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Old 11-09-2017, 04:30 PM
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'Rock 'n' Roll Perspectives': New photo show features top moments in Cleveland concerts, 1970 - 2017 (photos)



CLEVELAND, Ohio - Tina Turner is leaning against the wall. Stevie Nicks is hanging out around the corner with Taylor Swift and Bono.

Across the room, some of Cleveland's greats await - Michael Stanley and Stiv Bators and Pere Ubu.

And, oh yeah, there's David Bowie. In 1972. At his first show in Cleveland, at the Music Hall.

These musical legends - dead and alive - have come together for a knockout photo show from two of the city's top concert photographers. "Rock 'n' Roll Perspectives: Anastasia Pantsios and Joe Kleon" opens Friday night and runs through Sunday at Loftworks Gallery on East 40th Street.

"Rock 'n' Roll Perspectives" features almost 200 black-and-white and color photos from nearly half a century of rock 'n' roll in Cleveland: 1970-2017.

Pantsios, one of the city most lauded concert photographers, got into covering live music during the heyday of rock 'n' roll in the city. A native of Chicago, she moved to Cleveland in 1970 to study theater and lighting design at Case Western Reserve University.

Drawn to the flair of the emerging '70s rock scene, Pantsios would often take the bus downtown to see shows. She took her Cannon with her.

"In those days, you could just walk right into a show with your camera and start taking pictures; there were no rules," she says. "None of this three-songs-only-from-the-soundboard photography" she adds, referring to the restrictions most photographers of live shows face today.

And what shows she walked into! Pantsios had moved to the right place at the right time.

In the heyday of WMMS FM/100.7 as well as Cleveland's punk scene, she was fortunate to see and shoot early shows by the likes of T-Rex, Iggy Pop, the Rolling Stones, the Ramones, U2 and Madonna.

Rising local stars of the '70s, from the Michael Stanley Band to the Dead Boys and Pere Ubu, were also frequent subjects of her lens. A close-up of a sweaty Stiv Bators leaning into the mic is one of the highlights of the exhibit.

Her first published work was in the CWRU Observer, "but I can't recall what it was," she says. "I do know the first shot I had appear on a cover was in a Cleveland underground publication called The Star, which had its office in an old clock repair building on Payne [Avenue] at East 30th [Street], across from where Asian Town Plaza is now. It was a photo of Todd Rundgren at Music Hall, and that shot will be in the show."

Over the years, Pantsios' work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Spin, the Village Voice, Esquire, Creem, Hit Parader, Circus, People, USA Today, The New York Times, the Toronto Sun and The Plain Dealer, as well as numerous books and box sets.

Pantsios had the good fortune, and forethought, to check out one of the most important shows in local rock history: David Bowie's first show in Cleveland at the Music Hall in 1972. She captures Bowie in all his Ziggy Stardust glory, long, lean and magical in his gilded suit.

"David Bowie was so theatrical. You couldn't help be drawn to him," she says.

Pantsios has several Bowie shots from over the years that will be on display at the show. Other legends memorialized early in their careers include a bold young Chrissie Hynde, a lithe Iggy Pop in 1973, baby-faced U2 striking a pose, Led Zeppelin at Public Hall, Alice Cooper and his guillotine and a boisterous Ramones. Pantsios also has thoroughly documented Cleveland favorites the Michael Stanley Band over the years.

Not that she's stuck in the past. Her collection also includes some striking shots of Pearl Jam, Linkin Park and other newer acts. But by the '90s, Pantsios was slowing down in her concert photography. It wasn't the same situation anymore - where you could walk in with a camera, take as many shots as you wanted and often even get backstage access.

"Everything was becoming so restrictive," she says. "The labels and artists really try to control what you do now."

That's not the only change, she says. "Back in the day, a roll of film for 36 color pictures could cost $25. You really had to evaluate how many photos an act was worth, and really edit yourself as you worked."

Just about the time Pantsios was slowing down with concert photos, Joe Kleon was getting started. Credit Art Bell.

Yes, Art Bell, the paranormal-believing broadcaster.

Kleon, a classic rock fan - Rush is his favorite band - had worked as a DJ at WNCX and other stations over the years. Following the loss of a job in 2002, he invested in a camera to take on his honeymoon to Mexico.

Though he had only ever taken "about 200" photos previously, he was inspired. When he got home, he happened to hear on the radio that Bell was looking for photos of Mayan ruins for his website. He sent some in; Bell liked them so much they were featured on his home page, and a career was born.

Soon, Kleon was a photographer spinning his classic rock connections into a new job of taking photos of his favorite acts.

Though today's era is far different from the time Pantsios came up - "we don't get a lot backstage access and things like that" - Kleon has made a name shooting some of the biggest rock and pop acts of the day.

Rush, KISS, Bruce Springsteen, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift ... he's shot them all, for Cleveland Scene magazine and other local and national publications.

"The rock acts are my favorite, but people really seem to like the pop photos," says the photographer. "Which makes sense. A middle-aged father may not want to buy a Bruce Springsteen photo to hang on his own wall, but he will buy his daughter a Taylor Swift one.

"After all, when I was a teenager, I was putting pictures of my favorite stars up on the walls."

Today, Kleon is the one taking the pictures that go on the walls - and that's fine with him. "I like to be in the background," he says.

This weekend, though, these two photographers will step out of the pit and into the much-deserved spotlight.

PREVIEW

Loftworks Gallery

What: The exhibition "Rock 'n' Roll Perspectives: Anastasia Pantsios and Joe Kleon."

When: Friday through Sunday. There will be a reception from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday. On Saturday, Jim and Eroc classic rock duo will perform from 3 to 6 p.m., and the exhibit will be open 2-8 p.m. Sunday's hours are noon to 5 p.m.

Where: 1667 East 40th St., Cleveland.

Admission: Free. Go to loftworksgallery.com.



I suggest taking a look to the photo gallery because there are many very beautiful pictures:http://www.cleveland.com/entertainme...ves_new_p.html
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