lonesome tiger photography: Papa Roach

X-tra again, the place where instead/in the pit, the photogs get to kneel on the stairs that lead up to the stage, and you can't move to the left or right because of the bars holding up the front row rail.

Rock band Papa Roach taking the stage at X-Tra Zurich

10 minutes before show start, security helps us to get through to the front, and then you gotta get lucky / decide on which section of the stairs you want to sit on for your three songs.

Papa Roach perform live at X-Tra in Zurich, Switzerland

Also when I can stand straight and, more importantly, can move left and right in front of the stage, I usually start on the left, gambling on the fact that most guitarists are right-handed, or play with a regular right-handed guitar anyway. This means that if they're in front of me and I'm on the left ("stage right"), they're more likely to turn their face in my direction.

Papa Roach live in concert

The disadvantage of that a) if one of the guitarists is left-handed, you lose, and b) singers are often right-handed too. Which means any time they hold the mic up to their face, they cover themselves up almost completely with their arm.

Papa Roach

The guy at the far right (stage left) is less on the photos because even if I got to move over there: Either you just got the curtain / some boxes / some roadie / the emergency exit in the background, or you move over so that the stage is in the background, in which case the probably-right-handed guitarist will turn his back to you.

Papa Roach perform live (and with wireless guitars) at X-Tra in Zurich

So yay for wireless guitars! Even on a small stage, it's much more fun if they change their spots. I'm just there for three songs, but I guess the fans in front row would appreciate getting to see the whole band over the course of the show.

Papa Roach singer Jacoby Shaddix

Anyway, that was a lot of blabbering about taking photos of rock bands, and very few about Papa Roach. I had already seen them a couple of years ago when they opened for Guns N' Roses in North America, so I knew they would be good. Seems I wasn't the only one to know that, the place was packed! They were very high energy, jumping off of things and banging heads like crazy. Great music, great show!