This story is part of a series about arts and culture in Washtenaw County. It is made possible by the Ann Arbor Art Center, the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, Destination Ann Arbor, Larry and Lucie Nisson, and the University Musical Society.
Ann Arbor-based photographer Doug Coombe calls a new exhibition of his work "a love letter to the many amazing music communities … of Southeastern Michigan."
The exhibit, titled
"Our Love Will Change the World," will run Nov. 22 to Jan. 5, with an opening reception Nov. 22 from 6-9 p.m., at the Ann Arbor Art Center (A2AC).
Coombe says the exhibit is "a retrospective look at over 30 years of documenting the Southeastern Michigan music scene," from Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti to Detroit and surrounding areas. Coombe, who is Concentrate's managing photographer, also works with the A2AC, the Detroit Metro Times, Washtenaw County, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, and other clients. In the past, he’s also contributed to major music publications such as Rolling Stone, Spin, Billboard, and Mojo.
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Doug CoombeGreta Van Fleet photographed by Doug Coombe.
"I'm really interested in the idea of communities and their ability to lift up and inspire people within the scene — but also to change the world in the process," Coombe says.
The title for his show comes from a song by the Detroit band
Outrageous Cherry. Coombe describes it as a "very subversive song" that initially "sound[s] like this great, powerful, cheery thing," but when you listen closer, "the verses … are so dark."
"That's what I love about art and music," Coombe says. "It can be very subversive — like, you can put something … very complex [into a song], but you just couch it in [a] really cool, poppy song with a sweet verse and [suddenly] you're singing along."
For Coombe, this idea gets to "the power of art" to change the status quo, or to "subversively get ideas out there in a way that’s totally unique to music."
On a more personal note, he says music has "gotten [him] through so many tough parts of [his] life."
"People within the music community have kind of become my adopted family. And," he adds, laughing, "I feel like it's totally fitting, too, that I met my wife photographing a show. Like, not only have all these friends of mine inspired me, but they got me a job and a wife."
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Ysa PerezDoug Coombe (right) photographed with Violent J of Insane Clown Posse.
To hear Coombe tell it, he fell into photography almost by accident. He says he’d been working in Ann Arbor record stores (including
Encore Records) "forever," when one day, somebody happened to ask how many shows he’d been to.
"I just rattled off a bunch of stuff, and they were like, ‘Oh, you go to a lot of shows.’ That's when I realized — 'Oh, maybe I should just take a camera and document them,'" Coombe says.
There was another factor that appealed to him from the start.
"If you have a camera, usually you're up front. I just want to be up front," Coombe says, laughing. "I’m a spoiled brat in that regard."
He adds, "I loved the energy of [the clubs], but I also loved the challenge of it, because part of the challenge of those shows was actually not to get your camera broken."
In those "chaotic" environments, he says, "not everything turns out" in terms of clear, comprehensible images. But he says when he captures a great image in "an environment with that much energy, it's usually amazing,"
"I definitely just want to celebrate the bands," Coombe says.
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Doug CoombeAlberta Adams photographed by Doug Coombe.
Underlying that desire is a set of instincts that, at least at first glance, can seem to contradict each other: on one hand, he says, "a lot of times, I don’t want it to be about me." He says he wants to be "discreet and not distracting" from the show itself.
On the other hand, there’s the instinct to get the best possible shot.
"I'll just go up on stage and get by somebody's drum kit and, like, just take pictures of them playing the drums," Coombe says. "Because I do want to get that really over-the-top crazy picture."
"I feel like I’m being obnoxious," he adds, "because, like, ‘What’s a photographer doing on-stage?’"
But he figures that if he only spends a minute or two breaking his "be discreet" rule, only does so with bands with whom he’s already formed a relationship, and winds up with a terrific shot, the end result is usually worth it.
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Doug CoombeThe White Stripes photographed by Doug Coombe.
Coombe remembers seeing the White Stripes go from being Detroit’s hometown band to playing a VMA awards show. All of a sudden, he says, they’d become "the world’s band."
"It's fun to see how these little communities of passionate musicians can change music, change the world," he says. "And I really fiercely believe Detroit and Southeastern Michigan is one of the greatest music scenes in the world."
Natalia Holtzman is a freelance writer based in Ann Arbor. Her work has appeared in publications such as the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Literary Hub, The Millions, and others.
Photos by Doug Coombe.