This series was originally posted on Instagram. There are some edits and corrections.
That sent me down memory lane, because I’ve enjoyed catching Feels in concert for a decade -- almost practically to the date. I do hope some of you enjoy the following walk.
In September 2011, I went to The Standard in DTLA to listen to my friend participate in a poetry reading. Afterwards, on the rooftop, a band called Raw Geronimo played a 4 song set. Unfortunately, I have no photos from that night, because The Standard wouldn’t let me bring in my camera and I was rather upset when I saw a number of photographers with their DSLRs. But the band obviously caught my attention.
Photo 1: Two months later, after work, I rushed down to Origami Vinyl with my point and shoot Canon G9 (I’m not sure why I didn’t bring my Canon 5D Mark II) and captured this really horrid shot. If I’m not mistaken, I had previously mentioned to my friend Siria that I’d come across this amazing band. I do believe she had some involvement in setting up this specific night and told me to come out. (I’ll admit there is a former member of the band in this photo that I totally forgot about.)
Photo 2: Then in December, I went to The Mime (a venue that was on Glendale Blvd just before the entrance to the 2 Freeway) to catch them again and brought along a proper camera. Yes, in 2011, my love affair with Raw Geronimo was full on. (I’ll admit again there is a former member of the band in this photo that I totally forgot about.)
Photo 3: This photo was taken in January 2012 and ranks as one of my all time favorite photos.
Photo 4: I believe this was the only time I ever caught the band at The Satellite - October 2013.
Photo 5: So I told this story once before. In more recent years, I’ve spent 2 or 3 days shooting Echo Park Rising for Buzzbands. But prior to that, I used to just go down to catch a handful of bands and then take off. Well, in 2014 I went down to Echo Park Rising to catch only one band and one band only, Feels. This is the first time I caught the band under that name change.
Photo 6: This photo was taken July 4th, 2016. I so wished that it had become an annual tradition -- a 4th of July show by Feels. I have a handful of photos (I think Photo 3 also applies) where the lights just love to play along with Raw Geronimo / Feels. It is like there is this intertwine between the lights, music and the band.
Photo 7: This photo -- March 2017 -- was taken at HM 157. The band was playing in a very small part of this historic house and the place was packed with people. I was right up there at the front taking photos. When the set was just about to get super rocking, Laena took a pause and said something like, “To all the photographers, you might want to move away from the stage to make sure your cameras don’t get damaged.”
Photo 8: I mentioned on Instagram that I believed this was the only time I caught the band outdoors (July 2018). I now realize this was the second time I'd seen the band outdoors. Taken at the Resident’s patio.
Photo 9: This photo was taken for Buzzbands in 2019. So for this specific show I basically got as aggressive as I might get saying I wanted to shoot Feels. I’m reading my email from back then and in a passive aggressive way I’m just telling them that I’m shooting Feels for the site.
Photo 10: A 2021 photo at The Echo. This one was also shot for Buzzbands. To me, there really is a serenity watching Laena fronting Raw Geronimo / Feels. Maybe it is just how my finger likes to snap shots of the band, but it always seems to capture these moments of serenity in the middle of loud rocking psychedelic music.
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