May 25, 2012

I didn't feel so well in the morning so I didn't work. After a while I felt better and met Ryan at the gym for leg workout. I decided that I needed a haircut after that and then it was about time for Omar to pick me up and head to Philly. We picked up his friend Chris and went to JD's for some food and beers. Meg met us there and we continued to hang and drink after they went to the show.

After a couple of Golden Monkeys we went next door to the Electric Factory just as Animals as Leaders were finishing their set and we had a short wait in the crowd getting excited until Thrice came out. They played a great set mixing songs from each of their albums. Everyone was into in the crowd.

They played a lot of older stuff as well as new stuff. I was really excited to hear "Daedalus" and "Broken Lungs" among all of the other greats songs. "The Earth Will Shake" is still one of the best live songs. They played an encore and then came back for a second encore to play "Anthology," which is a perfect closing song to say goodbye to a fantastic band.

We hung out in the cool air after the show talking about the set. We were all slightly disappointed that few songs were left off the set list, but overall we were just happy after such a great performance. They will definitely be missed along with so many other bands that don't play anymore.

Eventually we parted ways and headed home with the windows down. It was a beautiful night out and we had an amazing time.

Oct 13, 2011

I didn't get a job in the morning so I slept in and then went for a run around the river trail. It's starting to look really nice with all of the leaves changing and starting to fall off on the path.

I took an alternative school job, but when when I got there they didn't need me to cover so they found something for me to do: shred. Yep, I had boxes and boxes of crap to shred. I started on a little home shredder thing and then upgraded to the large shredder in the custodial office. It was boring, but at least they didn't send me home.

Later I met Meg at JD McGillicuddy's for some drinks before the show. I only had one big Golden Monkey which took me quite a while to consume. We had a good time listening to the '90s songs the DJ played in between mostly-bad karaoke singers. One guy was just awful and he sang a Pink song, interrupting "The Freshman." Rude.

We got into the Electric Factory in time to see La Dispute's set. I thought they were really good live. I need to listen to their albums more. Their singer is very enthusiastic and people seemed to be enjoying them.

After we got a drink upstairs and talked to Jordan for a moment it was time for Thrice. It's hard to know what to expect from Thrice, being that they have so much material from which to choose. They seemed to play a lot from Beggars, which I love.

They played a handful of new songs as well. I knew a couple of them but not well enough. There were some nice surprises in the set as well and they ended with very old tunes, to the delight of most of the crowd.

After a short wait outside the front door Dustin came out to play a handful of songs acoustic for the crowd. They were raising money for charity. He took some requests of predictable songs. I wished he would have played some unexpected songs, but it was nice to get an extra encore on a nice night outside.

I was pretty tired from all of the running around during the day and the show so I was in bed watching The Mentalist and trying to fall asleep when I got home.

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.

Nov 28, 2009

I met Katie at the Looking Glass to have breakfast before I had to finish working on a paper. It was a good burrito with tofu instead of eggs. I found out the candy store across the street has Zagnuts in the wrapper! Crazy.

After writing for an hour, I finished packing and got on the Turnpike north. After a few hours of so much traffic, I made it to Joanna's house in Avenel. Her mom fed us some pierogies that were really good and then we headed out. We went through Staten Island, slowly snaking our way down the Belt Parkway into Long Island.

We got to Nassau Coliseum and got a great parking spot but we missed the first part of Kevin Devine's set. We really only saw the last song. It was a good last song though.

We ducked out to the acoustic stage where Vinnie Caruana from The Movielife was playing. He played some Movielife tunes and some I Am the Avalanche. He was great and he attracted quite a big crowd.

We caught the tail end of the Manchester Orchestra set as well but we missed a good deal of them. Andy from Hot Rod Circuit played next on the small stage. He played some of my favorite tunes and made me want him to release a solo acoustic album. Really great by himself.

Thrice was the next band on the main stage and they played a great set. They played a mix of slower stuff with heavier songs mixed in. They didn't play "Deadbolt" again though.

We decided to stay put since we were so close to the front. There were an insane amount of people there; it's hard to believe they sold out a place that big.

Glassjaw came out next and, even though I don't know their stuff, they played a really good set. The crowd really got into them, probably because they never play shows. I need to get their cd.

Finally, Brand New played a long set once again. It was a little different from the last show but still really good. They played a lot off of their latest two albums and closed with "70x7." I realized somewhere during their set that I lost my keyless entry for the car and that I couldn't open the doors without it since the key only works the igniton...

The key opened the trunk so we tried getting in through the back seat with no luck. I went to find a cop to help jimmy the lock but when I came back to the car, I saw Joanna sitting like this in the car, triumphant. It was pretty hilarious. She managed to get in through the back seat and open the doors from inside.

This is what had to be done to get into the car... the only way in.

We made it back to her house by 12:30, much earlier than we expected with so many bands playing. After looking a few things up it was bedtime. I was graciously offered her brother's old bed to sleep in and I had no problem getting to sleep.

Nov 14, 2009

I picked up Joanna from Rowan when she was done work and we went into Philly to find Justin from Motion City Soundtrack. I was following his tweets and he was running a little late, which was good for us. We got there early though and took some pictures around the art museum steps waiting for him to show.

Justin updated more that they were stuck in traffic because of an accident. A van pulled up eventually and he jumped out with his guitar and ran over to apologize and quickly start playing "Everything is Alright."

His crew was telling him he had to go but he stuck around and played a great version of "Attractive Today." It's one of my favorite songs and it was really awesome with crowd participation, everyone yelling "I like you!" He's really entertaining, I wish he could have stayed longer.

We got on the road to find the Exton Mall where he was headed next to play songs off the new album. We weren't exactly sure where to go but we saw this car and decided we should follow it since we probably had a better chance of finding the mall that way than guessing.

I turned out we were right to follow the car right to the mall and she even knew where the Hot Topic was! Plus, we made a friend. We got there before Justin somehow and hung out waiting for a little until he showed up.

While waiting to get everything set up, he hung out and talked to us, answering questions and joking around. And taking pictures, obviously. He's a really awesome guy and he just seems like he's having a great time doing what he's doing. I would be too.

They got the iHome set up and started playing some tracks from the new albums that sounded really great. They sound like Motion City Soundtrack. And Mark Hoppus produced it so of course it's even more awesome. I think it's a great pairing. I can't wait to get it.

After the songs were over, he hung out and talked to us for a while longer and the Hot Topic staff offered him this Edward cutout which he graciously accepted. It was a nice, fun listening party.

We went back to Philly and got Gianna's. They didn't have the vegan chicken steak that I wanted and had been craving all day but I got the bbq vegan cheesesteak instead and it was quite good.
Joanna's vegan sausage sandwich was not as good...

Everything was timed pretty well. We only waited a little while before it was time to go in to the Electric Factory. We saw the end of Crime in Stereo before we moved up and saw Thrice. It seemed like they didn't play for very long but they were good, of course.

Brand New came on after a seemingly long wait in the huge crowd of people. They played a lot of songs. A lot of old and new. They even played "Jude Law.." and "Seventy Times Seven" which is very unusual but a nice surprise.

It was a long and awesome set that ended with "Play Crack the Sky." I feel like I always enjoy them but this was a great performance. The new songs really fit in with everything else as well. The video screens behind them and the lighting were awesome as well. It really set a moody ambiance.

After an awesome day of music, we headed home, not quite ready for sleep but I tried anyway.