I’m not entirely sure how it’s been a full calendar year since I last put one of these compilation posts together, but here we are. I remember pulling last year’s year-end photo gallery together and thinking “damn…that was a busy year.” Fast forward 365 days, and somehow 2017 was actually busier, featuring nearly three dozen shows in five different states and countless memories that have left me not only crossing items off my bucket list but pinching myself as to how surreal this little hobby has become. I shot shows that varied in scale from catching one of my favorite songwriters (Bryan McPherson) at a little bar (The Thirsty Turtle) in the town I grew up in (Nashua, NH) to catching probably the area’s biggest punk band of the last two decades (Dropkick Murphys) at a 7000 seat hockey arena. I shot two separate Warped Tour stops, one of which (Mansfield, MA) took place in a driving rainstorm that parted for just enough time to allow personal favorites Bad Cop/Bad Cop to play a kick-ass set.
I finally shot longtime faves like The Menzingers and Hot Water Music and The Adolescents and Smoking Popes and Bouncing Souls each for the first time, then shot the Souls twice more. I got to see some old pals like Dave Hause and Jared Hart test the waters in some new projects, and some bands I’ve been friendly with for years, like The Interrupters and Bundles and most importantly my dudes in Rebuilder play on bigger and more prominent stages (that are still somehow smaller than they deserve to be playing). I shot one of my favorite all-time bands (Lucero) on a boat on a picture perfect night in Boston Harbor. But more than anything, I got to share an awful lot of awesome experiences with an awful lot of awesome people, some of whom I’m lucky enough to call friends. I still make a lot of this photography stuff up as I go along, but I try to capture the moments that make performances, no matter how big or small, unique and special – eyes, hands, faces, fists, smiles, scowls, exhaustion, celebration, chaos.
Mike McColgan, Street Dogs
What follows below are some of my favorite moments of the year that I was lucky enough to capture in a way that I’m proud of. If you were at some of these events, hopefully this helps you relive some special moments; if you weren’t able to get out to a show, hopefully we helped bring the experience to you. I’ve got some cool stuff cooked up for 2018; thanks for coming along for the ride!