Now, to business. This show was shot from the sound desk, a fact about which I will not complain. I promise. I’ve complained enough about that already!

I will instead talk about the effect that constraints can have on encouraging creativity. In this case, the constrains of being a hundred metres from the stage, and being unable to move side-to-side at all. The constraint of not having enough room to use two cameras, because there was no way to switch from one to another without interfering with the groins of adjacent photographers. And as you all no doubt know, the less said about the groins of adjacent photographers, the better.

So! It was a challenge to keep the photos interesting, but luckily the crazy neon outfits (hello 1980s) and cool stage helped. Next time I need more zoom, though, I think. Quickly! To the camera shop! For more zoom!

Music is one of the best ways of triggering memories. Hearing the right song can instantly take you back, back to a memory of a forgotten time or place. Hearing Cold Chisel live gave me an instant craving for steak and beer. Such is the power of (arguably) the best Australian pub-rock band ever.

Jimmy Barnes doesn’t muck around. He’s not a singer that sounds like he’s shouting when he’s actually singing quietly, oh no. Look, he really gives it everything he’s got. You can see the effort on his face, and the fans love it.

And the rain! You should have seen it! Well, you can… in the photos. OK. You should have felt it. It bucketed down. I was soaked, the cameras were soaked. Those photos of people in the rain? I’m not under cover, I’m out there in it too. The cameras are meant to be rain-proof. That was put to the test, and so far they seem ok. They’re certainly more rain-proof than I am.

Brilliant night and a brilliant band. How often do you get to see an Aussie icon like Barnesy up close?

Imagine my surprise to find that these lads can really sing, and that they’re anything but plastic. They’re a bunch of lads, hanging out, singing songs, impressing crowds. They looked like they were having a great time!

OK, so what happened was that Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson were all contestants on the UK’s The X Factor, but they didn’t make it all the way through. So they decided to team up, at judge Nicole Scherzinger’s suggestion (yeah, the Pussycat Doll). As a group, they came third; now, they’re heartthrobs who, like The Beatles before them, cause otherwise-sensible young girls to lose their shit.

This was a really fun show; I’m bummed that I could only shoot three songs. One Direction and Jessie J are two shows with something special in common: I enjoyed them a lot more than I expected to.

Loads more photos (74 in total!) from this concert are on my Facebook page. (While you’re there, like James Wood Photography!)

But! everyone knows this song:

Right? I bet you knew it once you heard it.

The mood of this show matched the mood of the song. A reserved seating gig, the photographers were warned not to block any audience member’s view of the stage. There was little chance of that happening: from the opening notes of the first song, the audience was on its feet, dancing and singing and having a great time. It freed us up to move wherever we needed to, without worrying about upsetting someone’s view. I doubt anyone would have cared, really, it wasn’t that kind of show!

Great night, great energy, great music.

Oh, and one more:

Not only that, but a band whose name he recognised! Well… he knew (of) the Arctic Monkeys, but didn’t know their music. He is a massive fan of Crosby, Stills & Nash (and their alter-incarnation, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), and has been for decades.

David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash are famous for their intricate harmonies. They formed the band in 1968 (so, you know, before man walked on the moon…) and still sound great.

They’ve had a rough history, they haven’t always had the best relationships with each other. None of that was apparent at this show, from what I could see they were all very happy to be there, together. Lots of smiles, and they seemed very supportive of one another. They were on-stage for around three hours! There was an intermission, but still… the punters really got their money’s worth.

Here, have another song:

Each of these three guitarists is amazing in his own right. But all three together? It was almost too good. I never knew who to watch, so effortlessly did they pass solos back and forth between themselves. The performance felt at once rehearsed and ad-libbed, the three of them worked together so well. Their on-stage chemistry was great too: the two who weren’t taking the lead at any moment seemed to be sharing jokes and conversing, naturally without missing a beat.

Masters of their craft. I loved it.

What surprised me about Satriani’s music is that, despite having no words, each song is about something. “I work on making sure that each one of these songs is as different as a set of lyrics is for a singer,” says Satriani. The fact that he calls them “songs” hints at this, and I suppose in hindsight it’s not that surprising. But it hadn’t occurred to me that a guitar could be, in the right hands, as expressive as lyrics.

Go on, listen:

Satriani started his career as a guitar instructor, teaching legends such as Kirk Hammett of Metallica, Kevin Cadogan of Third Eye Blind and even Steve Vai himself. He also came up with the idea for the G3 concert series itself, which started in 1996 and showcases the best guitarists in the world.

I’m gonna get a bit guitar-technical for a sec… but check out how effortlessly he blends harmonics into full notes:

Woah.

I had trouble editing this set down to a reasonable number of photos, he’s just so rockstar-photogenic. Kinda reminds me of Bill Nighy in a way. Right? They have a similar cheekiness behind the eyes. I don’t think Bill Nighy can play guitar quite like this, however. Because nobody can. Because playing like this is impossible.

Steve Vai: Demon?

Aww yeah! Look at that! Now, while you look at photos of his solo show, you can listen to him rocking out with the rest of Toto. Technology, right? Amazing. Hold the line! Love isn’t always on time!

This show was great. G3 is a semi-regular tour that was originally put together by one of the world’s greatest guitarists, Joe Satriani. As the name implies, it is a concert series featuring three guitarists, who each do a set and then combine to form a guitar-ing supergroup for the final set of the night. This tour was made up of Steve Lukather, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.

The crowd was riddled with guitarists. I have never seen so many air-guitar solos as once. I’m willing to bet that everyone in the audience went away inspired, and determined to rock. I have no doubt that the vibe in the room will have a direct impact on the guitar-playing abilities of every fan there. Amazing!

I’ve never seen such impressive on-stage setlists, either. Each band member had a massive LCD screen on the floor at their feet. It was far more impressive than the usual paper gaffa-taped to the floor. You can see the edge of lead singer Bernard Sumner’s screen in photo #12

Music royalty are allowed, after all, to splash out.