I recently had the pleasure of shooting rock legends Styx with Saga at Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston. It was the first time that Styx has played in Kingston since 1978. The more I think about that, I’m just blown away by the fact that a band can have such staying power and still pack an arena with new and old fans. These guys have been going since about fifteen years before I was born, and I’m not so young anymore!

I must admit that one of the highlights for me was Lawrence Gowan (or as I think of him just plain old Gowan) on vocals and keys. Of course we all know the Styx classics, but I grew up with Strange Animal, A Criminal Mind (which he played!), Moonlight Desires and the like playing on Much Music when I was a kid. Remember those cool music videos? Me too!

Luckily we were allowed to shoot from the front of the stage, which is something that I had just taken for granted. But apparently some acts won’t allow photographers at the front of the stage, so we’re forced to shoot from the sound booth. My biggest lens is 200mm, so that would not have been good for me! The only problem with shooting from the front was that the barricades were really close to the stage, not leaving much room for the other photographers and I to move around. I suppose that with the fans being seated, they did not require security at the stage to pull out crowd surfers and such. I’m also finding that being so close makes it impossible to get a larger group shot with my 24-70, so a wider lens is now at the top of my wish list!

For more coverage of the concert check out IN2 Magazine’s coverage of Styx and Saga.