Page 40 - ION Indie Magazine JanFeb 2018

When I heard back in July that the “I Love The 90’s
Tour” was coming here to El Paso, Texas on
October 28th, I automatically reached out 3
months early, which in my world of concert
photography is just unheard of. I was a bit excited
– not only due to the lineup of 90’s era household
names in music that were appearing with the
tour, but I had never shot at Southwest University
Park -- which is the home for our El Paso
Chihuahuas, a Triple-A baseball team. As is the
reality in my realm, I was actually approved 48
hours prior to show time. I thought to myself that
this is going to be a fun night, and in the end, this
epic event didn’t fail to deliver.

On this evening's card were some of the top acts
in hip hop/dance music from the 90’s. There were
5 in total, including Snap!, C+C Music Factory, All-
4-One, Mark McGrath (of the band Sugar Ray),
and of course, the headliner, which was Salt-N-
Pepa. You would have had to have lived on
another planet during the 90’s to not recognize
every song played by each of these national acts,
or you just didn’t watch MTV or listen to Top 40
Radio during that period. The field was seated
right up to the barricade, however, my credentials
did not allow me in the photo pit, which actually
C+C MUSIC FACTORY/FREEDOM WILLIAMS
wasn’t a problem as I shot from the crowd and
was able to get right up to the barricade with www.freedomwilliams.com
ease. This was a different audience that I am
accustomed to, being that many of the acts I cover
are usually of the head-banging, circle pit-
thrashing variety. Make no mistake, this was a full
DANCE PARTY (with emphasis on the “party”).
This crowd was on their feet and ready to groove.

Now this is the 2nd show of this caliber that I have
shot here in El Paso as of late. If you are an avid
reader of ION Indie Magazine you will recall my
recent coverage of “Old School Throwback Jam”
(Morris Day and The Time, Dazz Band, etc.). The “I
Love The 90’s Tour” also utilizes pre-recorded
music with the main talent on stage providing
vocals to the track. Regardless of not having a full
band behind them, each one of these acts put on
a fantastic show and you just couldn’t help but
mouth the words or restrain yourself from busting
a move.