Christy Love and You Know Who

Christy Love and You Know Who, originally uploaded by timophoto.

Christy Love made Boogie Wonderland huge in the Twin Cites. She is a great singer and an energetic performer.

Big Check

Master of Ceremonies, Dark Star, presents a check on behalf of Canterbury Downs to 35W Bridge Relief Benefit Concert organizers for minnesotahelps.org.

35W Bridge Relief Benefit Concert

I recently participated in the 35W Bridge Relief Benefit Concert, as an event photographer, which took place at the Fineline Music Cafe in Minneapolis. It was a great success, raising $40,000 for affected families of the disaster. There were many local and national sponsors who donated items for the silent auctions and raffles. The Fineline donated a portion of bar sales. Canterbury Downs donated a check totaling $5,000, and was presented by the evening’s master of ceremonies, Dark Star, from WCCO radio.

I was truly grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in this cause with all the top-notch organizers and participants who made this event truly remarkable. Some of the bands were instrumental and at the forefront of organizing the event and making it come together in a very short period of time. The staff at the Fineline were more than accommodating in providing the venue. It was great seeing the nice turn-out and all the news coverage the event created. This was truly a testament to the real sense of community and genuine caring and humanity which we are all so very fortunate to have all around us in this great city and state. I am very proud to be Minnesota born and raised... I will always be a Minnesota boy, no matter where my journey’s in life take me.

If you are still wondering how you can help those affected by the 35W bridge collapse, please give a visit to www.minnesotahelps.org to find out more. I would also suggest looking for other benefits forthcoming in the Twin Cities area in which you can volunteer and participate in. It has made a huge impact on me and helped me deal with the difficulty I had accepting that something this devastating can really actually happen... right here, right now, and to me and you.

I took over 1200 photos during the seven hours at the benefit concert. Following are some of the highlights of the bands performances and also presentations from a few noted individuals. I will provide future links, when available, to view more of the photos.

Hairball

Hairball, originally uploaded by timophoto.

Headlining the 35W Bridge Benefit Concert at the Fineline Sunday night was Hairball. It was awesome to see all the great bands and be a part of such a great cause! Last tally was about $40,000 raised to assist families affected by the bridge collapse.

Jellybean Johnson

Jellybean Johnson, originally uploaded by timophoto.

Jamming the Uptown Art Festival on a rainy Saturday night.

I-35W in the Mississippi River

top_20070801_4047 copy.jpg, originally uploaded by timophoto.

Huge deck section at a 45-degree angle, jutting out from the east bank. You can see more sections of the bridge near the center of photograph and to the right, just below the drop created by the lock and dam. The bridge in the background it is the Cedar Ave. Bridge, which paralleled I-35W. The bridge support in foreground is old and left behind from a previous structure that was removed.

I-35W crushes freight cars.

top_20070801_4099 copy.jpg, originally uploaded by timophoto.

This shot is on the east bank of the Mississippi and you are seeing the south-bound lane of I-35W as it plunges down the river embankment, crossing the bike path.

I 35W Bridge Collapse in Minneapolis

top_20070801_4071 copy.jpg, originally uploaded by timophoto.

The look on this police officer pretty much summed it all up for me. I think he was kind of in shock, just as we all were. Maybe he was amazed at all the on-lookers who turned out to catch a glimpse of this tragedy. The whole north-bound section of the Interstate plunged into the Mississippi as it curls around downtown Minneapolis. I spent the better part of two hours trying to find a good location to shoot from, but the police and other rescue crews did a good job of setting up the disaster recovery scene. You can see all the pics on my flickr page by clicking the image. I will update more also, asap. Please say a prayer for those affected and remember the rescue crews as they are doing a good job under extremely bad circumstances.