Right off the bat, I have to rave about concerts. This month brought us Cold Waves VIII, which if you aren’t familiar is an industrial music festival. It has been held annually at Metro in memory of Jamie Duffy, and serves as a fundraiser for suicide prevention charities. You can learn more about their mission at Darkest Before Dawn (http://www.db4d.org/). Standout performances for me this year were 16Volt, Chemlab, <PIG>, and I’ll be damned if I wasn’t absolutely enamored with Filter’s performance. It was watching a man’s creative passion bloom again after a long winter, and it was the most heart touching sight. Later in the week, I headed over to Emporium Wicker Park to see an amateur battle bot competition. It was a spot-on opener for Captured by Robots. I am still dumbfounded at that performance. It is a one man band - with instruments played live by robots. GTRBOT666 and DRMBOT0110 back up and taunt their human frontman, JBot. It was heavy metal with a sharp comic edge. All in all a crazy fun week!
Never content with too many projects already, I’ve taken over co-producer duties for Nerdlesque at HeadQuarters Beercade on 2nd and 4th Thursdays of every month. I’m really proud of the direction that show is taking. It has been quite a long time since I’ve been so invested in a burlesque company. After being fiercely independent for many years, wandering like a ronin, it feels good to be surrounded by a collective of talent with a unified vision. I am excited to be fostering new talent, getting back to the love of the art form, and placing audiences above all the noise of the scene. Nightlife is about entertainment and spectacle, enjoyment and escapism; performers who embody this are what Bim Bam Boom is all about. Opportunities afforded to me such as modeling work at photography workshops and dancing at the Admiral (spoiler alert: I’ll be back for a three night engagement on Halloween weekend!) are only possible with an amazing team at my side. These experiences, like those Richard Patrick had on stage, spark inspiration for further art and rekindle the flames of creativity with the validation we have something beautiful to offer the world.
While autumn is setting in, I try to eke out every last drop of warm weather. Reflected Reality and I hiked in the forest preserve one afternoon to shoot Naughty in Nature. We love the earth tones and warmth of the light filtering through the trees. Admittedly, there is something delightfully thrilling about frolicking out in the open. Just the right amount of freedom and danger, knowing you could be caught by more than the breeze at any moment. Hope you find it as satisfying as I did. Everyone be sure to grab the desktop background attached to this post. VIPs are getting the full 38 image photoset, and Backstage Patrons also get 36 beyond-the-set images this month! Be sure you're logged in on my site to view the images. Feel free to give the set some love by leaving a comment or clicking the heart below. As always, thank you to all my Patrons. You make art happen.
Photographer: Reflected Reality