Nov 13, 2013

I had a good day at work, in for a science teacher at Memorial. The students were good and they worked quietly on bookwork and then we watched a video about ocean life hosted by Leslie Nielsen. It was as silly as you'd think. Probably would have been better to show Planet Earth. I need to watch those again. I also got a bunch of blog updating done so I've backdated even further now.

After work I had lunch and finished watching New Girl and Son of Anarchy then I went for a walk along the river trail. I wanted to shoot some foliage, but it wasn't so colorful anymore. I got a few shots, but the sun had already dropped below the treeline so I couldn't even get the light. After shooting a few photos and dropping my book at the library I headed home and got ready for the night.

I picked up Chuck and met Kate and my sister and then we headed to The Abbaye. We got a good parking spot and a table for six and ordered our food. I got the summer salsa rice veggie burger and split some wings. The burger was good but super filling and I couldn't even eat more than one wing unfortunately. Stoudts was having their U Buy the Glass night and we sampled five beers. The Four Play IPA #4 was very good as was the Scarlet Lady ESB. The Pils and Revel Red were quality also, and the Big Nasty IPA was strong and hoppy.

Jamie got there right after us and Tracy showed up a little later. We had a new waiter and I think we like him. We rarely had an empty glass. The food was great and we spent some time guessing what NFG might open with and debating whether or not anyone besides my sister was happy that they weren't playing second. I asked Meaghan to do the raffle a little early since we had to leave, and Tracy ended up winning a mixed six pack! Good thing we stayed.

We headed to the Electric Factory in time for a brief wait until New Found Glory played. They definitely mixed up the set a bit from previous shows. It was nice. The crowd was hit or miss (ha!), but I was surprised they weren't into some songs but were into others. There were a few jerks in the pit that were being really obnoxious and swinging. I got hit a couple of times and then hit in the face intentionally because someone thought I was hitting his friend. So many assholes always appear at a NFG show. I have no idea how this happens. In any case it was a great set and enjoyable except for the facial abuse.

Alkaline Trio came on next, playing a bunch of really old, somewhat old, and newer stuff. I ventured that I knew about 70% of it. I wasn't feeling like getting into anything after the previous incidents so I stood with Chuck and watched. While they are a great band and they play well live, the room really lost a lot of energy after NFG played. They just have a more upbeat, fun set and crowd participation that lends well to a headliner. Ohh well, we got to calm down before getting in the car.

The drive home was good as I wondered how my face would look. It doesn't look that bad yet, but I iced it a little bit as I watched Oz awkwardly. Icing your forehead isn't the easiest thing to do. Once my head was nice and cold I gave in to my sleepiness.

Apr 30, 2011

It was a nice morning for tennis so Ryan and I played on the courts near his house. It seemed really strange for whatever reason. The balls were not very good and all courts feel a little different. We played a couple of good games before I had to run along.

I met Tracy at Rowan and we headed north to the Meadowlands Sports Complex to Bamboozle. After a strategic parking spot and some walking around following a large fence to the entrance, we found our way in and wandered around planning our day.

We had some time before the first band so we wandered and then took our place toward the front of the crowd at one of the main stages. In a very short period of time I got yelled at for standing in front of a couple of girls because I'm too tall, told that I'm ridiculous because all guys with beards smoke and I should have a lighter for this guy, and got a suggestion to put my camera in my little secret pocket that apparently all girls' pants have. That was exciting.

Anberlin came out to "Godspeed" to the delight of the sunbathed crowd. People were not really moving around too much, and it generally felt a little strange. I wasn't in the zone for a show yet. They played a good set, including some great old tunes.

We wandered over to the other stage to see Rx Bandits, who were somewhat disappointing because they don't have horns anymore and didn't play anything I knew at all. They weren't really bad, just not not what I was expecting.

Streetlight Manifesto was basically my welcome to the pit. Everyone was dancing and it was hard to not get caught up in it. I didn't know all of the songs they played, but I still had a great time dancing and jumping with the other sweaty peoples.

