Live Music and Cameras
There is unquestionably something special about Live Music. From my first gig up in London in 1981 to see Blue Oyster Cult at the Venue, then on to Wembley in 1982 to see the Rolling Stones, right through to last week enjoying Carolyn Wonderland at Razzmatazz 3 here in Barcelona, Live Music has an atmosphere and quality that simply can’t be replicated by recorded music … even if there are some great live albums and movies out there!
Sometimes the sound quality is not great (and you exit with your ears ringing loud!), and sometimes the view is not what you had hoped (either too far from the stage, or simply no clear view to the stage) but always you can enjoy the atmosphere, share the fun with hundreds or thousands of others, and simply soak up the pleasure of seeing and hearing them Live!
But then came the Cameras.
Vincen Garcia at Vijazz 2nd July 2025
Seeing a good picture of your favourite bands or artists performing on stage has always been a pleasure. The incredible photos of the Rolling Stones, going back to the 60s reflecting their evolution from the bad boys of Rock & Roll to the huge stages they perform on today, they tell a captivating story of the decadent world of Rock. And how much more we enjoy it when it was a show where … “we were there!”
So it makes sense that we want to capture a few photos of a gig when we are actually there. And today, despite there often being controls over what you can take into the concert, there is little that can be done to stop the mobile phone camera … photos and video!
As ever, we invariably see things differently, or at least some people do!
How often we read in advance the “prohibited to take photos”, or we hear announcements before the performance or even from the artists themselves, “please put your phones away and enjoy the show”. Yet still the photos will be taken, or worse still the many minute video will be recorded, and all the time whilst holding the phone high in the air to impede the view of anyone who happens to be behind. The joy.
Well, I confess, I do like to capture some photos, and at least for some short period I will be one of those with their arms in the air capturing a memory. But my conscience does restrain me, and I try to keep it limited and short. Clearly this is not the same with many, who seem to try to record whole songs, and must arrive back home with hundreds of photos and hours of video!
So what do we do with all that?
Maybe some people are keen to share with friends, or they are YouTubers posting their images and videos for others to enjoy, but I suspect most captures just end up sitting in the Cloud or on a computer somewhere, and almost never get looked at again. Invariably they won’t even be very good!
Robben Ford at Vijazz 2nd July 2025
I am not trying to judge, as I do enjoy capturing those images myself. I simply remain hopeful that more people do realise the purpose of attending Live Music is not to take photos, it is to enjoy seeing your favourite bands perform Live and soak up the atmosphere.
Wherever possible please don’t disrupt that with arms and cameras in the air!
So just to contradict myself, but also to illustrate how it can sometimes be done, here are a selection of captures that I made at Vijazz in Valafranca del Penedes on 2nd July 2025.
This wine and Jazz festival offers an amazing setting for some Live performances in the Square beside the church. A limited number of first come, first served seats are available for a very small cost (includes a few glasses of wine!). If you can get that front row, then you have the chance to take some great photos without disturbing anyone behind you. Here’s my selection … (as always click on a photo to expand and scroll through)
