Indianapolis | Alex Farris Photo Blog

Before I got to Deluxe, in the basement of Old National Centre (known more popularly by a much better name, the Murat Shrine), I expected a similar setup to all of my work at Klipsch: I would be able to shoot the first three songs in the pit right in front of the stage. I got there to find a poorly-lit stage and no pit. To compensate, the event handler I talked to said I could walk onto the edge of stage left, and I also found an elevated part of the room by the bar where I could shoot over the crowd. So, despite the inconsistent-to-nonexistent light (and my D300, which by no means has the best sensor in low light), I found enough good photos for another of David Lindquist's photo-story reviews.

By the way, the show was the last tour date featuring both Danny Brown and Kitty (former known as Kitty Pryde). Danny Brown got into some hot water earlier in the tour when... well, you can read about it here^{explicit note} A woman came up on stage during his show in Minneapolis, pulled his pants down, and performed oral sex on him.. It's fueled quite the brouhaha, and it brings up an interesting issue.

Danny Brown performs at Deluxe in Old National Centre, Tuesday, May 14, 2013. (Alex Farris / For The Star)

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When I was younger, I didn't listen to very many kinds of music. (But what I had was very good!) Acts like Nirvana, Seal, Savage Garden and Sugar Ray took a literal back seat, as I only heard them through the car radio as my mom drove my brother and me around for school and errands. As such (and because I was only 8 years old in 1996), I completely missed Soundgarden's effect on music.

Fortunately, I have The Indianapolis Star reporter David Lindquist's review of the band's reunion tour concert, part of the May Day show at Klipsch Music Center, to set me straight. Check out the review, in large part because it's interspersed with 10 of my photos. (Fourteen others that I sent appear here.)

So far, I've averaged an assignment per week for the Star since I finished at the Journal & Courier. I would not complain if this keeps up.

Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell performs during May Day at Klipsch Music Center, Saturday, May 11, 2013. Soundgarden performed in Indianapolis for the first time since 1996. (Alex Farris / For The Star)

I finished at the Journal & Courier on April 13, and by the looks of the blog I haven't done anything since. Not true, though: I did three freelance assignments for the Star, one freelance assignment for the J&C, one contract private birthday party and a quick actor headshot for my uncle in between then and now. I must also add that a lot of my free time recently has been spent, not on updating the blog, but on reading Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses and E.O. Wilson's On Human Nature, both of which I highly recommend if you ever want to fill your mind with profundity. On Human Nature especially appeals to my science-minded self, and it surprisingly holds up considering its publish date of 1978. It's certainly worthy of its 1979 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction.

Seriously, you should buy or rent it the first chance you get. You won't be sorry.

For more photos, head to these Star links for the Christamore House Guild event, the Vacant art show and Perry Meridian High School's prom, and the J&C's EyeSpy gallery of the Grand Prix Breakfast Club.

Students reach for money thrown into the air during Perry Meridian High School's prom, themed "Moonlit Memories," on Saturday, May 4, 2013, at the Indiana History Museum in Indianapolis. (Alex Farris / For The Star)