We left Streetlight a bit early to get to Thrice in time. They played a lot of new songs from Beggars amid a great selection of songs from older albums. Nothing from the EPs, but that was my only complaint about a really nice set. They closed with "Deadbolt," clearly pleasing many people.

I made my only visit to one of the smaller stages to see The Movielife for a short time. I was only there long enough to see them play a few songs, but it was all good and I hear they might actually tour so I'll check that out.

I ditched to go see Alkaline Trio, who were underwhelming again. I always expect them to be amazing, but they have been disappointing the last couple of times I saw them. I should have stayed with The Movielife. They did play a couple of good songs toward the end of the set.

I ran over to get to Circa Survive, who played the best set of the day so far. I don't know what it was about it; the atmosphere was wonderful and they just played great songs. It was better than anytime I've seen them at a club show before, which is really unusual.

The sun was setting over the crowd as they played and Anthony commented on the beauty of it and made some comments about appreciating what we have and that we're here. He always has something inspirational to say. "We can talk for days about what we hate, but take a minute and appreciate this. Don't let anything get lost." - Anthony Green

Though I was enjoying the transcendental experience of seeing Circa, I had to leave as they played "I Felt Free" to get to the other stage for what I was considering to be the main event: New Found Glory. They opened with.. you guessed it! "Understatement." They powered through a fast-paced set of great songs, including a cover of "Blitzkrieg Bop" with Marky Ramone on drums. I had no doubt they'd be good and I had an awesome time in the crowd.

I got to the other stage to see Chris Carrabba on stage playing "Swiss Army Romance" by his lonesome. This excited me that he might be playing alone or at least playing old stuff. The latter was true. He played a lot of old stuff; "Stolen" was the newest song he played so I was thrilled with the set.

We took a break to sit down for a while as we waited for the last band of the night. When the time came we came back to the stage and made it about halfway through the crowd before it was just a solid wall of people. Just before it was time for Taking Back Sunday to come out, the Exit 152 banner dropped down and the crowd pushed up. They opened with "You Know How I Do" followed by "Bike Scene" before revealing that they'd be playing Tell All Your Friends in its entirety!

It was amazing to see the whole album played on a beautiful night with the old lineup back together. Some of the songs they haven't played in almost a decade. They played a handful of other songs after the album set, including a cover of "Existentialism on Prom Night," which I was not thrilled with because Adam sang it even though John was right there. Regardless, this was the best set of the day. It was just awesome and exciting.

We got out of the parking lot with not problem and headed down the Turnpike home. The day was awesome and nostalgic; seeing so many bands that I've listened to forever play together and have such amazing sets was great. The TBS surprise at the end was a perfect ending to a superb day. Best festival show I've ever been to.

Jul 16, 2010

I met Tracy and Tina at their house and headed to Camden, drinking water on the way in an attempt to be hydrated for the day. Seriously? 25 dollars for parking? I know it's supply and demand but come on, it's a little ridiculous.

We went into Warped Tour, my first in three years, and found the giant inflatable schedule to plan out our day.

The Reel Big Fish were coming on just a few minutes after we got there so we went up to the main stage to see them. They had a really good crowd too.

It seemed like they played a lot of songs. They were a great way to kick off the day!

We walked around to find out where everything was and came upon this band, Left Alone, on a side stage. They were a good punk bank that sounded a lot like Rancid. It turns out that these neo-punk rockers have nothing to rebel against except other bands. They did nothing but talk shit on emo bands the whole time for their hair and whining. I feel like it's pretty juvenile and stupid, just play music and if you don't like other bands, don't listen to them.

We took a little break from the sun inside while there were no bands we wanted to see. We were approached by a guy with a petition to stop cruelty to elephants and another guy who was giving away books for money...

Four Year Strong was up next on the other main stage. They opened strong with some good new songs and then an old one or two. They had technical problems with one of their amps or guitars which caused them to spend a majority of their set talking to the crowd and playing bits of cover songs. Once they fixed the problem they only had time for one more so they finished with "Heroes Get Remembered.."

The band we were all most excited to see was on the main stage next. Motion City Soundtrack killed it as always. They're always a lot of fun.

