Rock ’n roll can sometimes be a contact sport.
During much of the 2017 40th Anniversary tour, Tom and the band would launch into a kind of tsunami of noise and feedback at the end of “American Girl” that often culminated with Tom knocking over his mic stand as Mike swung his guitar over his head. I got some great shots during this moment each night, especially of TP. Sometimes he’d sneer at me, or kick at my camera, or poke at me with the fallen mic stand. It was always a lot of fun.
On this particular night in Berkeley, I was behind his amp line taking some wide shots of the stage and crowd when TP spotted me. Slowly, Tom dragged his guitar across the stage, and when he was about five feet away, he swung it up and began jousting me with it.
Except this time, I’d gotten too close.
WHAM!
The butt end of Tom’s Fender Electric 12 met my Nikon 14-24mm lens. It’s the only time it’s ever happened to me.
Startled, I stumbled back behind Tom’s amps as Ferrone pounded his cymbals, ending the song. The band took their bow and exited the stage, and as I was packing up my gear, I examined the lens, fully expecting it to be cracked. To my surprise, nothing was broken.
About 15 minutes or so later, my phone rang. “Did I break it?” Tom asked with a laugh when I picked up. I told him that the lens had surprisingly survived. “Glad it’s ok,” he said. There was a short pause and then more laughter. “I bet you got a great photo!”
— Andy Tennille
Archival pigment print, unsigned. Prints are sold unframed.
Translation missing: en.sections.cart.notification.added_to_cart
Related Products
- Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
- Rock
- Tom Petty
- Andy Tennille
- Arena Rock
- Classic Rock
- Guitar
