Have you ever been to a concert and been so far back from the stage on the floor or in the stands that the musicians looked like little pins on a huge map that you could barely make out?  Me too… and it can be really frustrating.

I must admit, I have had some pretty great opportunities to interview bands, or sit up close from time to time through my years as a reporter and former rock radio DJ, but there is NOTHING like being in the protected area in front of the stage called the “Photo Pit”.   You are actually closer than being in the front row, and protected from concertgoers who might push their way around you while trying to get a good spot to see the band.   Last night, I had the rockin’ opportunity to be in the Photo Pit for Metallica’s sold out show at Madison Square Garden, and I took some great shots to share with you.

Getting into the Photo Pit area is quite a process, but a really exciting one to be a part of.  First security checks you in, searches you, and has you in a holding pattern in the bowels of the arena where everything sounds muffled and has the charm of an abandoned hospital ward.  Then you are loaded into a service elevator and taken to the main floor where waiting fans are filling the arena with nervous and excited energy.   Because Metallica plays “in the round” which is a stage in the center of the arena, you are led out through the tunnel in the middle of MSG to the stage, and once fans see the photographers being led out in a row… they know that the band is very close to going on.  There are loud hoots and cheers, hands go in the air, the volume of the arena cranks up to 9  (11 is saved for Metallica of course).   Photographers get in position, roaming the area between the barricade and stage like cats pacing for milk.     Once the lights go down, and the band comes out, you have 3 songs only to get as many shots as you can before you are escorted back to the service elevator and led back outside.  That’s right, no free tickets come along with the Photo Pit pass, but once you see the slide show and video clip here, I think you’ll agree, it’s not a bad payoff!

Backstage Blog from Laura Ingle

For a fan of Rock N Roll … it just doesn’t get bigger than this!!

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert was the kind of line up that you could only *dream* of making up, just for fun to see who you could think of pairing up on stage to jam.

Who better to tell the story of Rock and Roll (the show’s concept), than the people who have lived it best, along with a little help from their friends.

The shows, featured Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, U2, Paul Simon, Metallica, Jeff Beck Band, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Friends, Simon and Garfunkel, Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger… Each band, had it’s own dream list of performers to bring up on the big stage.    Stevie Wonder, jammed with Smokey Robinson, John Legend, and Sting.   At one point, Stevie Wonder busted out a tribute to Michael Jackson and played “The Way You Make Me Feel”  … the place went nuts.  I was standing in the “stage right, house left” area and looked up and saw actor Michael Douglas, his actress wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, actor and concert co-producer Tom Hanks, and his actress wife Rita Wilson dancing in the aisles.  They were really going for it… laughing, singing and had their hands up in the air.  When I looked closer, I saw that Yoko Ono, Robbie Robertson, and Dennis Miller were in the same section (though Miller, Robertson and Ono were not partaking in the dancing in the aisle fun)

Another amazing musical moment; Crosby, Stills, and Nash with Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, B.B. King and Jackson Browne.  Hard rockers Metallica provided a heavy metal dream come true when they invited  Ozzy Osbourne on stage.  One of the more honest, and respectful moments came when lead singer James Hetfield admitted, “We’re not the most jammy kind of band, we’re kind of a tight little unit, we don’t usually let people in”.  Hetfield smirked, then smiled, then asked Ozzy to come on out.   One of my favorite things to see Ozzy do when he performs is that “frog jump” thing that he does – and he did it repeatedly while singing “Iron Man” and “Paranoid”.  What a Rock moment that was.  Look at the bottom of this post for Ozzy talking about his daughter’s upcoming wedding, he really sounds like a concerned dad!    Metallica also had  Ray Davies of The Kinks, and Lou Reed join them on stage.  I mean honestly, isn’t this all enough to make your head spin?

So who’s idea was this anyway?  Well, the team that put together the 2 day event is also quite impressive. Joel Peresman, the CEO of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame pulled in the creative might of actor Tom Hanks, his producing partner Gary Goetzman, singer-songwriter Robbie Robertson, and Academy Award winning-screenwriter Cameron Crowe to produce and film the event for HBO.

Tom Hanks having fun in the press room

When Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson came by the press room Thursday- Hanks talked about helping put this show together like a true music fan. He said he is just like the rest of us, “happy to be in the same venue as all these artists.”

As Tom Hanks was wrapping up his time in the press room, someone asked what his favorite song of 2009 is so far, and why… he cracked everyone up when he said “That Ring On It” song… Check out the video below … (he was referring to Beyonce’s hit song, “Single Ladies” (Put A Ring On It”)

The anniversary show will be presented Thanksgiving weekend on HBO — with lots of behind the scene interviews and unscripted moments.   As Bonnie Raitt said when asked what it was like to be a part of the show and backstage with so many artists… she said “all I can say is… there’s a LOT happening in the hallways around here”.   Indeed.   

Can you imagine what it was like to hang out backstage with U2, while Bono was chatting up Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, and Fergie before they all went on stage? 

Check out the slide show at the bottom of this blog from the second night (photo credit Kenny Kramme), and these select shots from Thursday. I wish you could have been there with me, but with this backstage blog pass, doesn’t it feel a little like you were?    Rock on!

Sounds of Silence

James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt in Press Room

Backstage in the Press Room: Crosby Stills Nash

Stevie Wonder backstage at Rock Hall of Fame concert

Laura hangs with Little Stevie Van Zandt

Laura and John Legend after exclusive interview with Fox!

Check out the shots we got in the Press Room during the 2nd night

Here’s Ozzy on what it was like to be asked to play with Metallica – what he thinks of his daughter getting married, and why. 

done

The Garden. Madison Square Garden. Pure magic for musicians for many reasons.

Aside from the historic sporting events that have taken place here, there have also been monumental rock shows that have brought the house down, including the legendary filming of “The Song Remains The Same” by Led Zeppelin in 1973, where Janis Joplin performed her last concert in 1969, and where Elvis performed the only shows he ever played in New York in 1972.

There really is an electricity you feel when you first walk in, and makes you catch your breath when you look up to the ceiling. This is where most every band wants to play someday.

MSG has a big fat lofty spaceship looking ceiling for great acoustics, plenty of space for roaring crowds, and an enormous circular room to fill with sound..

But what happens when a band rocks the place so hard, it blows the PA system??

If you’re Iron Maiden, you punt. Quite literally.

Our British Heavy Metal heros returned to the Big Apple last weekend and played to a sold out crowd that included our Fox News crew that did a story in March on the band, and in a bizarro celebrity sighting world, Lance Armstrong and Kate Hudson. As Maiden fans rocked and sang along to “Powerslave” suddenly the guitar strings and Bruce’s voice were silenced, as if someone had turned off a big power switch in the bowels of the building. Some bands might retire backstage and have a beer, throw a fit, or ask the sound man to put on some music to keep the fans occupied, but not these guys.

The band turned to their second favorite activitiy … playing soccer. Die hard fans know that Steve Harris, bass player extraordinaire, is a die hard West Ham United fan. (I know, I know, they call it football, but for purposes of this blog, we’ll call it soccer due to the visuals). When the PA system blew, luckily, the house lights stayed on (can you imagine if the entire place went dark?) Someone busted out a ball, and the band started kicking it around on stage, much to the delight of the fans who were at first bummed about the power outage, then realized they were all a part of a very cool rock historic moment, THIS is definitely something you don’t see everyday!

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