The images don’t convey how brain-numbingly loud Megadeath’s show was. They don’t capture the riotous mosh pits and the bruises sustained from being kicked in the head by body surfers. And they don’t show all the moments oblivious, lurching revelers dumped the contents of their drinks down the backs of unsuspecting neighbors.

But what this vibrant series of photographs, on view through the end of July at the gallery at 100 Market St., in Portsmouth, does reveal is an amazing visual archive of a decade of life beneath the spotlights at a Seacoast entertainment landmark. As photographer for the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom, Nancy Horton offers an illuminating glimpse of the spirited acts that have graced the stage, from Little Richard to Twisted Sister and Chrissie Hynde to the Dresden Dolls.

“I have to say that I have seen a lot of really amazing performers, professionals and real individuals with their entourages,” Horton said. “The people behind the scenes are the ones who I get to know, or the gate keepers who try to say no to (unruly or overzealous fans). Being in the in-between place of a scene is an interesting place to photograph from. It’s an interesting perspective. I’m teetering between two worlds, observing.”

Starting Out

Horton began photographing concerts more than 10 years ago, when she was doing freelance work for New England newspapers.

“Early in the ‘90s, I was on an assignment photographing a fair and happened to shoot a musician performing (there), which lead to being hired by the artist’s manager, including a gig at the Casino Ballroom one night,” Horton said. “Then the next night, I did another assignment for a different client, The Boston Globe, at the Casino. A lot of hoops have to be jumped through doing these type of assignments, so I ended up working with the Casino management each time. Then they offered me the commission of documenting the shows to create an archive of the acts that perform at the venue.

“It is really great to work at one location for an extended period of time,” she said of creating a visual journey of stage life there over the past decade. “It is from the documentary sense that initially intrigues me about the extended essay. (Casino Ballroom General Manager) Fred Schaake understands the importance of this, which is very unusual in the entertainment business. It is a financial investment on the part of the venue to take interest in such a commission.”

The Casino Ballroom features Horton’s concert shots on their Website at www.casinoballroom.com and showcases images throughout the building.

“She really captured the essence of a lot of the shows,” Schaake said. “We have some photographs up in the hallway by the sky boxes and framed on the wall, and many of the shots are catalogued here in an archive. We wanted to have something to look back on. ” For her Portsmouth exhibition, Horton focused the main portion of her series on female performers. “Girls Rock” includes center-stage photographs of Chrissy Hyndes, the lead vocalist for the rock/new wave group The Pretenders); Dresden Dolls, a punk dark-cabaret act featuring vocalist Amanda Palmer, with Brian Viglione; folk-pop singer Jewel, and powerhouse, pioneering female rocker Pat Benatar.

“I liked the idea of an all-women rock show,” Horton said. “I spent a couple of days with an assistant and we just attacked the project, making decisions based on things including the quality of the picture, genre of music, and male (versus) female, and with regard to placement in the show.

Favorite Moments

“I have shot hundreds of bands, and this instillation is just a selection. One of my favorite shows was the Dresden Dolls,” she added. “They stood out to me to be incredibly original, and I was completely excited and inspired by their passionate theatrical performance. They remind me of Queen,” the British symphonic pop-rock group once fronted by the flamboyant Freddie Mercury.

Though her lens is focused on the action on stage, the photographs do hint at Horton’s place in each production.

“This show is fun for me because I am giving my viewer the chance to get a glimpse of my perspective physically — in a sense, where I was standing when I made the images presented in the show,” she said. “It is an instillation of a creation of a sense of space.”

Painful Part of Job

Still, there are plenty of sights gallery visitors don’t get to see.

“Unfortunately I cannot recreate the experience of me falling flat on my face — shocked but with nothing broken. Fortunately only one person even noticed.

Painful!,” she joked. “Or all the beer that has spilled on me, or being kicked in the head by body surfers, or Megadeth, the loudest, loudest thing ever — and everyone was dressed in black, or who knows what!”

Horton was invited to assemble a collection of her live-entertainment photographs by Jeanne McCartin, curator of the gallery at 100 Market Street. Titled “The Space Between,” Horton’s series is part of a larger themed show featuring two other invited artists — Victoria Morse, who has been shooting concerts for five years and at 17 is the first teen asked to display her work at the Seacoast gallery, and Scott Yates, who documents regional musicians in less formal settings, such as on the street and in garages.

“This show’s theme is visual artists interpreting performing arts,” McCartin said. “Visual artists often use performing arts as a subject, so it just seemed a natural way to promote multiple arts at one time. The exhibit includes music, dance, circus and other performing genres.

“Nancy is the featured artist (and) also the first artist to ever create a sight-specific work for the gallery, a triptych for a highly visible, large and tall wall that runs from the first to second floor in one of the building’s entry ways,” McCartin said. “It is an exciting piece, which captures an audience’s reaction to a performance, exemplifying the effect music/performance can have on we humans. It is captivating as a whole, mesmerizing as you look at each face. Really, this single piece perfectly sums up the entire exhibit — a homage to the performing arts. We’re really thrilled to have it.”

Complementing the “Girls Rock” exhibition are some of Horton’s favorite photographs of male acts, including: Twisted Sister, the hair metal band fronted by the facepainted Dee Snider; The Queers, a punk band formed by Portsmouth native Joe King; Burning Spears, a Jamaican roots reggae group; and Little Richard, the “Tutti Frutti” singing, self-proclaimed “architect of rock ‘n’ roll.”