Posted by I patiently, yet excitedly waited for the date to finally arrive when I would see Johnny A perform his tribute, Beck-Ola – A Tribute to Jeff Beck at The Suffolk in Riverhead, NY on Long Island. You can imagine my delight when I finally got the approval to cover the performance. And, you might even imagine my disappointment or how deflated I was when my name wasnt added to the guest list at Will Call!
Unfortunately, this wasnt the first time! A month or so ago I submitted my request for a “large act” that was being hosted by Patchogue Theatre which was approved, but when I got to Will Call, my name wasnt on the guest list. It was a bit more surprising as this was a National Touring act and I fully expected the front office to take care of things on their end! Luckily for me, the theater personnel are familiar with me and they allowed me to shoot the event. Needless to say, I never submitted the article!
It was also quite disappointing, almost embarrassing, when I showed up to a charity event which had been scheduled months in advance that I was asked personally to handle the event. When I got to the ticket takers, I stated that I was on the guest list. Their response was that it was a charity event and that there was no “guest list” for that evening’s festivities and it would be a $25 donation fee. I expressed to them that I was the photographer and was then told, “thatll be $20”! I said “no thanks” and went home!
Beck – Ola was different. I had waited for so long to see a highly praised Jeff Beck tribute. As a huge Beck fan, I was there for the music! And as previously stated, I was approved to cover the performance by two separate individuals from the Beck-Ola camp! It was going to be a very difficult decision to make, whether I stay for the music and not shoot or just turn around and drive home! But I was there for the music!! When I told the young lady at Will Call that I was there to shoot the performance and showed her my camera, she instructed me to tell the ushers and they would let me in, she wasnt lying!
Aside from the ball being dropped, the remainder of the night went flawlessly; ok so maybe the LED lighting was over saturated. Ive been learning to make my camera adjustments and taking more time in photoshop with post editing. The music was “on-point”, as the kids say, or perhaps I should say it was “rad” or “groovy” or even perhaps “far out”! The only issue I had was the high end was a bit too loud. There was the infamous “ground hum” that Strats are known for and at times the threshold of feedback was noticeable.
Am I being too critical?
I told myself I never wanted to be a critic nor have I ever had an interest in doing reviews. I only wanted to add some dialect to complement the photos. But, as Ive also stated, I am an “experiencer” and this was my experience! Good, bad or indifferent!
Long Island Sounds 