Elm Street

It’s pretty obvious, yes perfectly clear and totaly not-at-all surprising, but being vision and hearing impaired do introduce additional challenges to life. As both of my two readers should be aware of, I’m not exactly the human incarnation of the eagle in terms of optical prowess. I’m medically and judicially blind, yet in practical terms not quite so. An odd kind of juxtaposition with the fact that I’m also very interested in and fascinated by photography and the making and processing of images and graphic work. Clearly, my infatuation with image-making is closely linked with my life’s nemesis, the Usher Syndrome and thus dwindling vision/hearing. Making images is a pretty conscious way of overcompensating for what likely lies in store for me in the future. It’s pretty simple, if I do want to make images, I have to do it now. That also includes seeking venues that I, in the name of comfort, would rather avoid simply because they are not fitting for a person with my condition.

Last night I went to photograph my friends band, The Schmucks. They had a gig at Elm Street, a quite historical and even legendary rock club/pub/café in Oslo. Bands like Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Mötley Crüe,  Deep Purple, RHCP and many more have coated its walls with perspiration, so even if they where “only” the warm-up for the old-school British punk rockers in Peter & The Test Tube Babies, this was a great opportunity for a relatively unknown local band and I could not miss it. However, as at least one of you, my two faithful readers are aware of, places like this tend to be dark, tight and noisy. It’s the way it’s supposed to be, rock clubs being what they are, no complaints there. I’m sure those normal seeing and hearing bastards have a great time at such places, but for a mentally old fart that’s getting increasingly calcified veins by the minute and whose mind is slower than a snail on pot, it’s a massive challenge. You have to motivate yourself, tell yourself you’re gonna do it, because quite frankly, it’s scary, even without a possibly horror inducing name like Elm Street. You don’t hear anything but loud, loud, loud music (which I like, make no mistake) rendering any conversation a guesstimate from lip-reading and hearing a fragment here and there. All you see is multicolored spotlights and shadows, and maybe the twinkle in an eye every now and then. Add photographing on top of that, woooah! You silly pre-senile geezer, you should sit your fat ass down in the darkest, most remote corner to avoid doing or receiving any damage to or from the fixture or persons jumping around to the music, and pray for the noise to end and the light to be turned on so that you can run away and go into hiding.

Yet, like several times before, I didn’t. Living with a condition like Usher is like living with a ticking bomb, you’ve got to do things while you still can, while you’re still able to get something out of the experience. It’s pushing your limits and trying to overcome your fears, fears that might, for most people, seem silly and irrational, because for you the alternative is the unthinkable. I had a good time last night. The Schmucks did a very acceptable gig and showed some nice chemistry on stage, they enjoyed themselves and so did the listeners. I got a few shots too, although I got bumped around a bit by some very energetic punkers showing off impressive apparent lack of bodily control on the dance floor.  Would I do it again? Well yes, my medical and financial situation being what it is, not every week, but my love for music and photography remains and I got to try for as long as I can. A potential broken leg or a busted nose is a small price to pay to gather memories, experiences and photographic evidence to treasure when the gray-black fogginess finally overtakes my tired eyes.

As for The Schmucks, I’m happy they invited me, and  I hope I did not bother them too much with my quite literally speaking “flashy” appearance. They make some great punk rock and I sincerely hope they’re on their way to success and recognition! When I’m stumbling around at their gigs, at least they’ll have some photographic evidence to rememer it by.

Ps. Some pictures should be up in a few days.