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« Last post by BLeafe on December 28, 2020, 01:20:54 PM »
I'm a little slow getting to this...........blame the holidays............yeah - that's it.
Another favorite guitarist gone. What the less-than-thorough Rolling Stone article failed to mention was that he was born and raised in Hackensack as Leslie Weinstein and attended Hackensack High School.
As you may know, I usually post a photo of the recently-deceased artist that I took during my career. Usually, it's been published somewhere, but not this time. I have never printed or scanned this slide until today, so no one's ever seen it before. It's a special shot, unlike any photo I've taken on any other night.
It was taken on September 11 (!), 1981 at Pier 84 on the Hudson River next to the Intrepid aircraft carrier (I shot a LOT of shows there).
It was billed as Leslie West & Corky Laing opening up for the Ian Hunter Band. Since I did a lot of work with Ian's management, they gave me some unusual access which I also used during Leslie's set. I was onstage toward the back of the stage and standing high up (on what, I don't recall). So I'm facing the back of the band, the audience, the Hudson River, New Jersey and a setting sun.
But I can't see the band directly because Ian's equipment is piled high behind them. However - and this is the strange part - there's a huge mirror high above the band. I have no idea what purpose it served. All I know is that I can now see Leslie, reversed and looking like a left-handed guitarist in that mirror. The band would normally be at the bottom of this picture, but - who cares?
CLICK!
I had NEVER taken a picture like this before. I had never seen (or imagined) a setup like this before. And I've never had occasion to publish - or even SHOW it to anyone in almost 40 years, but now seems as good a time as any. I just hope there are a couple of Leslie West fans reading this who might appreciate it.
There's only one thing I question about this shot: in the upper right, is that a clear blue sky to the right of the mirror? If so, why does the sky look pinkishly cloudy under the mirror?
R.I.P., Mr. Weinstein.