Nate Azark

Halloween with Widespread Panic at the Aragon Ballroom

Nate Azark — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:44:57 +0000

This year I spent Halloween taking photos of the Widespread Panic show for WXRT. The station broadcast the entire concert and streamed the audio and my photos live online simultaneously. It was a fun show to shoot since the band put a lot of effort into their costumes and because they always have great lighting. Here are some of my favorite shots from the show that night. I hope you enjoy them!

John Bell (lead singer and rhythm guitarist) of Widespread Panic

Domingo S. Ortiz (percussion) of Widespread Panic

Jimmy Herring (lead guitarist) of Widespread Panic

John Bell (lead singer and rhythm guitarist) of Widespread Panic

John "JoJo" Hermann (keyboard) of Widespread Panic

John Bell (lead singer and rhythm guitarist) of Widespread Panic

Dave Schools (bassist) of Widespread Panic

Jimmy Herring (lead guitarist) of Widespread Panic

John Bell (lead singer and rhythm guitarist) of Widespread Panic

Dave Schools (bassist) of Widespread Panic

The Head and the Heart at Metro in Chicago

Nate Azark — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 22:05:24 +0000

I have photographed The Head and the Heart a number of times already this year but I jumped at the chance to snap some more shots of the band at Metro. The sold-out WXRT show definitely lived up to its expectations. I have a feeling that one day people will be jealous when I say I saw them at a small venue like Metro. If you get a chance to get out to one of their shows, DON’T PASS IT UP!

The band also gave me the opportunity to design and print the official poster for the show that night. You can check that out here.

Chris Zasche (bassist) of The Head and the Heart

Charity Rose Thielen (violin, vocals) of The Head and the Heart

Jonathan Russell (vocals, guitar, percussion) of The Head and the Heart

The Head and the Heart on stage at Metro in Chicago

Charity Rose Thielen (violin, vocals) and Kenny Hensley (piano) of The Head and the Heart

Jonathan Russell (vocals, guitar, percussion) and Charity Rose Thielen (violin, vocals) of The Head and the Heart

Charity Rose Thielen (violin, vocals) and Kenny Hensley (piano) of The Head and the Heart

Josiah Johnson (vocals, guitar, percussion) and Jonathan Russell (vocals, guitar, percussion) of The Head and the Heart

Jonathan Russell (vocals, guitar, percussion) of The Head and the Heart

Josiah Johnson (vocals, guitar, percussion) and Jonathan Russell (vocals, guitar, percussion) of The Head and the Heart

Jonathan Russell (vocals, guitar, percussion), Charity Rose Thielen (violin, vocals) and Kenny Hensley (piano)of The Head and the Heart

Foster The People at the Riviera

Nate Azark — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:14:31 +0000

Foster the people played a sold out XRT show at the Riviera Theatre a couple nights ago and I was there to capture the first 3 songs. The near seizure inducing lighting made it tough to photograph the band but I came away with a few shots that I really liked.

Mark Foster of Foster the People

Poster for The Head and the Heart at Metro

Nate Azark — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:46:35 +0000

Last night The Head and the Heart played to a sold out crowd at Metro in Chicago. I was fortunate enough to have been asked to design the poster for the night. It was inspired by “Rivers and Roads” and based off a photo that I took standing on the Grand Street bridge.

The posters are a 3-color design printed on French Paper Company’s 140# Black Muscletone stock. We did a signed and numbered run of 50 show prints and I have a few for sale here. Check them out and pick one up!

The Head and the Heart Metro Poster October 2011

The Head And The Heart Metro Poster October 2011

The Decemberists at the Aragon Ballroom

Nate Azark — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 21:53:17 +0000

The Decemberists played a show at the Aragon Ballroom back in July and I never had the chance to put the photos up until now. The Head and the Heart opened for the band and played a great show as well. I really like the way these photos turned out because there is quite a range in lighting colors and tones.

Here are my photos that I took for WXRT. I took all of these photos with a Canon 50D and 60D, Tokina 11-16 f/2.8, Canon 24-70 f/2.8, and the Canon 70-200 f/2.8.

click on any image to enlarge it

Colin Meloy (lead singer, songwriter, guitar, harmonica) of The Decemberists

Sara Watkins (Violin, backing vocals, keyboards, guitar) of The Decemberists

John Moen (drums, backing vocals, melodica, guitar) of The Decemberists

Nate Query (bass guitar, double bass) of The Decemberists

Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist) of The Decemberists

Colin Meloy (lead singer, songwriter, guitar, harmonica) of The Decemberists

Nate Query (bass guitar, double bass) of The Decemberists

Colin Meloy (lead singer, songwriter, guitar, harmonica) of The Decemberists

Sara Watkins (Violin, backing vocals, keyboards, guitar) of The Decemberists

Colin Meloy (lead singer, songwriter, guitar, harmonica) of The Decemberists

The Head and the Heart at the Aragon Ballroom

Nate Azark — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 20:57:17 +0000

Last night The Head and the Heart opened for The Decemberists during a sold-out WXRT show at the Aragon Ballroom. A friend of mine turned me on to the band when they first released their self-titled debut album. To be honest, I was more excited to see them than the headliners.

Their performance was nothing short of amazing. They were energetic and seemed to feed off of the response of the crowd. They only played for a half hour but in that time they captured the attention and respect of the sold-out Aragon Ballroom. I’m looking forward to them coming back to town and seeing them again. If you don’t know this band, I guarantee that you will soon. They are definitely going to be one of the next BIG bands.

