The Killers at Merriweather Post

I had done some research before the show, and from most reports I would have 'issues' with taking my Canon 30D in to Merriweather Post Pavilion. I was warned that the security didn't mind going in to the pit for something. I didn't think I would if I stick out with my 50mm lens and nothing else. Got it all in no problem, however the problem became quiet evident when I got to the top of the seating bowl and looked down. The pit area was pretty darn full.
I had gotten to Merriweather Post a little late- 8:40pm or so. I had missed the opening act without too much issue. The problem occurred when everyone was pretty set in their location and I am not a pushy person to get closer. I get a bit self conscience being as tall as I am and blocking other fans views because I shoved my way in to a spot. If I had gotten there earlier and laid claim- I would not have a problem.
Once the music started up, I broke out my camera rig. No problems. With the short 50mm lens, it was easily hidden among everyone. The biggest problem, besides the distance, was the number of fans. This would include heads, arms, and me bumping in to the people in front of me as I raised and lowered the camera.
Initially I had the ISO at 800 because I didn't know how easy or tough the lighting would be. However when I spotted the three lighting rig guys above us, I was fairly confident the lighting would be better than the last time I saw them- which also meant it would change a lot quicker.
As the lighting changed, and the band moved around a bit- I found myself sticking with the settings of ISO 640, shutter of 1/100, and dialing up and down the F/ range from 1.8 to 8. Yes, upwards of f/8 because of some of the really bright conditions. I also had the camera set to hi-speed mode because of the chance at catching something in a burst that a single shot would most likely miss. (that was a big goal of mine, shoot 2-3 burst shots at every opportunity)
As it turned out, my location and short lens really did not provide me with much opportunity to get some of the better expressions of the band. I turned to the chance to capture the lighting and other broader visuals that had going. I think I did a decent job nailing down a few key visuals to express the mood of the concert. At the end I attempted to just hold the camera up above the crowd and shoot blind. I got zero usable shots from that experiment.
When I got home, I got a count over slightly over 550 shots from the entire night. I quickly discounted many, and after a first pass I had about 70 shots I thought were ok. After editing and pre-processing those 70, I narrowed it down further to about 50 shots that were better. I sent those results shots through the processing in Lightroom. Most of the editing involved cropping. The white balance on most were pretty dead on. Once detached from all the shots, I whacked more and came out with 38 that were usable and shareable. While I might have shot a crap load, it was very easy to remove most of them for being blurry, out of focus, hands/heads in the way, etc.
Concert photography is something I enjoy doing but I don't think I could make a profession out of it. The Killers have a full time photographer on staff, and I spied him on the side of the stage- for the entire show. I hope he had an assignment for that night to get a certain shot, otherwise I would be a little disappointed with his lack of movement. Even if he was trying for one shot, he didn't even try to get down low for a different angle. At least I never saw him move.

Here is the resulting 38 photos I uploaded to Flickr to share.