The Intersection is one of those venues that always feels a little too small for the energy it holds — and I mean that in the best way. It’s tight, gritty, and honest. You’re never far from the action, especially when you’re pressed up against the stage-left barricade, where I shot the entire show with my Ricoh GR IIIx, wedged between the crowd and the monitors.


A Familiar Venue, a Different Kind of Night

By the time Silversun Pickups took the stage, the room was already at capacity — heat, sweat, and the low rumble of amps humming in the dark. No media pit. No separation. Just layers of fans pressed into the rail. Being on stage left gave me a clean angle of the band’s rhythm section and a straight shot toward center stage.


Silversun Pickups On Stage

They opened with “Growing Old Is Getting Old,” letting it build slowly before breaking into “Well Thought Out Twinkles” and “It Doesn’t Matter Why.” The crowd was instantly locked in — phones raised, heads nodding in sync with Nikki’s bassline.

But for me, everything clicked during “Panic Switch.”

That song hit like a wall. The lighting went red, then pure white strobe. The guitar tone was jagged and saturated — sharp enough to feel in your teeth. From my spot on the rail, I could see every pedal shift and pick scrape. It’s always been a favorite of mine, but live, from just a few feet away, it felt like the whole room rotated around it.

They kept the pace high with “The Royal We,” “Nightlight,” and “Cannibal,” and pulled things back just enough with “Alone on a Hill.” The encore, of course, closed with “Lazy Eye” — the entire crowd yelling the chorus back at the stage like it was the last song they’d ever hear.


Gear Notes

  • Camera: Ricoh GR IIIx
  • Position: Stage left barricade
  • Settings: f/2.8, 1/250 sec, ISO 3200
  • Shooting style: Fast and reactive — ambient only, no display, low profile
  • What worked: Proximity, timing, the GR’s responsiveness
  • What didn’t: Deep red/purple lighting blew out detail fast — had to compensate in post


Final Thoughts

Shooting from the stage-left barricade without credentials puts you in a different mindset. You’re not chasing perfection. You’re chasing moments. “Panic Switch” delivered that moment for me — full sound, full lights, total immersion. The rest of the set built on that momentum and never really let up.

I’ve shot in bigger venues and from more “official” angles, but this one reminded me why I love shows like this. One camera. One spot. No barrier between the music and the lens — just instinct and noise.