My NW Indiana and More: Beatles Fest 2012

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Beatles Fest 2012 was a blast. My first time at the Beatles Fest, and it will not be my last. John Vezmar put on a great festival for us this night, along with his staff.

Here was the lineup for the evening starting with top billing . . .

American English

Bunkertown

Nomad Planets

Josh McCormack

Rhythm Scholar

To put you through the paces, to help you feel the energy throughout the evening, I will start you off as a photographed. First, my friends from Paul Henry's Art Gallery, David Mueller (center waiving), and Kelly Davis (right) who created the Beatles blanket being raffled. Kelly has other great work you should check out as well.

I tried to photograph Sophia painting my face as I was getting painted. Needless to say I did not do so well, so eventually I had to hand the camera over to David to take a picture.

A lot of people came early and settled in. It was a nice sunny day, with a very nice cool breeze. This made for a very good Beatles Fest.

And Sophia's painting took off. She was busy through the entire event.

The merchandise got of to a start . . .

. . . however an even bigger start was the food! Everyone came to eat as well.

And of course . . . Us . . . the fans . . .

Now for the bands, starting with . . .

Josh McCormack

with

Paul Cullen

John Prestipino

Jimmy Clausing

I was trying some stuff out here, meaning I intended to have the band in focus and Seargant Pepper out of focus, then to reverse it. Not as strong an effect that I was hoping for. Do realize, I do not alter the majority of my photography that I post. What you see is what I shot.

This little guy was cool too. He just learned how to do the "rock out" sign. He started off well, however the more he tried the worse it got because his fingers were getting tire out. However, if he keeps practicing, I bet he will be a Beatles rocks star some day . . .

Sophia was having a blast painting the kids faces I think.

This next little girl had a real good dance beat going, though every time I would photograph she stopped, or chose to take off running. She, like all the other Beatles fans, was having a great time.

People found the fountain a fun place to sit, and for me to photography through. Here I played with some shutter speed to freeze the water drops in mid air, and then to allow them to streak a little. You can click on the photo to enlarge if you want to see it better.

Fans of the Beatles, and of these bands, sat, enjoyed, and were really a nice bunch of people to be around to share the passion of the music and memories. Perhaps I am only speaking for myself right now. As I listened to each of the bands, it did bring back some fun memories of good times with friends listening to the Beatles. Thank you to all the bands!!!

Seemed like everyone wanted Sophia's art on their face, whether Beatles theme or not. This little guy wanted Commando . . .

Nomad Planets

with

Mark Mybeck

Phil Rapchak

John Carpenter

Drew Enselman

Chris Ussery

These guys were fun to watch and listen to on stage. People react to what is in front of them. The crowd was friendly, grooving, enjoying themselves. A reflection of this band.

And my friend Pete Calacci of the Loyal Plastic Robots (lead guitar, singer, songwriter) and my photography friend Renee. We kept loosing each other in the crowd, however when I caught up to them I started taking photos. Pete is a big Beatles fan, and it shows in the quality of his guitar playing. I think there is a uniqueness about those who like the Beatles. They get it. Nothing else needs to be said, except in their own music. Pete is one of those who gets it . . . though it did take him a while to get I was photographing him . . . lol . . .

Between bands . . . Rhythm Scholar DJ'd from the rooftop across the street. This was pretty cool. The acoustics in this area, with the buildings and open space, played out just right for a DJ and speakers out the windows. Reminds me of my high school days, when we would put speakers out on my friends roof and blast the music while we were outside having fun.

Rhythm Scholar

I go around photographing, holding up my camera getting ready for what might be a good photo op, and the majority of times it just happens like in this next set . . .

And with David Mueller and Kelley Davis . . .

And I do believe this lady came in with the art on her leg. Sophia was artifying (made up word) her face . . .

Bunkertown

with

Mark Anderson

Andon Davis

Brian Anderson

Michael Krayniak

Paul Bivans

Beatles fans everywhere, even in lit up Mohawks . . .

American English

It was very nice to have American English as the headliner and closing out the evening for us. They look, act, sing, probably as close as a band can come to the Beatles themselves. What was fun was they took you through time, from the Beatles very beginning, until the band dismantled. And along that trip in time, they also dressed the part as you will see in the photo set.

Oh, and for those new to my photography, by choice I do not use flash. Hence the color you see from the lighting.