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Dominick Mastrangelo

Dominick Mastrangelo's favorite Live Music Photos of 2012 ---------(that he took)

words and photos by Dominick Mastrangelo

Sigur Ros @ Skyline Stage
Dominick's favorite 12 of '12

For those counting at home, Dana (distortion) Yavin, Amanda Hatfield, David Andrako and Fred Pessaro // BBG have all dropped of their favorite photos that they took in 2012, and now comes a set from another long-time contributor, Dominick Mastrangelo. We’ll let him take it from here…

I’m pretty sure everybody who photographs for this site has a list of bands they want to shoot before they hang up their camera or move on to something other than music. I’m no different and 2012 was the year I was able to cross a handful of those bands off my list. All were personal favorites from before I ever picked up a camera; some I had seen a bunch, some I hadn’t seen in years and some I had never seen. To have photographed The Afghan Whigs twice, Sigur Rós twice, as well as Wilco, the reunited Ben Folds Five and The Old 97’s (a band I saw in countless sweaty venues in my thirteen years in North Texas) over the span of six months, well, I consider myself very fortunate.

Also, Canada was very good to me. I covered Osheaga in August then returned a month later to cover POP Montreal for the second time. The following morning I was on a train to Toronto to cover the Polaris Prize gala. Nearly half of the photos below were taken north of the border and only a desire to not turn this into an all-Canada post kept me from including more.

Of the twelve I’ve selected, the above shot of Jonsi, the lead-singer of Icelandic band Sigur Rós, taken in Philadelphia at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts is probably my favorite. It was the band’s first show in four years, the first time I was getting to photograph one of their shows and my first time seeing them since the last North American show of their Takk tour in February of 2006.

More of my favorite shots from 2012 are below.

Bloc Party – Osheaga
Dominick's favorite 12 of '12

Brad Barr – Shut Up and Eat Your Ballads – Pop Montreal
Dominick's favorite 12 of '12

Django Django – Glasslands
Dominick's favorite 12 of '12

Dustin Wong – Glasslands
Dominick's favorite 12 of '12

Patrick Watson – South Street Seaport
Dominick's favorite 12 of '12

Portugal the Man – Osheaga
Dominick's favorite 12 of '12

Purity Ring – Pop Montreal
Dominick's favorite 12 of '12

The Afghan Whigs – Bowery Ballroom
Dominick's favorite 12 of '12

The Heavy – Irving Plaza
Dominick's favorite 12 of '12

The Sadies – Pop Montreal
Dominick's favorite 12 of '12

Wilco – Prospect Park
Dominick's favorite 12 of '12