We had to swim through the swarm of youngsters to get anywhere. We found out that everything was ridiculously over-priced. $2 for a piece of paper that had the schedule on it. $4 for water. $5 for gatorade. $11 for beer. $16 for a margarita. Ridiculous.
But we paid it.
Once we got our schedule we saw that the first band that we wouldn't mind seeing is 3OH!3. I gotta represent Boulder, CO. We only got to catch a few of their songs but they were enjoyable. The crowd was getting into it.
After 3OH!3, we decided to wait at the main stage for UnderØath. Kyrie told us that we should probably wait around 2 hours to get a good spot to watch. So we bought our $5 gatorade and we waited at the mainstage. The band between 3OH!3 and Underoath was The Bouncing Souls. Never heard of them. Like my status said a while back, I can't ever seem to be caught up with the scene. They've been playing as a band for 20 years. That's a long time. By the way they played, you could tell they were veterans.
The bass player was so fun to watch. He had character, as the picture shows. ha. Half way through the first song, people started getting a pit going. They security stopped it quickly and then out of nowhere, a police officer steps in the middle and is puffing her chest to stop everyone. The Bouncing Souls weren't happy. They started saying how they're a punk rock band and the kids are just dancing. They went on about how there is no need for a police officer to be involved. After their (well deserved) rant, someone came back and said that dancing was allowed.These dudes were legit. It was fun to watch a band that has gone through so much and still have the passion. Even though the lead singer had some grey hair, he could still rock. It was encouraging.
Next up was Underoath. Keillor and I were about 4 people from the front. We were pumped. Because this would be my first time seeing a hardcore band live, I didn't know what to expect. Once the band came out, people just crammed forward. It was ridiculous. I don't mind rubbin up against big fat sweaty dudes. I can take it. But this was on a whole other level. Keillor would agree, this was crazy. There was no dancing. No one could move. I stared feeling nervous and wanted to get outta there. There was girls screaming that they can't breathe but there wasn't anything that could be done. I eventually had enough. I thought it would calm down but it didn't. I fought my way back and finally got out.
After about 3 songs, I finally got out. After I recovered from almost dying right in front of Underoath, I could finally start to enjoy them. They only did about a 30 minute set. I was a little bummed it was so short. They did a wide range of songs from their albums.
Underoath is an amazing band. I know they are really popular, which often means that they are played out. But they are straight up amazing. They sounded just as good live as they did on the cd. UO were just so cohesive. There was a lot of people in the band (which I'm starting to think is normal for some hardcore bands). I would love, love, love to see them again. Under different circumstances.
After they finished the set, I had to wait until I found Keillor. It wore us out. We went over to a different stage and we saw bayside. They played fine. Nothing great. Just kinda blah. The bass player looked just like my friend Brian Haitz.
After Bayside, we watch some of Scary Kids Scaring Kids. I've listen to them some and I enjoyed their albums but they were boring. Nothing special. This isn't fair to judge either, but the leader singer just wasn't cool looking. haha I'll just stick to listening to them on my computer.
We headed back over to the main stage to check out the end of Bad Religion's set. I own The Process of Belief album and I enjoyed it back in the day. But, as Keillor pointed out, every song sounded the same. They were very bland. Like The Bouncing Souls, Bad Religion has been around for a while. But they were boring.Now that they were finally outta the way, it was time to The Devil Wears Prada. They were the other band that I was really looking forward to seeing. Their new cd With Roots Above and Branches Below is amazing. I love the string instruments that are played in the background.
Anyways, Keillor and I set up shop a ways back so that we could be comfortable (see safe). They played awesome. The crowed really got into it. The lead singer looked like the lead singer for A Day to Remember. They played a few songs off the new album and a few songs off, I believe, the Plagues album. Another highlight is that they played to cover "Still Fly" that was originally by the Big Tymers. As seen in the clip below.
For sake of being thourough, we also saw the end of the set of A Day to Remember, I Set My Friends on Fire, and Ocean is Theory.
Ocean is Theory were really good and I'd recommend checking them out.
The problem I had was the kids there. The people there were ridiculous. I suppose that is the kind of people that go. I was in their territory. All the dudes had gauges that were waaaayy too big and all the girls wore clothes that were waaaaayyyy to small. The majority of kids were under 20. I made the joke that you could tell who was under 18 by the ones who didn't have tattoos yet.
Here are some examples of the crazies...
This guys is a great example of why I don't wanna stretch my lobes anymore...
I had a great time but I don't know if I'd go again next year.
I'd much rather just go to a concert that is for a few bands. I'm interested in trying a festival.
I'm going to try and get Chelsea to go with me to Livestock Festival.
http://www.myspace.com/livestockmusicfestivaltn
