Apr 3, 2014

After covering meetings at Lakeside for the day, I was more than ready to get outside. I went over to the park and practiced putting a little before dropping my discs and going for a walk around the longest path to kill time before Ryan got there to play a round. I went home for a while before heading up to Philly for the show.

I got to the Troc shortly before Four Year Strong hit the stage. They had some technical problems getting started as they always seem to in Philly, but once it was resolved they kicked off a great set playing mostly older songs. Their set was fast and full of energy, which is what it was lacking last time I saw them. I was happy to see them back at what they do best, and the crowd was into it too.

Speaking of the crowd, this was the tamest crowd I've seen at a Bayside show as long as I can remember. Their set was fantastic, with four songs from the new album and all of them songs I wanted to hear. I'm sure it gets harder to decide which newer vs. older songs to play as their list of songs grows longer, but I really love seeing them play the new stuff. It's just so good.

Oct 15, 2011

Ah, Saturday. I went over to the Silver Run trail for an early run. I took the opposite direction on both trails than I normally do. Just doing this simple thing makes it seem new and gives the illusion that it's going by more quickly. I find that it's harder to run when I know too many landmarks that tell me how far I've gone.

I wanted to continue enjoying the weather so I took a walk when I got back home along the river to the library to get a new book. I found the one I was looking for and then walked home and read some outside.

Alex and I headed up to the train station later and took the rail into Philly. The walk to the Abbaye was much longer than I thought it was. Once we got there it was time to try some pumpkin beer and get a red bean burger. Alex was very happy with the food and the bar in general. Ryan helped us out greatly when Alex realized she didn't have her e-ticket for the show so she e-mailed it to him and he printed it out! What a guy.

After eating we wandered through the cold over to the Troc and got inside a little bit before Four Year Strong came on. When they did, I was immediately not a fan of the people in the crowd. It's not the same as it used to be at their shows. They also played newer songs and things I don't know well.

To their credit, when they played the good stuff they played it really well. It's hard to feel the same energy as their shows used to have when they played in the basement at the church and the crowd was great. I'm afraid I won't be seeing them again until they return to such a venue.

At least we had a short walk back to the train after the show and then a quick ride over the river and back to the car. It was a good night even though the show was not quite what I wanted.

Dec 30, 2010

I picked up Jenny in the early afternoon to walk around at Parvin's Lake and takes some photos in the snow. It looked pretty nice all around there. I was actually surprised at how packed down some of the paths were.

Once we had our fill of snow walking we went to Saigon for lunch. I got tofu curry which was delicious. This is the first time I've had Vietnamese curry and I like it. Mixing in all of the different spicy sauces makes it even better. We stayed there for a while drinking jasmine tea and talking for a while before we both had to get going.

I met Shannon at her house and we headed north to Starland Ballroom for the holiday show. We got there as the first band, We Were Skeletons, were playing. They were pretty good but I'd like to hear some recorded stuff. We found a spot in the elevated bar area to see better and get some pizza while we watched Acid Tiger. I liked their music but it's not really for me.

I went down front for Four Year Strong. They played an amazing, energetic set as they always do. A lot of people were really into it.

There really wasn't anything I wanted them to play that they didn't. I'm not as familiar with some of their newer songs but I knew most of the ones they played.. and the show wasn't even over after that.

A little wait later and Thursday came on to play Full Collapse in its entirety. Most of the songs on that album are amazing so it's nice to hear them all. I made my way up front slowly through the first four songs and then it was much easier going.

The crowd was actually great so no complaints there. They came back to only play six songs after Full Collapse. It's a little disappointing because there are so many more songs that I wanted to hear, but they played "Asleep in the Chapel," "Tomorrow I'll Be You" and "Jet Black New Year" of course. The best song of the night was "How Long is the Night?" It was really powerful and amazing. I love seeing them live.

The ride home wasn't too bad. I put on some low music as we followed the Turnpike back to Shannon's and then I headed home listening to a podcast. It was a good night.

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.

Sep 4, 2009

I had physical therapy in the morning and then, after getting some things done, I picked up Shannon and headed to Philly for lunch. We went to Manny's bar where I got a bottle of Innis and Gunn, which I haven't had since Beerfest two years ago. Good stuff but it cost more than our quesapizza so I probably won't have another for a while. The pizza was quite delicious however; plenty of vegetables and good cheese.

We had some time to kill before the show so we went to Rittenhouse and I sat in a tree and took pictures.

I worked on my panning technique. I think I'm getting pretty good. (panning is used to create the effect in the picture above where the moving subject is in focus while the background is blurred.)

This is the tree I was sitting in. It's awesome. Plenty of good seats.

We headed down to the First Unitarian Church to go into the show but it was in between sets when we got there and everyone was cooling off outside. The church across the street was pretty crazy looking with the moon behind it.

After a while the crowd started to head in so we followed them. It was crazy hot in the basement packed with people. We went down to watch Fireworks, who were awesome, and it felt so good to come outside after their set.

After walking down to Wawa for a drink, we came back for Four Year Strong. They opened the set with their intro and right into the catchy song I figured they'd open with.

They kept commenting on how insanely hot it was but continued to play fast and loud most of the songs on their cd.

I happened to catch a picture right as a strange smoke filled the air, confusing everyone. It tasted terrible and the band stopped playing to tell everyone to hurry up and get out. Of course, everyone rushed to the small basement exit and it took a while to get out.

Once everyone had filed out, we learned that someone set off a fire extinguisher and they were trying to find out who it was. The band came out and announced that they would be going back on shortly to an applauding crowd.

We went back in and they killed it on their last five songs. The crowd was even more pumped up than before. It was a great set and this is what I looked like after it. I'm pointing out the dry spot on my body.

It was a good day and I got to see a great band. Now I need a shower.