How to capture indoor concert shots with nikon d90?

So i have a nikon d90 with the kit lens of 18-105mm.

I currently don't have any other lens, are there any tips and advice that one cane can give me?
It'll be an indoor concert, dim lights and a lot of movement. I want to have great shots for my portfolio with no blur.

Set a high iso.

While the lighting in the area where the audience sits may be low, the lighting on the stage is good enough to record video, so plenty for your D90.

Here is what you need to do.
1) set the cameras white balance to incandescent.
2) adjust the ISO so that the shutter speed, when the camera is aimed at the lead singers, is at least 1/250th second.
3) set your cameras exposure using the manual setting
4) as the lighting on the stage changes, it adds drama, however the lighting on the lead singers will stay about the same.
5) shoot in RAW + JPEG. You can use the JPEG files to edit (sort) your work, initially. Later when you have the best of the best sorted, you can use the matching RAW files, process them and save them as TIFF files for making high quality prints.

You are severly handicapped by your 18-105mm f3.5-5.6 lens so your only option is to use the highest ISO setting your camera allows- 6400. Also, use Spot Metering so you're only metering on the actual subject and use Single Point AF to be certain that you're only focusing on the subject.

This article will help you deal with any excessive digital noise caused by ISO 6400:
http://www.shutterbug.net/equipmentreviews/software_computers/0309noise/index.html

As you zoom from 18mm to 105mm your shutter speed is going to decrease (get slower) because your maximum aperture of f3.5 at 18mm changes to f5.6 at 105mm which will increase the chances of subject movement causing a blurry picture. Try to avoid taking pictures at 105mm except when the subject is still or at peak moments.

Although the Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f2.8G VR II would be ideal for shooting concerts at $2, 195.00 its a strain on most budgets. The Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 EX DG OS HSM at $1, 699.00 is marginally more affordable.

I'm not familiar with the capabilities of a Nikon d90, but I'm almost positive that everything in this answer should be do-able with it.

In a situation like this, for maintaining crisp imagery, the best thing to do is something I call "oreo" shooting. It's a technique involving shutter speed that helps preserve imagery [from motion blur] for non-aggressive handheld shooting. Take the focal length number you are shooting with, double it, then use that number as your shutter speed.So, in this case, as close to 1/36th (probably around 1/40th) shutter speed as you can if shooting more toward 18mm, and as close to 1/210th (probably 1/200th or 1/250th) shutter speed as you can if you're shooting more toward 105mm. Obviously, shooting anything between 18mm and 105mm should be compensated for regarding shutter speed but it doesn't have to be exact.

There will be quite a bit of light-loss if you go all the way up to 1/210th shutter, or even past 1/100th shutter for that matter. You can make up for it with either widening aperture, increasing ISO, or both.

If you need large depth of field and are oreo shooting, you will have to rely on a higher ISO speed. However, if you are in a situation where you can shoot with a wider aperture (more shallow depth of field), you will be able to notch your ISO down.

Something to remember and/or consider: Using a high ISO speed will make your image more exposed HOWEVER it will make the image more and more grainy the higher you go. If you don't want as much grain, there's a way to help reduce it with a technique I use all the time:

Set your camera to shoot in "Raw" format and adjust your ISO a little lower (maybe by about a full stop) than what it takes for your image to be properly exposed. The image WILL be underexposed but since you'd be using raw format, you can send it to Photoshop (or any other professional photo editor) in post-editing and bump up the exposure level. This will result in no quality loss (unless you underexposed TOO much, be careful) and less grain - Raw format was designed exactly for these kind of scenarios.

I hope this helped and I hope the concert goes well for you!

1- Check with the Venue and the Band Management to see if you'll be allowed to use your D90… Alot of venue and bands don't allow them.

Other than that, you don;t have to worry too much since the band members will be well lit by stage lights. Just move your ISO up a bit and open your leans as wide as it can (not very since it's a kit lens) and try to keep a decent shutter speed.

Shoot in RAW so you can increase your exposure a little in post production that way you can under expose a little and fix after. Not ideal but it allows you to keep your shutter reasonably fast.