February 4, 2019

Hope everyone has been staying warm with our cold winter weather!   Do you think Mother Nature may be angry with us?

I covered the opening of the U.S. WorldWired tour of Metallica that was in Madison, Wisconsin last September in a previous blog.

Recently, I realized that I forgot to show you the Milwaukee tour stop of Metallica on October 16, 2018 at the FiServ Forum.  I've been too busy with this thing called life I guess.

Here are a few of the photos of that amazing Metallica show.  The stage and production design by our Milwaukee friend, Dan Braun, is just incredible!!

Check out the boys and this tour if possible to see in action the kinetic cubes above the stage. Four of the cubes rise from within the round stage and become drum kits for all four guys to play.

Stay warm!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

Metallica and the WorldWired Tour at Milwaukee's FiServ Forum on October 16, 2018

November 12, 2018

I am frequently asked what is the best rock show I have ever seen.

It was asked again this past summer when my wife and I saw Alice Cooper with a group of friends. That was a really great show!

I have been photographing shows since 1971 (junior year of high school) for various publications and record companies. So there have been a lot of really good shows.

I think my favorite show is still The Rolling Stones, June 18,1972 at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington, MN. That show amazed me!

The stage had a huge dragon on the floor and the some stage lights were behind the band and then shot up to mirrors that bounced the light back onto the band. Nicky Hopkins played piano. Bobby Keys played saxophone and Mick Taylor played guitar.  That combination of musicians is best version of the Stones to me. Stevie Wonder  opened up the show. Even being on the side, seemingly a mile away, the sound was great and of course it was loud!

So yes, the Rolling Stones in 1972 was my favorite show but there are soooo many others that were just as awesome!

Here is my top ten after the Rolling Stones from 1971-

Queen-Uptown Theater in March of 1975. Just incredible and when they fogged the stage I fell off of a crew case in the pit where I was shooting from!  Moved a few inches to get the shot I wanted and down I went! No one saw it and I got back up and kept shooting.

David Bowie-Milwaukee Arena October 1974. Even the rehearsal was amazing!

Joe Walsh with James Gang and Barnstorm. 1973 Summerfest. Also at the Milwaukee Arena and the Riverside Theater. He is a master at his craft.

The Everly Brothers at Pius grade school in Milwaukee in 1971. Unbelievable harmonies!

Steely Dan at Humpin Hanna's-Milwaukee 1972. The 14th show they ever played and we had drinks together after the show.

Pink Floyd-Milwaukee County Stadium 1977. Big, big show and the rehearsal was good too. During the actual show, it rained so hard but nobody left early.

The Who-Madison, WI 1975. Almost got crushed waiting to get in the doors. It was general admission and I wanted to be right up front.

Babe Ruth-Riverside Theater. Janitta Haan, Alan Shacklock and the rest of the band dazzled me!

Robert Palmer-Park Avenue club in Milwaukee. Very nice guy and the band was so good.

Metallica-2018 WorldWired tour-Madison and Milwaukee, WI. The stage and show design with a great band was something to see. Drones flew above the crowd! Cubes moved around from the ceiling with graphics and coming up from the stage turning into four drum sets!

I almost forgot my personal favorite photo from 1971 of Linda Ronstadt playing for Ramblin' Jack Elliott after she kicked the beer cans off the locker room bench and put her leg up to play! I was 17 and in a dressing room with Linda, Jack, Kris Kristofferson, Richie Havens, Earl Scruggs, Rosalie Sorrels and more. Learned about tequila that night with Kris Kristofferson!

There are many more I could list but these are pretty good choices I think.

What is the best show you have ever seen?? Let me know please.

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

October 29, 2018

After many hours of work and after making many decisions, the 2019 Rich Zimmermann Photography calendar is done and ready to ship!!

It is a fun but tough project for me.  I feature the musician of the month on his birth month. It's not as easy as it sounds because I don't duplicate artists. Also, I have so many photos of each musician from which to choose.

The cover artist is the attached photo of Metallica at the opening of their 2019 U.S. tour in Madison, Wisconsin a few months ago.

That is all you get to see! Inside, the calendar photos go from Jeff Beck in 1972 to Metallica this year.

The calendar is printed by Shutterfly so all photos are on thick board that you could frame at the end of the year. Shutterfly does a wonderful job and they donate a lot of money to charitable causes.

Forty dollars includes shipping anywhere in the U.S. and they are available now! Just email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I'll send you one or twenty!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

September 17, 2018

On September 2, 2018 I had the pleasure of seeing and photographing the opening of the Metallica, "WorldWired", U.S. tour in Madison, Wisconsin.

Since 1971 I have seen many shows but none like this one.   It was amazing!

The design and production of the show was done by Dan Braun, a Milwaukee native.

Dan created the show with kinetic cubes suspended above us that changed colors, graphics, positions and more!  It was like a huge beautiful ever changing chandelier like I've never seen before!

At one point in the show four cubes came out of the stage and all four guys were playing them with drumsticks!! These cubes also changed graphics and colors before they disappeared back into the white stage.

Check out a few photos and go see the guys. It's an incredible show.

Great, great job Dan! You are a wizard!

Thanks,

Rich Zimmermann

The opening of the U.S. 2018 Metallica tour at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin