big shots
By Ben Garmisa, Jayplay contributor
The first show I photographed was Streetlight Manifesto, a New Jersey ska-punk band with lyrics to match Salinger, Poe or any other great modern writer. The July 2004 show was at a seedy place in downtown Chicago called the Bottom Lounge. I basically snuck myself backstage, on stage and around the stage to get in good shooting positions. In the years since, I've managed to leverage any connections I might have to get press passes, backstage passes and all-access passes to bands in the now-exploding pop-punk scene. Last week, I was lucky enough to photograph Panic! at the Disco, Boys Night Out, Motion City Soundtrack, The Starting Line and most notably, Fall Out Boy - a band I've watched grow from tiny high-school band to international superstardom - at the Uptown Theatre. The tour was called the Nintendo Fusion Tour. These are some of my favorite shots from that show. I've titled the photos accordingly. Enjoy.
Ben Garmisa is a sophomore from Chicago majoring in political science. Outside of school, Garmisa photographs as many live band concerts as he can. See more photos at www.bengarmisa.com.
Dominant: "Is this truth or is he writing fiction?" Joe Trohman, guitarist of Fall Out Boy
Middle: "Living like life's going out of style" JoeTrohman, guitarist of Fall Out Boy.
At left: "St-st-stutter something profound (she makes me forget)" Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco