- OTHERING
- 5/14/26 - Double Wide - Dallas, TX
- A Distorted Heartbeat Event
- Words by M’Lou Elkins / Skip2Photography.com
I wasn’t supposed to be covering this show.
I was supposed to be taking a night off.
There was no camera slung over my shoulder. No lenses packed and ready. No memory cards waiting to be dumped into Lightroom at 2 a.m. No hours of editing ahead. Just a spot on the guest list at Double Wide, a chance to support Krystal Garcia and Distorted Heartbeat, and the local scene she works so hard to champion, and then get back home to study for my mammography registry exam.
That exam represents my second career.
After spending more than half my life behind a camera, documenting bands and building a body of work I am deeply proud of, music photography has become increasingly difficult to sustain financially. The passion is still there. The drive has never left. But passion does not pay bills, and there comes a point when even the things you love most have to coexist with reality.
So for once, I left the gear at home.
Then Othering walked onstage.
The Dallas duo, comprised of Bryan Yalta and Isai Beltran, immediately locked into a sound that demanded attention. Drum-heavy, atmospheric, and intensely physical, their music hit with the kind of low-end force that you don’t just hear in a room like Double Wide. You feel it.
And if you love drums, you know exactly what that means.
In a small venue, loud drums do something almost therapeutic. Every kick and snare lands squarely in your chest, syncing your heartbeat to the music. It is visceral, grounding, and impossible to ignore.
I was familiar with the name Othering, but had never seen them perform.
Within minutes, I was pulling out my phone to take notes.
Because that is what happens when a band catches your ear in a way that feels different.
You stop thinking about whether you planned to cover them.
You just know you have to.
Then came the realization.
I was about to write a concert review and I had no photos.
For a music photographer, that feels almost unnatural.
Concert photography is more than decoration. It is part of the storytelling. It preserves fleeting moments of intensity, emotion, and connection that disappear the second the lights go down. It helps readers see what made a performance worth remembering.
Without those images, all that remains are the words.
And maybe that is the point.
Imagine a world where the photographers who have spent years documenting live music simply stop showing up.
Imagine what is lost when creators are routinely asked to surrender their copyrights, their future earning potential, and even the right to share their own work, all in exchange for the “privilege” of photographing a show.
Only allowed to post 5 photos. “Choose wisely,” we’re advised.
Only use images in one article.
No portfolio use beyond limited terms.
No posting to your own social media channels.
Send us all images in high resolution, unwatermarked, within 48 hours.
No payment.
No guaranteed photo credit.
These are the kinds of agreements photographers are increasingly expected to accept.
The music remains.
But the visual history begins to disappear.
Tonight, Othering was compelling enough to pull me back into work mode when I had every reason to stay off the clock. Their performance was immersive, percussive, and impossible to shrug off. The kind of set that reminds you why you fell in love with documenting live music in the first place.
So this review has no photo gallery.
No dramatic lighting shots.
No frozen moments of sticks in motion.
No visual proof that it happened.
Just words.
But if this article leaves you wishing there were images to go with it, then you understand exactly why music photographers matter.
And if a band can inspire a review from a photographer who intentionally left the camera at home, that band is doing something very, very right.
Go see a show. Buy the ticket. Grab the T-shirt. Tell your friends about the band that just blew your mind.
And support the photographers who are out there documenting it all.
Most of us are doing this for the love of it, pouring countless hours into shooting, editing, writing, and promoting the artists we believe in. We do it because live music matters, because great bands deserve to be discovered, and because these moments deserve more than a memory and a blurry phone video. Music still hits just as hard without the photos… but it sure looks a hell of a lot better with them.
Some of my notes on Othering:
Yalta’s atmospheric vocals and guitar work paired with Beltran’s thunderous live drums create a sound that feels both intimate and cinematic. What began as Yalta’s solo project in 2021 evolved into a full-fledged duo, leading to the 2023 EP Cheap Nights and their debut full-length, Uptakes. In 2025, they released the single “Chasing,” along with a Dallas-shot video that further sharpened their moody, pulse-driven aesthetic. They’ve also shared stages with acts like Gang of Four, continuing to build momentum in the Texas alternative scene.
No photos.
Press play and imagine the rest.
OTHERING ONLINE:
