The first time I saw Sleater-Kinney was Jan 31, 2003 at Portland’s Crystal Ballroom. The second time was the very next night, 20 yrs ago today. I wish I could say I saw them at La Luna in the 90s but I wasn’t yet that cool. Anyway, I brought a camera on the 2nd night (venues were a little more lax back then): a Canon AE-1 with 50mm lens that I’d borrowed from my friend Alison. I was still learning, and up to that point had burned dozens of rolls of film with nothing decent to show for it. Having gone to the show the night before, I knew if they played “Step Aside”, Corin would grab the mic and shake her head during the breakdown, so I waited and snapped, not confident at all that I had timed it right. Put me in the same situation today, with two decades of experience, and I probably wouldn’t nail it. There’s a lot of luck involved in this racket. When I got the film back a few day later and saw this frame - the only good one on the roll btw - I was instantly hooked on music photography, and it hasn’t let me go.
P.s. here’s the cover of their single for “Jumpers” on Sub Pop, which uses my photo and yes I’m still super proud: