This past weekend I attended a rock concert (yes, another concert), in one of the youth theatres around here. The reason of my presence there was twofold: the theatre is run by an old friend of mine, and because one of the girls performing in a band that night is a good friend of my daughter. Never been at a concert in that theatre, I did not know what to expect in terms of distances, lighting, etc., so I took with me a Nikon F3, two rolls of film (Ilford Delta 3200 and Ilford HP5 400), together with a couple of lenses (50/2 and 105/2.5). As I do not use flash, none got in my bag. And with my daughter in tow, I went to the concert.
The theatre is located in a former office building of the Romanian Railway Company, leased (I guess) to the theatre; it has been refurbished to a certain extent, but the look of the building now (within and without) is of an industrial style coupled with some sort of an indigenous “bauhaus” in terms of functionality. The theatre is also a youth educational place, where those willing can learn various crafts, acting courses, music, electronics, robotics, computers/programming and so forth. A really good place for youngsters, I would say.
I photographed some 4 or 5 bands playing that night, all young, all starting on their path to music, all full of hope and pride in their performances. Who knows, perhaps one day I’ll be telling stories on how I witnessed the birth of a famous band. Anyways, the experience was a great one, and once again I felt young again.
The band here is called Soul Strings, and is made by 5 members (three girls and two guys), none of whom are 18 yet, I believe. I am no connoisseur of any music style of today, but what I heard I really enjoyed. To be honest, I was more focused on their faces and the expressions which changed every two seconds: hope, pride, ambition, shyness (at times) in front of the audience, all succeeding fast one after the other, alternating. What amazed me was their stark determination to show everyone what they are about, and that made them look like they enjoyed the lime lights. Kudos !
Soul Strings Band – Bacau Romania
Vocal and bass – front stage
All in all, an enjoyable experience and a good time spent with my daughter. As far as the youngsters I have seen and heard, I wish each and every one of them good luck and God Speed in their future careers, be it music or anything else. They still have a long way ahead of them, and I am certain they will prevail.