After a failed attempt at seeing Solange’s Super Bowl Live performance a few nights before, I was thrilled to see The Suffers, Gary Clark, Jr. and ZZ Top were all performing on the same night. I made sure I got to Discovery Green early for this one. That proved to be a smart decision because just a few hours later, the crowds reached maximum capacity and no one else was allowed to enter the grounds. My 16 year old cousin accompanied me and actually had a good time. I thought the music artist might have been too different for her, but she told me she enjoyed the performers.
I definitely wanted to make sure I check out The Suffers because I’ve heard so many great things about them. The vocalist of the group, Kam Franklin, made a guest appearance with another performer on stage just a few nights prior. They did not disappoint at all! I love Kam’s voice and the energy that every member of the band brings on stage and it resonated to the audience. “Good Morning” and “Make Some Room” are my favorites. Check them out if this blog is your first time learning about them too.
Gary Clark, Jr gave a free concert here in Houston not too long for the NCAA Final Four and I missed out so I wasn’t going to let it happen again. Just like The Suffers, I heard many great things about how great of a musician Gary Clark, Jr is. I also wanted to check him out because he a Texan, Austin to be exact. I was very impressed with his guitar skills and voice. I really liked the facial expressions he made while playing his guitar because they make a more interesting photo. From where I was standing, I could see Leon Bridges backstage watching Gary’s performance and I managed to get a really good shot of him. Despite backstage not being lit, I was able to amp up my ISO without the photo being super grainy and get a cool looking silhouette of him. I was hoping Gary brought him on stage as a guest so I could get some shots of them both, but he didn’t.
You know you’re pretty legendary when a non-rocker wants to see you perform. I’m from Houston and I grew up on Don’t Mess With Texas ZZ Top commercials from the 80’s. Back in high school or college, I knew ZZ Top as the rock band who rapped/rocked the cover of Fat Pat’s “25 Lighters”. I actually became a fan of Billy Gibbons from his role on FOX TV show, Bones. I knew he was 1/3 of ZZ Top but I really liked how cool his character was playing Angela Montenegro’s dad. I recorded a clip of them performing “25 Lighters”, but I was waiting on “La Grange” ,which I affectionately call the “Haw Haw Haw Haw” song, lol. I have a few photography bucket list artists and ZZ Top was on the list and I’m glad I managed to get some shots of them to add to my collection.
