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.
I got dropped off at Randy's Bike Shop in the morning and grabbed myself a brand new road bike! This is her. I love it.
About a dozen or so people met up in front of the shop and we got ready to go out for a group ride. We stopped across the street at the fountain for a group shot (which hasn't been posted yet or that would be here.)
Junior led us on a leisurely ride through Bridgeton. It was slow because we had all kinds of people with us so not everyone was trying to ride quickly. I wanted to see what my bike could do but had to wait it out.
We stayed on the road and went to Mary Elmer Lake to take a break. It was a perfect day to ride since it wasn't so hot and humid.
We sat down at the picnic area and ate our lunches that we brought. Peanut butter & jelly, mmm. I talked one of the guys that came with us about getting together for a ride sometime in the future. Junior took a couple of us on a ride through the dirt trails and I soon learned the limitations of a road bike. I didn't get stuck for too long.
After the fun ride I dropped by my mom's house to show her my bike and talk for a bit. I spent some time out back shooting this dragonfly. I rode home, finally able to get some speed. It felt nice to pedal hard and feel the difference between that bike and my old one. I'll be cutting some time off of my previous rides.
Dave picked me up and then we got Chuck and traveled the PA turnpike to Allentown, grabbed some slices of pizza, assumed our usual parking spot at the bottom of the hill, turned on the music and cracked open some beers.
We hung out down there for a while as we waited to go into the Croc Rock for the show. We had several beers and drank a bottle of Dave's wine between the three of us. It was the first time I'd had his red wine and it was really good.
We entered the bar and hung out having a beer until Streetlight Manifesto came on. It was insanely hot inside the venue so we were happy to find they opened the side walls and the outside lot so we could go cool off while still enjoying the music. I found Tracy and Mandie out there so we hung out and danced where it was much more comfortable. Streetlight was good; I should really listen to them some more.
We went and got another beer and another slice of pizza between bands and then hauled back up front when the Reel Big Fish took the stage. I don't know how to describe their shows anymore. They were great.
We had a lot of fun in the pit even though it was almost impossible to dance with the crowd packed from wall to wall. It was so amazingly hot in there I almost had to take a knee between songs to catch my breath.
They played a few songs that they almost never play. It was kinda cool to see a change up in the set (though they refuse to stop playing the many versions of "S.R.") The last few songs were a lot of fun and I got to dance with Tracy and Mandie, before she leaves the mainland for Hawai'i to live! Hope we gave her a good sendoff!
Completely drenched in sweat and exhausted, we left the show, drinking as much water as we could get our hands on. Dave got us home in record time and with almost no point where I was worried. It was another wonderful experience with the Fish. I've never not had a good time.
