#1 Hottest Live Photo of 2012 in Rolling Stone - My Black Keys Shot

Here's a snapshot in time that I'll treasure. The #1 Hottest Live Photo of 2012 on Rolling Stone - Black Keys at Madison Square Garden. Technically it's #1 now, but it'll slide as more photos are added, but I took a screen grab for the memories. :) Here's a link to the full gallery from this show, and here's a link to the Bowery Presents Houselist blog with the photos.

The Black Keys Crush Madison Square Garden

On the 2nd of their two sold-out Madison Square Garden shows, the Black Keys laid into their Mississipi delta, swampy-blues-influenced heavy riff rock. The band's energy kept the entire Garden on full-tilt boogy, and the general admission standing room only made the venue seem like a giant juke joint. Much respect to the Black Keys - I can't stop listening to their music on Spotify. Thanks to the Bowery Presents, and you can view the photos on the Houselist blog over there as well. Here are a few nice shots to give you the vibe of the night...

Green Day @ Madison Square Garden

Sometimes you are just in the right spot at the right time - and that's exactly what happened to me last night at Madison Square Garden. I was shooting the band for the Bowery Presents (the promoter) and near the end of the last song we could shoot, I slipped into the front of the catwalk and nailed these killer shots.

Sampras vs. Federer at Madison Square Garden

The battle for tennis history was fought right here in New York City last night at Madison Square Garden between two of the best tennis players of all time. I captured an epic 3 set match for AYS Marketing that ended with Federer closing out an 8-6 tiebraker. Sampras was up 5-2 in the 3rd before Federer stepped it up before the 19,000 sold-out electric crowd. Celebrities filled the room from Donald Trump, to Tiger Woods to Regis Philbin. The arena was also filled with the greatest tennis players of all time - Ivan Lendl, John & Patrick MacEnroe, Stan Smith, Tony Trabert, Roy Emerson, and other tennis legends came out to show their support for this amazing event. The sport of tennis was the real winner of the night. Here are a few great shots and slideshow (below):

John Mayer plays "Best Show of His Life"

Gal and I went to see John Mayer at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night - and of the nearly 22,000 fans in the sold-out NYC arena, I was a minority. I was one of 10% of guys who either came to the show because they were dragged to see him by their girlfriend or wife, or like me, truly appreciate and recognize witnessing the next "Eric Clapton" in the making. Let it be known straight up, Mayer is an incredible guitarist. He also happens to craft amazing songs.

After the show, the New York Post wrote that the show at the Garden was "career-defining." He knew it too. After every other song, the crowd's screaming adoration humbled Mayer, as he thanked the audience repeatedly for the success he's had and the things he's seen at such a young age.

Alicia Keys made a surprise guest appearance on "Gravity" which closed the show and the refreshingly sparse stage faded to black. The stage was setup to focus on him and the songs, without any fancy production - much the way "Continuum" sounds - sparse, yet perfect.

The New York Post also wrote, "Call it a matter of personal pride, taste or a willingness to risk a missed note while trying to reach greatness, but Mayer's performance was made compelling by his in-the-moment passion that went well beyond being warm, he was on fire."

Here are a few pix I took of Mayer when he made a surprise guest appearance of his own with Galactic in New Orleans during Jazz Fest last year. While he was down in the big easy, he must have been inspired by the swampy blues as he brought, "I Don't Need No Doctor" to the Garden and proceeded to tear it up. It was great to see him cover such a gritty song - perfect contrast to his own polished songs. Definitely catch him next chance you get.

Here's the link to the full NY Post article.