They played almost all of my favorite songs in a row. I love pretty much all of their music so it's hard for them to disappoint me with a song but the set was great and they seemed like they had a great time.

I headed over to the side stage to see AM Taxi, whose CD I just got recently. They sound good live but they don't have a lot of stage presence. I guess they're a fairly new band so they didn't have a big crowd either. I think they might get more popular.

I headed back to the main stage to see most of the Bouncing Souls' set. They are a great old punk band. They play for their fans and they still seem to be having a blast doing what they do. No complaining about other bands or anything, they're just there for the music.

I went back across the lot to see Hey Monday. I only caught their last three songs: a new one that's really catchy and I think will be great on the new CD, a cover of "My Head" which they did really well and "Homecoming." This was my first time seeing them but I'd like to see them play a proper show one day.

Inside, Ace Enders slowed things down quite a bit for us with I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business. Whatever he does in music, it's always sincere and really good. He ended the set with The Early November's "Baby Blue." Great set.

It was break time after that so we got food.. well, pretzels. It was a delicious pretzel. Overpriced of course but it was nice to eat something. It was also nice to sit down for a little while in the shade.

Set Your Goals played as the sun was getting lower and hiding behind clouds so they breeze off the river felt nice and cool. I still don't know a lot of their songs but they are entertaining.

I made the mistake of going to see The All-American Rejects, whose songs I love but whose live performance leaves much to be desired. It was basically Tyson Ritter theater. He was being very strange and seemed annoyed at the crowd when they didn't know songs off of the band's first album. He pretended to go to sleep on stage because the crowd was so boring and then taunted them when they got excited about them playing "Move Along." He just danced around and refused to sing a full verse. That was when I left.

I went inside to see Sum 41, who were arguably the best band of the day. They put on a great show and really get into it. They played a ton of great songs and the crowd loved it. I was hotter in the mass of people during their set than I was at any point during the day under the sun. I hope they play some club shows soon.

The Rocket Summer came on the stage right next to them so I stayed to watch a song and a half but sadly, Alkaline Trio was playing at the same time.

Alkaline Trio played a great mix of old and new songs, pulling out a few that I didn't expect and hadn't heard in quite a while. As headliners they're supposed to play longer than the rest of the bands but it seemed like their set got cut short.

We got a chance to get into the crowd one last time as they played some of our favorite songs but the ending was anti-climactic as they just left the stage awkwardly and never returned.

We went to Olive Garden on the way home for some real food. I ate so much. I was really hungry after not eating much all day so I suppose it makes sense. I ate a bunch of breadsticks with my soup and finished my raviolis, which I usually can't do.

When we got back to Tracy's we attempted to figure out some plans for later in summer before I headed to home to get a refreshing shower and lay down.

Mar 11, 2010

Since my car was dead in the lot I couldn't take a job in the morning and it was really nice out so I was stuck with nothing to do. I went to find out that I didn't get the positions I interviewed for and then came back to eat something and watch shows. I texted Shannon and she came out to play. We went for a walk in Pitman and then came back to play frisbee with a putter.

I'm surprised I've never climbed this tree before today. I guess I never spent enough time on campus before. It was really nice out and it felt good to be outside in a t-shirt.

We played for quite a while. It's new to catch the disc instead of just throwing it!

I had Modern Art later followed by Graphic Design, where I didn't spend much time before leaving to go to Claire's opening down the hall. She did a series of really great portraits.

I really felt like the portraits captured the personality of the people, which is the whole point of a portrait. They seem very classical to me by being not only a representation of the person but a reflection of their true self and an enhancement of their essence.

After the gallery, my sister came up and we headed to Philly. We got to the Troc just in time to see the last song and a half that Cursive played. They were way ahead of schedule I guess because we weren't that late. Alkaline Trio came out after a brief wait and played a lot more newer stuff than I'm used to. They played a good deal of old material as well and I enjoyed the set.

After the show we came back to Rowan and went to After Hours for a little bit. I got some mac and cheese and we made a license plate for the trip. After that, I was homeward bound.