Here are my photos from last night that I took for WXRT. I really tried to capture the energy and passion they had on stage. I took all of these photos with a Canon 50D and 60D, Tokina 11-16 f/2.8, Canon 24-70 f/2.8, and the Canon 70-200 f/2.8.

click on any image to enlarge it

Josiah Johnson (vocals, guitar, percussion) and Chris Zasche (bass) of The Head and the Heart

Charity Rose Thielen (vocals, violin, percussion) of the Head and the Heart

Jonathan Russell (vocals, guitar, percussion) of the Head and the Heart

Chris Zasche (bass), Jonathan Russell (vocals, guitar, percussion), Tyler Williams (drums), Josiah Johnson (vocals, guitar, percussion), and Charity Rose Thielen (vocals, violin, percussion) of the Head and the Heart

Charity Rose Thielen (vocals, violin, percussion) of the Head and the Heart

Jonathan Russell (vocals, guitar, percussion) of the Head and the Heart

Kenny Kensley (piano) of the Head and the Heart

Tyler Williams (drums) of the Head and the Heart

Josiah Johnson (vocals, guitar, percussion) and Jonathan Russell (vocals, guitar, percussion) of the Head and the Heart

Josiah Johnson (vocals, guitar, percussion), Chris Zasche (bass), Jonathan Russell (vocals, guitar, percussion) and Tyler Williams (drums) of the Head and the Heart

Josiah Johnson (vocals, guitar, percussion), Jonathan Russell (vocals, guitar, percussion), and Tyler Williams (drums) of the Head and the Heart

Josiah Johnson (vocals, guitar, percussion) and Jonathan Russell (vocals, guitar, percussion) of the Head and the Heart

You can view all the photos from the night here

Dave Matthews Band at the DMB Caravan in Chicago

Nate Azark — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 06:53:14 +0000

I covered the DMB Caravan for WXRT and took pictures of the backstage interviews and a few of the performances during the weekend. Dave headlined each night of the three day long festival and played 3 hour sets for a total of 9 hours of music not including his set with Tim Reynolds. These are the photos from their sets on Friday and Sunday.

I took all of these photos with a Canon 50D and 60D, Tokina 11-16 f/2.8, Canon 24-70 f/2.8, and the Canon 70-200 f/2.8

click on any image to enlarge it

Dave Matthews at the DMB Caravan in Chicago

Stefan Lessard at the DMB Caravan in Chicago

Dave Matthews and Stefan Lessard at the DMB Caravan in Chicago

Dave Matthews at the DMB Caravan in Chicago

Carter Beauford and Dave Matthews at the DMB Caravan in Chicago

Dave Matthews at the DMB Caravan in Chicago

Stefan Lessard at the DMB Caravan in Chicago

Dave Matthews at the DMB Caravan in Chicago

Boyd Tinsley at the DMB Caravan in Chicago

Lucinda Williams and Amos Lee Tour Poster

Nate Azark — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 22:31:37 +0000

This poster was designed for the co-headlined Lucinda Williams and Amos Lee tour. I used a woodblock style typographic treatment over an old map of the United States to add some texture to the piece. The hand-screened poster is 19″x25″ and part of a limited edition run of 190. It has three colors: metallic gold, dark teal blue and a deep red. If you are going to any of the remaining shows make sure to stop by the merch table on tour and pick one up while they are still available!

Click here to check out other posters I was fortunate enough to design and print for Amos Lee.

Lucinda Williams and Amos Lee Tour Poster

My Morning Jacket at The Auditorium Theatre in Chicago

Nate Azark — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 02:37:52 +0000

It has been a little over a month since My Morning Jacket played at The Auditorium Theatre but I feel it is never too late to post some photos of the show. I really feel like these are some of my best concert photos to date.

I photographed the show for WXRT and we streamed the photos live online during the concert. Zack Nechvatal, the lead editor for wxrt.com, uploaded the photos to the site as I took them. It was a lot of work, but we generated a lot of traffic to wxrt.com, which was considered a success. The pressure of taking the photos and not having the time to retouch them can be a bit stressful but I think we did a great job.

I took all of these photos with a Canon 50D and 60D, Tokina 11-16 f/2.8, Canon 24-70 f/2.8, and the Canon 70-200 f/2.8

click on any image to enlarge it

Jim James playing his omnichord at the auditorium theatre

Jim James of My Morning Jacket at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago

Tom Blankenship, Jim James and Patrick Hallahan of My Morning Jacket at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago

Jim James, Tom Blankenship, and Patrick Hallahan of My Morning Jacket at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago

Jim James, and Patrick Hallahan of My Morning Jacket at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago

Tom Blankenship, Jim James, and Bo Koster of My Morning Jacket at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago

Carl Broemel, Tom Blankenship, Patrick Hallahan, Bo Koster, and Jim James of My Morning Jacket at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago

Tom Blankenship, and Jim James of My Morning Jacket at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago

Bo Koster, and Jim James of My Morning Jacket at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago

Jim James of My Morning Jacket at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago

Carl Broemel, and Jim James of My Morning Jacket at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago

Jim James of My Morning Jacket at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago

Bo Koster, and Jim James of My Morning Jacket at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago

Ben Harper Live From Studio X at the Double Door

Nate Azark — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 22:28:06 +0000

One of my all-time favorite musicians, Ben Harper, stopped through Chicago for a couple of sold out shows at the Vic Theatre this past week. I was also excited that he agreed to play Live From Studio X for a small group of WXRT listeners at the Double Door in Chicago’s Wicker Park.

These are the photos that I took at that performance for XRT. The stage was pretty dark and Ben was mostly back lit which made it tough to get a lot of definition in his facial features but I’m really happy with how these turned out.

I took all of these photos with a Canon 50D and 60D, Tokina 11-16 f/2.8, Canon 24-70 f/2.8, and the Canon 70-200 f/2.8

click on any image to enlarge it

Ben Harper Live From Studio X at the Double Door in Chicago