Another Saturday night and music filled the air at The Sail Inn in Tempe. A great night with a great line-up of bands filled the bill for Dry River Yacht Club’s CD release party. We got there around 10pm and watched the last four bands – Black Carl, Strange Young Things, What Laura Says and Dry River Yacht Club.

I decided not to take photos (that’s not entirely true – I only photographed What Laura Says.) It was a conscious decision to just go out and have a couple of drinks and enjoy the music and be social. Kristina on the other hand – wanted to shoot photos of Dry River for The Music Matters Project. Great idea – loved it.

Not taking photos allowed me to make some observations about the music, the bands, seeing music and photographing music – so here they are in no order of importance:

1. The Sail Inn is my favorite place to see music in Tempe.

2. The Sail is a great place to learn music photography and practice (the venue is extremely photography friendly.) I saw many people with DSLRs taking photographs. Very inspiring and super cool to see people who are interested in photography and music.

3. If you are a drunk girl in a skirt or dress and have a propensity to fall on the floor – you might want to wear panties. (Just throwing that out there.)

4. What Laura Says is still my favorite band in Tempe. Hands down. They have a unique sound that I compare to The Beatles getting together with The Beach Boys partying and playing together. (Yes I know it’s a very random comparision but makes perfect sense in my head.)

5. Watching Kristina take music photos was more enjoyable than doing it myself. She got some great photos of Garnet from DRYC for The Music Matters Project.

6. There are lots of people into the local music scene in Tempe. The Sail Inn was packed which is great to see.

7. No music photographer should ever think they are more important than the music. If you are not working directly for the band, you do not belong on stage. (Period.)

8. Brian from Kinch is a nice guy who makes great music. I am pulling for Kinch to have great successes in the future.

9. Corey from Strange Young Things works the crowd better than anyone else in town.

10. When attending a show like this – don’t be dumb (like me) and wear flip-flops.

11. Just GO. Show up to events like this. Talk to the bands – tell them you’re a fan or that you like their music. Generally everyone who plays are cool and won’t mind chatting with you after their set.

If you were there and took photos please leave a comment with a link to your photos – I’d love to see them.

When you see live local music where you are – how do you contribute to the scene? Do you take photos? Do you buy merchandise? Do you spread the word and bring people with you? Talk to me…