Still alive and kicking...
It's been some time. Wouldn't you know it, it's been a whole month! Oh well, I've been busy...oh so busy. And besides, when I have had free time I've been using it to memorize the entire script of Star Trek II.
Helmsman: "Sir, our shields are dropping!"
Kahn: "...RAISE THEM!"
Helmsman: "I...can't!"
So yesterday I went to JJO Band Camp. If you're not in the know, it's an all-day hard rock/metal music festival/concert akin to Ozzfest. Except Band Camp had a better lineup this year, which if you think about it should make Ozzfest ashamed of itself. A local radio station has better bands for their festival than a huge national tour does? Performing were (in order of appearance): Malice in Wonderland, Cobzweb, Hurt, Kicking K8, Hinder, Everything at Once, Soil, Deaf Pedestrians, Crossfade, A New Revolution, Dope, Wicked Wisdom, Nonpoint, Three Days Grace, Flyleaf, and Staind. In my opinion, Nonpoint was the show of the day, followed closely (and surprisingly) by Hinder. Hinder is a fairly new band but they thier energy, enthusiasm, and presentation were virtually unmatched by any other band there. Staind, being the headliner was in a different category...consistent and excellent as always. But seriously, I now NEED to see Nonpoint in a full concert, not just as a 40 minute piece of 15+ band event. Nonpoint is easily in my top five favorite bands, and even with my extremely high expectations for them they did not disappoint. Who DID disappoint though were Wicked Wisdom and Crossfade. Wicked Wisdom would be alright if they knew how to write songs, especially ones to compliment the type of singer they have. Crossfade...I dunno. They just didn't sound that great live, which is sad because I actually like their music.
In attendance with me were Mike O and Big Nate, sadly all others scheduled to make the trip dropped out for one reason or another. Folks, this thing was utter insanity. It was a purely outdoor affair at Willow Island, which is right outside the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. It POURED from about 10:30-11:30, and not long after the rain started letting up the grounds were completely torn up. The wind picked up after the rain stopped too, and the huge canopy that covered the stage started dumping water ALL over the stage and equipment. I'll say this about the condition of the grounds after the rain: mud. EVERYWHERE. People were throwing cups, bottles, flip flops, shirts, shoes, PANTS, (all of these items were full of mud, mind you) all over the place. Not to forget the throwing of mud itself...think of making a snowball, except with mud instead of snow. I feel bad for the grounds crew at Willow Island...that place is literally destroyed. I took some pictures with my cell phone, y'all should see them sometime. The entire place will need to be resodded or reseeded, but only AFTER the 5 tons of garbage, flip flops, shoes, and clothes are picked up. We were standing right on the front lines of the insanity too; there was a path between the stage and the sound booth that was walled off so the crew could walk back and forth from the stage to the booth and we were right up on that wall. We were on the of age/drinkers side of the wall, and on the other side were the underage/nondrinkers. I tell you what, those nondrinkers are a rowdy bunch, and they were the instigators of pretty much all the insanity all day. They're the ones that started launching the "mud bombs" as they came to be called. They were the ones that constantly had at least 2 people crowdsurfing. Needless to say, I got a bit dirty. By the end of the day we were COVERED in mud (and who knows what else...), just looking disheveled and homeless in general. The best part was that I went to Culvers, Sentry, and the bars without changing clothes or showering...so everywhere I went I was getting stares (and actual inquiries) like "what on EARTH happened to you?!"
I'm pretty sure that wraps it up for Band Camp. If nothing else, I've learned that I really like going to concerts. If next year's lineup is anything like this year's, there's no way I won't be going. Y'all should come along too...'twas an amazing experience. Cathartic too...nice to get some of those pent up frustrations and agitations out.
Helmsman: "Sir, our shields are dropping!"
Kahn: "...RAISE THEM!"
Helmsman: "I...can't!"
So yesterday I went to JJO Band Camp. If you're not in the know, it's an all-day hard rock/metal music festival/concert akin to Ozzfest. Except Band Camp had a better lineup this year, which if you think about it should make Ozzfest ashamed of itself. A local radio station has better bands for their festival than a huge national tour does? Performing were (in order of appearance): Malice in Wonderland, Cobzweb, Hurt, Kicking K8, Hinder, Everything at Once, Soil, Deaf Pedestrians, Crossfade, A New Revolution, Dope, Wicked Wisdom, Nonpoint, Three Days Grace, Flyleaf, and Staind. In my opinion, Nonpoint was the show of the day, followed closely (and surprisingly) by Hinder. Hinder is a fairly new band but they thier energy, enthusiasm, and presentation were virtually unmatched by any other band there. Staind, being the headliner was in a different category...consistent and excellent as always. But seriously, I now NEED to see Nonpoint in a full concert, not just as a 40 minute piece of 15+ band event. Nonpoint is easily in my top five favorite bands, and even with my extremely high expectations for them they did not disappoint. Who DID disappoint though were Wicked Wisdom and Crossfade. Wicked Wisdom would be alright if they knew how to write songs, especially ones to compliment the type of singer they have. Crossfade...I dunno. They just didn't sound that great live, which is sad because I actually like their music.
In attendance with me were Mike O and Big Nate, sadly all others scheduled to make the trip dropped out for one reason or another. Folks, this thing was utter insanity. It was a purely outdoor affair at Willow Island, which is right outside the Alliant Energy Center in Madison. It POURED from about 10:30-11:30, and not long after the rain started letting up the grounds were completely torn up. The wind picked up after the rain stopped too, and the huge canopy that covered the stage started dumping water ALL over the stage and equipment. I'll say this about the condition of the grounds after the rain: mud. EVERYWHERE. People were throwing cups, bottles, flip flops, shirts, shoes, PANTS, (all of these items were full of mud, mind you) all over the place. Not to forget the throwing of mud itself...think of making a snowball, except with mud instead of snow. I feel bad for the grounds crew at Willow Island...that place is literally destroyed. I took some pictures with my cell phone, y'all should see them sometime. The entire place will need to be resodded or reseeded, but only AFTER the 5 tons of garbage, flip flops, shoes, and clothes are picked up. We were standing right on the front lines of the insanity too; there was a path between the stage and the sound booth that was walled off so the crew could walk back and forth from the stage to the booth and we were right up on that wall. We were on the of age/drinkers side of the wall, and on the other side were the underage/nondrinkers. I tell you what, those nondrinkers are a rowdy bunch, and they were the instigators of pretty much all the insanity all day. They're the ones that started launching the "mud bombs" as they came to be called. They were the ones that constantly had at least 2 people crowdsurfing. Needless to say, I got a bit dirty. By the end of the day we were COVERED in mud (and who knows what else...), just looking disheveled and homeless in general. The best part was that I went to Culvers, Sentry, and the bars without changing clothes or showering...so everywhere I went I was getting stares (and actual inquiries) like "what on EARTH happened to you?!"
I'm pretty sure that wraps it up for Band Camp. If nothing else, I've learned that I really like going to concerts. If next year's lineup is anything like this year's, there's no way I won't be going. Y'all should come along too...'twas an amazing experience. Cathartic too...nice to get some of those pent up frustrations and agitations out.