I saw George Thorogood a few weeks ago.
One more question. I know that cameras are forbidden, but how on earth fans manage to take cameras in the stadium? Isn't there some kind of body checking before entering?
It probably depends on where you're at. When I saw Iron Maiden last month, they made you empty your pockets, but I didn't see anyone getting actively searched. They also said that cameras were not allowed, but cell phones were. Some of the video I've seen of that concert came from a phone, but others clearly came from cameras, so my best guess is that they were smuggled in in somebody's pants.
What he said. Pants or armpits. Jackets, bags and backpacks are usually searched. Depends on where you are, who's performing and who's in charge of security. With camera phones and those tiny cameras of today, it's almost impossible to get it under control for security guards. They can't catch them all, and they can't collect all those devices. They tried that once at a Paul McCartney concert, that was when the camera phone craze had just started. Concert started more than an hour late but I still managed to get my camera in (to no avail: didn't get close to the stage and also got caught inside, so the 20 pictures I managed to take were all crap). To be honest, I sometimes wish (especially on large concerts) security would be tighter. At the McCartney concert, I used an old Sony Cybershot, which had the size and shape of a handgun (I even carried it in some kind of shoulder holster). Would have been no problem to get in something really dangerous.
Golden rules: act as if it's forbidden, so you can't go wrong. If you get your camera in, don't ever use a flashlight.
Never. It's just disturbing for the musicians, it doesn't help much and it will only draw attention on you. If your (digital) camera has an optical viewfinder, turn off the display. Always keep an eye on those tall guys dressed in black. But don't be nervous - it'll only lead to shaky pictures. Try to get as close to the stage as possible, but avoid the front row. Always have an escape plan: extra batteries in case they collect them from you instead of he whole camera (and you may need some, anyway), extra memory card (sometimes they collect those instead of the camera - if you're good at this, you can try to give them the empty one). Take enough pictures if possible, you'll find that 60-75 percent of your pics turn out to be crap.
There are bands who have an open policy for this. Wilco, for example, allow recording and photographs (without flash, of course), but no filming.
I thought it would be difficult at the Tom Jones concert, but nobody seemed to care at all - and I've seen unknown bands making a terrible fuss about it.
You never know. Trying is the only way to find out. Experience helps.
Back in the old days, when cameras where big bulky things and camera phones didn't exist, it was really difficult. I remember a Bob Dylan concert in Prague, where we smuggled in a semi-pro equipment with three or four people, the guy who took the pics had to move during the whole concert and it was a seated show
I was almost caught by Chuck Berry himself, once. At that McCartney concert, I ended up with two 'personal security guards' who kept an eye on me for the last hour of that show. I once copied the pictures of a concert onto the sound mixer's Macbook after the show (whereas my brother did the same with his audio recordings).
As for filming - I've seen things that reminded me of Woody Allen's camera in a loaf of bread from 'Take The Money and Run'
I remember an Italian guy who used to film Dylan concerts in the early 90s. He always looked like a bank manager who came straight from the office to the show - pinstripe suit, vest and tie, and a briefcase. They never searched him because he looked very respectable - but the briefcase was a rather Bondian gadget, with a video camera built into it.
Friend of mine was into filming Maiden concerts a few years ago. They used to operate in a gang of three or four people, each one fully equipped. If one is caught, you still have the others. And the different perspectives help to cut a decent video. Nothing is as boring as a concert video with only one camera angle.
Most important about all this: This should be done for trading or collecting or souvenir purposes only, and that's how most of those guys handle it. Buy the official stuff, it usually has better quality than anything you can achieve, even if you're good at it. If you're bootlegging in any way (photos, films, audio) don't ever try to make money from it. Trying to sell any of that stuff will get you blacklisted in almost every traders' community.
