June 24th 2006

I got pretty lucky a few months ago and got asked to photograph the Bama Country Birthday Bash at the Riverwalk Amphitheater in Montgomery. After seeing my work a week or so later they booked me for the whole summer concert series. It's truly an honor and a lot of fun to do.

Today started off by tying up a few loose ends with Travelhost and then hitting the road around 1:30pm. Tam wasn't gonna go at first but I talked her into it and so off we went.

After reaching Montgomery the rain came down and the lighting began. I figured our day was shot considering that this is an outdoor concert. I got to the Riverwalk and got my pass, then headed to the Montgomery Brew Pub for a little dinner. The concert was to start at 8:00, by 8:30 the rain began to die down and the show began.

The show began with Tommy Tutone (you know... it with me folks "eight six seven fife three oh nieeine") He played acoustic with a drummer backing him up. Afterwards I decided Tam might enjoy being backstage with some of her idol's from the 80's. She knew who all these guys were. I had to be told.

Naked Eyes were next and they played a great set. I realized who they were when I heard a few songs I recognized ("Always Something There To Remind Me", Promises Promises" etc.). The guys were very kind and approachable.

Lastly the group ABC came on and finished things off with some of their hits such as "When Smokey Sings", "Poison Arrow" and "The Look of Love".

Tam was all excited afterwards getting to meet everyone. Martin Fry gave her a shirt and signed it for her. To get a better idea of how she felt, check out her blog.

The sad part about the night was that there were over reportedly over 2000 tickets sold and there might have been 200 people there... maybe. The rain kept people at home. But don't think for one minute that these guys didn't play like they had a full stadium.

By the way, the photo above is Tam and I with Pete Byrne of Naked Eyes.