The Jacksons and the End of Normality

This is so funny...funny in an odd way.  This picture, taken last Sunday night at the Greek Theatre, is of The Jacksons performing live.  Now bear this in mind--while this show was going on, the Jackson matriarch Katherine Jackson was unofficially M.I.A. at the time (in Arizona, as we all now know), while Michael's kids were Tweeting their little behinds off in protest.  Meanwhile, the group, as seen here, is trying to project some sort of air of normality for their fans...even though Jermaine Jackson (far right) was/is in a totally different camp from the very brothers who he's sharing the stage with.

As always, the show must go on, and within hours, the big bruhaha at the Jackson compound would commence.  I suppose it's just yet another example of show business being what Styx once called "The Grand Illusion".  Here's another little tidbit for you guys...this photo setup was one of the worst I've ever been part of at a live show.  As you can see in the following photo, there was no photo pit or barricade separating the photographers from the audience at all.  The chairs were put up literally right to the front of the stage, to the point where me and my colleagues asses were practically right in the front row's faces.  There was also almost no room to move, we were so packed in there.  I felt so bad for those people, having to put up with more than ten photographers for the first three songs, that I apologized to them, even though we had nothing to do with the setup at all.  What was the Greek thinking??

I have two live shoots this weekend--here's hoping that I don't get another setup like this one!