Naturally, after I got situated in The State Theatre to photograph Pete Yorn Friday night, I wandered over to the merch table. The first thing that popped out of my mouth: “But where are all the v-necks?” Oh, yes. It was going to be one of those nights.

Alberta Cross, a band from Brooklyn, New York, opened the show with a…very poorly played drum beat. Honestly, I am terrible at the drums on Rock Band, but I could probably play this guy’s big solo (which consisted of sixteenth notes and a crescendo).

I go to a lot of shows, and even the worst ones I have seen can at least spit their lyrics out. This is what I heard when I was truly trying to decipher the lyrics of one of Alberta Cross’ songs: “Mmmm…mmmm…NO NO…mmmmm…HOME.” That’s all I got. There were also super-awkward pauses between each song after they got their few claps from the audience. The guy next to me decided it was appropriate to growl between one of the silences. And you wonder why I was loving this show. But really, the lights were the best part. They had some pretty cool lights.

Pete Yorn. Sigh. He’s still very indie. I mean, he’s pretty much the definition of the word. Again, unsatisfied with the drumming. Audience participation was quite low, though we did have some fans singing all of the lyrics, but very quietly, as if they were ashamed they knew all of Pete Yorn’s songs. It’s okay! You can like him…unless it’s cool not to. In that case, you were in the wrong place, my friends. To make matters worse for Pete Yorn, the lighting (which is very important to me as a photographer) for the most part consisted of three red lights. COME ON! Your opening band had cooler lights.  To be fair, he has a pretty voice and some catchy tunes.  He can perform very well live, and for the indie-lovers, I’d say the show was a success.

I suppose I tweeted one too many times about being at the Pete Yorn concert and hurting (long story short, sprained ankle. Ouch), and Pete Yorn decided to write to me:

^I mean, what else would you expect?