Chris Daughtry rocks Irving Plaza, March 19, 2007

Booted American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry rocked Irving Plaza tonight, performing to a sold out crowd. His ticket prices were $20 and the fans I spoke with seemed to think this was Chris' doing. Pretty nice. You can't even go to a movie in NYC for $20 these days.
Good thing AI got rid of him--he is too good to be stuck to their contract.
The audience was a mixture of young and old, male and female, and all ethnic groups. I don't see that often with the concerts I shoot.
Cinder Road and Eve to Adam (a band from Astoria, Queens) opened the show. A great triple bill of good old rock and roll with great guitar work.
Some technical problems arose tonight, with the malfunctioning of a BADLY needed lens just as Chris was to take the stage. And this one night, EVERY other photographer in the pit was a Canon user-I was the lone Nikon shooter. However, the show must go on, and photographs had to be made, so I made do with what I had.
Saw one of my favorite young photographers there-Robert Caplin-shooting for the NY Times. (2x this week! First was the R&R HOF) He brought along his 14 year old brother, Justin, to shoot too. With a mentor like Robert, this kid is going to go far.