Photographer’s notebook: TAHOE VISTA — In a region infamously known for the Donner Party’s cannibalism, cannabis was the subject of mixed messages during the Summer Sessions 2014 tour event.
Stephen Marley echoed the Rastfarian message of his father’s, Bob Marley, encouraging the herbal sacrament to concergoers July 17 at the North Tahoe Regional Park. But Fat Mike of the punk band NOFX ordered the fans not to use marijuana, or, for that matter, alcohol. But Fat Mike, of course, was bullshitting.
Nonetheless, the two bands were a contrast at a festival which opened with Fishbone and finished with Slightly Stoopid. Stephen Marley played an acoustic reggae set. NOFX played hardcore punk, and the fans fervently moshed in the mud, the consequence of a torrential downpour that delayed the show for more than an hour. The delay unfortunately limited Fishbone’s set to three songs, but bandleader Angelo Moore later sat in with NOFX.
Each of the four bands was outstanding, which might leave little solace for ballplayers who want to use the destroyed field again this summer. Another show, the second annual Bass Camp Festival, will be held Saturday, July 19.
Taking photos from the photo pit was an adventure, and not just because it was filled with standing water and mud. It reminded me of shooting from the sidelines at an Oakland Raiders game when a Silver Bullet whizzed by my head, a mostly full Coors Light can landing on the playing field. When I turned around, another photographer admonished me for potentially calling attention to myself. “They will throw Double-A batteries at us, man,” he exclaimed. But the NOFX crowd was not so malicious. I was merely hit with a shoe, a fuzzy hat, beer foam and some small, undermined objects. It was worth it to get these photos. – Tim Parsons, Tahoe Onstage