September 29, 2011. Four months to the day since my very first My Chemical Romance concert and this time, my dreams of photographing them during concert were coming true. The atmosphere of the Honda Civic Tour show and the concert I attended in May of 2011 were very different things, and I'm glad I got to experience both.
Arriving at The Pavilion in Albuquerque, New Mexico, I honestly did not see a vast number of kids who looked to be big MCR fans. However, the ones I did see were dedicated beyond belief. I saw multiple fans dressed as Killjoys and many more than that wearing shirts and jackets from other MCR tours. Unfortunately, due to the timely process of receiving my press pass and having it confirmed, I was unable to take pictures of any of these awesome fans.
After I received clearance for my press pass, we were brought into the venue by the media director who was so helpful in showing us around the venue since we had never been there before and also giving me direction for what to do when it came down to go into the photo pit.
When the media director left us at our seats, we were very eager for the show to start. I had heard many good things about Matt & Kim, and I was very excited to see them live. They did not disappoint me, they were very talented and I enjoyed their set a lot. I don't know, though, if they were exactly fitting for the audience of My Chemical Romance and Blink-182 fans, so there were times during their performance when crowd enthusiasm was at low.
Towards the end of Matt & Kim's set I started to get butterflies as I knew it would soon be time to travel to the photo pit and photograph my favorite band while they performed, something that had been on my bucket list for years. When Matt & Kim finished playing I made my way to pick up my camera and then followed my escort to the entrance of the photo pit. It was about to happen, and I was beyond nervous.
Being my first time in a professional photo pit, I had little knowledge of what to do, but there was another very nice photographer there who told me the ropes before MCR came on. I got my camera settings in order and found my starting spot on the right side of the stage, prepared to start shooting as soon as they walked out.
The moment when the lights went out, I thought I would begin to sob, this was actually happening to me. Seconds later, Ray Toro was directly in front of me, plugging in his guitar. In that moment, seeing him right there, I had the epiphany that I could do this, and I could do it good. Ray Toro and My Chemical Romance had been my heroes for so long, I would not let this opportunity go to waste. And then I started shooting.
Traversing the photo pit around security, two other photographers, and a film guy was certainly challenging, but I caught the hang of it quickly, knowing I had only two songs to get some amazing pictures.
Gerard singing in his poncho, Ray during the guitar solos of “NaNaNa” and “I'm Not Okay”, Frank shredding like there was no tomorrow, and Mikey rolling out bass lines like nobody’s business, it was all happening right in front of me, and I was documenting every second.
I was experiencing my favorite band in a completely new way, a way that I will never forget, a way that I wish I could repeat every single day of my life. Through all of my doubts and nerves, I got amazing shots that I will forever cherish.
When I was ushered out of the photo pit after "I'm Not Okay", I returned my camera to be held until the end of the show and then full out ran back to my seat and to my best friend, who I took with me, who was standing there waiting for me. I hugged her and dry sobbed into her shoulder for a few seconds before I realized I wasn't paying attention to the show. We jumped and danced and screamed out lungs to the song "Planetary (GO!)" and it was an amazing moment. It was also slightly awkward, in our section, there were not many (if any) big MCR fans, so we were the only ones jumping and screaming like there would be no other time than this to have fun. That didn't matter though, it was an amazing time.
Through the rest of their set, My Chemical Romance played a variety of songs from all of their albums including "Teenagers" "S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W" "Our Lady of Sorrows" "Helena" and many more. Closing with "Cancer" It was a very fun and emotional set list and the crowd in the GA Pit in front of the stage was definitely into it. I even cried tears during "Famous Last Words" "S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W" and "Cancer" all of which were songs I had been dying to see live for a long time. MCR's set was just plain amazing, as always.
Blink-182 also played a great show. Unfortunately, due to wind and rain, none of the bands were able to use their screens and Travis Barker's flying drum solo was not done either. This was okay though, the crowd loved Blink-182 and they played amazingly. Their set was not only full of great music but also very funny and interesting to watch.
This night, September 29, 2011, was the best night of my life. One of my biggest dreams came true and I got to see an amazing show with three very talented bands. I want to thank Buzznet and My Chemical Romance for allowing me this amazing opportunity. It was a magical night.
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