It’s not too often that early 2000’s Grammy-nominated west coast rapper, Afroman rolls through Reno for a headlining set at The Underground, and upon navigating through the impromptu street fair of concert goers gathering outside, and confirming with security that my camera bag contained no weapons, we were inside.
That being only half the battle and knowing that this packed wall-to-wall club has a bar with a more ‘chill’ behind-the-scenes area which I like to use to setup camera gear before heading up front, we made our way through the entrance, where we were greeted by Dan Hubbord of 775HipHop.com and continued on down the hallway and into the main room, where we met up with another security check. This time for ID. No problem on our part and to the back corner of the club we go for a quick setup.
Ear protection inserted, gear assembled and Kata KT DW-495 strapped to my waist, I make my way past security and through a couple hundred(?) people to find a spot stage right, about ten feet out behind a protruding black wooden box of sorts. Standing alone in the crowd with my lens hanging out did not satisfy my need for photographic domination of the evening. I did notice however, a small pathway between a couple people in front of the box, continuing on top of the box, and on the edge of the stage between a monitor and floor fan guarded only by two or more small children, presumably six or younger.
You know I had to… C’mon, what woud you have done, just sit there in the crowd and take mediocre photos or go for the gold?
Using an unsuspecting young (and thankfully friendly) gentleman’s left shoulder to launch myself up onto the box, then continuing to the edge of the stage where I would perch for the duration of shooting the photos included in this album, I took a leap of faith and in the crowded club followed the “Donnie Darko” and made my way into the opening to secure what was my only chance at capturing a series of shots worthy of posting.
Beyond any heroics on my part and much more importantly, there are three things I learned about Afroman that evening.
1) Afroman wields a wicked, multi-necked axe…
2) Afroman don’t need no stinkin’ DJ, he can do that shit himself, and…
3) Afroman requires three or more 24oz. cans of Colt 45 when performing
This information alone might not be all too impressive, but when combined with a sold-out performance in Reno… ladies and gentlemen, we have liftoff!
When Afroman took the stage, he spent a moment or two setting up his iPod, then five or more minutes unpacking and tuning his gleaming pearl white, multi-necked guitar, the later of which he rocked unbelievable instrumental versions of favorites such as “Because I Got High” and “Crazy Rap” on, with full-on soloing reminiscent of, dare I say it, somewhere between Jimi Hendrix and Muddy Waters. I felt as if I had unknowingly attended a blues concert hosted by that guy from the Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back music video. It was pretty much mind-blowing.
One other point of interest that I distinctly recall standing out was the added verse on “Because I Got High”, where Afroman ad-libbed, “Now I’m spending the night in Reno, and I know why-yyy-yyy / Because I got high, because I got high, because I got hi-iii-gh”. I really hope somebody recorded that.
As per the settings dialed in on the Nikon D7000 + AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8G ED camera and lens combination used to shoot this set, I didn’t do a whole lot of knob twiddling. In fact, I did absolutely zero during Afroman’s set, and came out with a series of shots that I’m actually proud to present in a public forum. Fixed settings for shutter speed at 1/200th of a second, a wide open aperture of f/2.8 and boosted ISO at 6400 sealed the deal, with minimal processing taking place in Lightroom 3 before uploading here for your viewing pleasure.
If you enjoy the selections on this page, you’ll surely love the full gallery. If you find an image that you can’t live another day without having by your side, go ahead and order a print. We’ll ship it right to your doorstep. Promptly.
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