Last night I had this dream that PJ Harvey was singing cabaret songs in French. It was sort of amazing. I've decided that if I get hit on my bicycle by some raging lunatic driver on the way home from a show some night and I don't die...if instead I end up in a coma that sort of lasts forever, I want to be dreaming about PJ Harvey singing cabaret songs.

I hope you're listening, God.

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Tags:   PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey The Riviera Theater music British musician beautiful brilliant band live indie dream texture amazing concert coma I'd kind of like to be in a coma forever. I'm tired and aged. letter to God who you may have herd of Konzertfotos

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A couple of nights ago, I had another Radiohead dream. This time, they were playing a really small club in a festival with two stages. Wes Anderson was on the big stage (for Chicagoans, this looked like Pritzker Pavilion) and Radiohead was in a place roughly the size of The Hideout. Anyhow, I was covering this music festival with both a review and photos so I was trying to remember everything while I was taking pictures. I kept forgetting, as I had the first time, to take photos of everyone else in addition to Thom Yorke. Sometimes, it's very easy for me to get distracted and Jonny Greenwood in particular is a challenge. For most of the songs at Lollapalooza, he was wearing a hood. For the other song I was in the pit, he was moving quite a bit, drumming fast and with his hair in his eyes.

Getting back to my dream, I kept getting the most photographs of Thom Yorke and was just about to switch when they stopped early due to technical difficulties or something. In any case, they left the stage and I was in tears. I went to the festival organizer and asked her if there was anything I could possibly do to get more photos. She said she would take me backstage to look for the band to take portrait shots as long as I photographed this cartoon that had started playing while people were waiting. It was sort of like a Super Furry Animals video and a My Little Unicorn (er...Pony) cartoon in one and while I was photographing it, I felt a little like I had become the main character from Receptacle for the Respectable. This crazy video is on youtube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJCsmO7-12g

Anyhow, I didn't know if I'd ever get out of it but eventually the festival organizer came back and she took me through these really dingy hallways but we couldn't find Radiohead anymore. Instead, we found Owen Wilson. Now, I love Owen Wilson (and Wes Anderson films in general) so I was really happy to see him. The problem was, though, that Owen Wilson was really sad and depressed. He wouldn't tell me what was wrong and, although I really wanted a portrait shot of him, I realized right away that it wasn't the right time. No, Owen Wilson wanted to be left alone.

I'm sorry sometimes that I keep photos so long before showing them but I have to have an image to go along with my rambling dream explanations.

Oh I'm sure part of this dream was inspired by the fact that on July 4th when everyone else was watching fireworks and all that, I was at the Siskel Center watching 30 Century Man, a documentary about Scott Walker and they talk to Jonny and Ed and Colin from Radiohead and they say how they were influenced by Scott Walker and all that..how they even drove past him once while he was bicycling. This makes perfect sense to me now after hearing some of Walker's later period stuff, actually, though in a way it reminds me more of Tim Buckley crossed with Gerard Manset.

I don't know where the Super Furry Animals cartoon/video came from but I sort of always have Gruff Rhys on the brain.

Hope some of you got through all this and that it didn't freak you out too much.

Love, Kirstie

Tags:   Radiohead Jonny Greenwood Johnny Greenwood Lolla Lollapalooza band British indie English dream

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This was actually my favorite photo of Arcade Fire from the ones I took. I was so worried that Régine Chassagne was not going to come to the front in the first 3 songs when I was allowed to photograph and I got lucky because she was there for two!

So, all photographers that are really into this have a list of bands they need to photograph before they die. We picture the moment of peace at death as impossible if we aren't able to take these photographs. I know, that probaly sounds weird.

Anyhow, Radiohead had been #1 on my list for a long time until Lollapalooza 2008. PJ Harvey was #1 on my list until June 2009 then Arcade Fire was next. Mainly, though the new album is not without it's charms, it's because of Neon Bible that they made it to this list. The album actually made my #2 of the decade:

www.flickr.com/photos/kirstiecat/4228820156/

It sounds a little deranged but I've actually had very long involved conversations with people about whether it would be worth it to photograph this band if I knew someone I was going to die before I could ever see my photographs. Yeah. I get a little obsessed with music and photography.

In any case, this experience was great. I had Margarita Gonzalez on one side and Paige Parsons on the other. Randy Cremean and I hung out until the end on the way side just in case Win Butler decided to crowd surf (he didn't). It was still fantastic to be part of a group of people so intensely in love with the music.

Arcade Fire was something I wanted so much to take photographs of that I had a hard time not shaking when it happened. It was sort of like an emotional earthquake. Even now, I can't believe it's real. I've had so many dreams about photographing them (including a really amazing dream in which they played an acoustic set in my living room). Now, I've had two dreams since Lollapalooza that I photographed them and when I wake up, it's real.

Anyhow, that's all rambling for now. There are more shots on pfork:

pitchfork.com/features/photos/galleries/837-lollapalooza-...

www.myspace.com/arcadefireofficial

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Tags:   The Arcade Fire Régine Chassagne music band Lolla Lollapalooza Lollapalooza 2010 Canadian Neon Bible The Suburbs Funeral festival concert live No photo contract in case others were wondering Many thanks to Margarita, Paige, Robert, and Randy for being so nice this weekend. It's good to have dreams lastfm:event=1182385

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Ok I had this really strange dream Wednesday night that Andrew Bird was taking a bath. Don't tell anyone!

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Tags:   Andrew Bird band live indie concert music The Hideout

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Come on!!!! SMITHS REUNION FTW?!?!?!

I should note this is a diptych. It really hasn't happened yet. Well, it sort of has re-occurringly in my dreams actually but not in any sort of current reality. It makes me so sad that these two can't get together over a nice tea, talk amongst themselves and come to the conclusion that a Smiths reunion would be amazing for everyone alive.

And while we're at it, here's a dream tracklist:

1. How Soon is Now (THINK OF THAT AS A BEGINNING!!)
2. Ask
3. Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now
4. Cemetry Gates
5. William, It Was Really Nothing
6. This Charming Man
7. Hand in Glove
8.Panic
9. What DIfference Does it Make?
10.Stop Me if You Think You've Heard This One Before
11. Bigmouth Strikes Again
12. Meat is Murder
13. Last Night I Dreamt That Someone Loved Me
14. Sheila Take a Bow
15.Girfriend in a Coma
16. I Started Something I Couldn't Finish
17. There is a Light That Never Goes Out
18. I Know It's Over

(What an ending, right??!?! Right?!! It's so amazing in my head!)

I surely hope I don't actually have to give you a link to hear the Smiths, right? No, esteemed friend, I'm sure you know their songs by heart.

Also, my friend Paige K. Parsons took this shot of Johnny Marr eating a popsicle! Go look at it! It's amazing!

www.flickr.com/photos/paigekparsons/4906301707/in/faves-k...

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Tags:   The Smiths Morrissey Johnny Marr British Lollapalooza Lolla diptych Coachella music concert festival Yes, I totally photographed The Cribs to get a good shot of Johnny Marr. I've been planning this diptych for about a year now. Seriously. Dream reunion tours Best diptych ever. Moz How Soon is Now Hand in Glove Sheila Take a Bow Girlfriend in a Coma There is a Light that Never Goes Out Meat is Murder Bigmouth Strikes Again This Charming man Heaven nows I'm Miserable Now What Difference Does it Make Stop Me if you Think You've Heard This One Before Last Night I Dreamt That Someone Loved Me

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