone who crafts words and documents events through photos that take time to go through and edit. Perhaps I’m being a bit of a dinosaur or being a bit bratty, but when it comes to considering influencers as a form of media, I just think it’s a bit of a joke. At this point in the night, I was beyond annoyed with my choice and seriously debated just turning around, going home, and calling it a lost night but the apple of photographing Anderson .Paak was still dangling in front of me, and I made it this far, so why leave now?

I hopped back over to the sold-out First Avenue, finally received the credentials I had been waiting for, and started wandering around. Unfortunately, due to the unorganization and confusion at the beginning of the night, I missed the DJ set from local producer and multi-instrumentalist, Kwey. I did, however, make it inside in time to catch some of Sophia Eris’s DJ set. It took me and a fellow photographer (shout out to Sara Fish, who helped keep me sane throughout the insanity of this night) a few minutes to figure out where Sophia was spinning from, but we eventually found her up in the owner’s box high above the majority of the crowd.

Sophia is a legend. There’s no other way to put it. From her work with Lizzo to her work on the radio, Sophia is someone that I really admire, and her time pumping music through the speakers on Friday night was flawless as always. It was a mix of modern and classic, fast and slow, with seamless transitions that definitely set the tone for what was to come from the main event of the night. Although I loved being able to watch her do her thing from across the balcony, I hated the fact that all eyes weren’t on her and that the stage remained concealed until the main event. I would have loved to see people being able to see the passion and creativity flow from this woman, but at least they got to hear it, I suppose?

The night went on, and it was more dancing, more people getting hyped up on vodka, Red Bulls, and other various Red Bull-crafted drinks. It was fine, but definitely not my thing. I could have spent this time photographing people in the audience, but that’s not my thing. I like to photograph a show and I realize that the people in the audience are part of a show, but it’s just not the same, so I waited patiently for the main event and felt a bit relieved when DJ Pee .Wee finally took the stage because I finally felt a sense of normalcy.

As mentioned, DJ Pee .Wee is the alter-ego of Anderson .Paak. Although not quite a household name, Anderson .Paak is a true legend. From his work with Silk Sonic (a duo of him and Bruno Mars) to his solo career, if you know, you know, and being able to see this performer live was a bucket list item for me. The show was as advertised. It wasn’t an Anderson .Paak show, it was a DJ Pee .Wee DJ set. It took me a second to let that sink in. I thought I had cheated the system a little bit and was going to see Anderson .Paak perform but, again, it was as the promo said, him DJing while the audience got to choose what he spun.

So how did it work? Everyone in the audience was given a light-up wristband that, with the flip of a small switch on the side, would turn red or blue. Throughout Anderson .Paak’s time on stage, the audience was given choices like female pop stars from the ’60s and ’70s vs. female pop stars from the ’80s and ’90s; or Prince vs. Michael Jackson (try and guess which side won that battle here in Minneapolis). It was a cool concept, but it was one that I think was lost in the chaos of the night. I feel like a lot of the audience was just a bit too hyped up on the booming bass of the night and the constantly flowing Red Bull to really be concerned with this light-up wristband, and others were wrapped up in the fact that we were watching the Anderson .Paak live and in person. Again, a cool idea, but I’m not sure it was executed as intended.

The night went on with a few guests here and there (such as legendary jazz trumpeter Maurice Brown) and a balloon drop, but really, this was not a night for someone like me. It was live music, but it wasn’t the kind of live music that I like to photograph. It was a night meant for the dancers and for the young party people. Not an old fuddy-duddy like myself, who barely even made it to the 12 AM appearance time of Anderson .Paak, let alone the bitter end of the show, closer to 1:40 AM. Long story short, I did get to photograph and see Anderson .Paak in person, but after sleeping on it and reflecting on the night and all the red flags that came with it, I’m not sure this was the event for me.