So personally I have been on mega-maximum stress overdrive since oh I don’t know around January 20 of this year, with not much room in the daily schedule for anything remotely resembling relaxation since every spare moment not spent working is committed to protesting everything everywhere in every possible way . . .
. . . but then late the other night I was randomly rooting around in my endless archive of Johnny photos for just a single #TBT pic to remind people that he’s performing in two weeks at the Skating Club of Wilmington and this is an opportunity that absolutely should not be missed (get show tix here and meet-n-greet tix here), and I discovered a Creep photo from nearly two years ago that I realized I’d never run. And then I found another. And another. Eventually there were about twenty in all. And so instead of a quick #throwbackThursday Instagram post, I ended up with this #flashbackFriday blog post instead.
These pics, which did not make the first cut of Creep photos from this performance, feel like the ‘B’ side of an old 45 — which sometimes is the more interesting side. They convey more of the pain and isolation that lies at the heart of ‘Creep’; assembled as a group, they are hauntingly compelling. I found myself completely absorbed in the task of preparing them for this post, and it was a wonderful escape into the world of mesmerizing beauty that Johnny so often is for me and millions of others.
At the end of this post is old/new bonus video from the same era: some of the best footage I’ve ever managed to shoot of Johnny at rehearsal, made all the more stunning because he’s in his ‘Creep’ costume. I originally uploaded this to my now-defunct Vimeo account almost two years ago, but then stuff happened and it disappeared. Please enjoy this new incarnation paired with a poignantly powerful ‘Hello’ cover released around the time I first put this montage together. And please consider this entire post a lovely flashback oasis of Johnny and the magic that he creates on the ice — as only he can. Visit as often as needed . . .
Most of these are breathtakingly huge, so please click any photo to open it in a separate window and appreciate it in all its glorious detail. Video of this performance is here.
BONUS VIDEO
My all-time favorite Johnny rehearsal footage I’ve ever shot. I could watch him in this costume forever.
‘Hello’ cover by the exceptional Taps Mugadza.
Video link.
BONUS PIC
By special request from a Twitter friend: one of the few photos we have of Johnny at the rehearsal filmed above.
Exclusive photos © David Keyser.
