Here’s the thing: I consider music photography more of a hobby or an art form than a career at this point, and a lot of the time, I just can’t imagine going to a show without a camera. But photo passes take a lot of hustling, and sometimes I’d rather be in the crowd.

That’s where my Sony RX100 comes in. It’s a compact little pocket camera that lets me shoot covertly whether I’m on the guest list or not. Because none of these shots are taken with the agreement of the artist, I don’t really consider them to be worth their own galleries, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised over the years just how dynamic (and sometimes–even more authentic) the crowd shot experience can be. Here are a few of my favorites, of some of my favorite artists.

And hell–if you’re one of the artists here and you like what you see, maybe we can make it official sometime, yeah?