this is the one i went too.
Everything seemed perfect today, the sun was shining, the breeze was cool, and there were more people at the show then I have ever seen. Ahhh New Jersey.. The parking lot of the raceway played home to our touring crew, when things were set up it took a lot longer than usual to find them this morning. It was so spread out that you never fully realized how many people were there. I jumped a fence and stood on top of the bleachers and overlooked the place and saw thousands upon thousands of little heads walking every which way. It was almost like watching worker ants in an ant farm.
When I think of New Jersey, I think of the Stone Pony and The Boss, Bruce Springsteen. I wasnt the only one who thought of him while visiting the Garden State either. The (International) Noise Conspiracy gave Mr. Springsteen a shout out for speaking his mind on politics during their set. Afterwards at their merch booth, The Boss himself stopped by with his kids and wanted to meet the band. He came back during their signing time and hung out and talked music with the Swedish boys. I talked with Lars about what went down later in the day and he was still so excited and in shock that Bruce Springsteen was at the Vans Warped Tour just hanging out.
This was the biggest show this year. 27,000 people in attendance. The venue was so spread out that you would have never guessed that it. The Teal and Brian stage were at opposite ends of the universe and the Maurice and Volcom were out in the middle of nowhere. Nestled in between all the sponsor world booths I found exactly what I was looking for, the Zine Booth. Judy started this booth and has run it for the last three summers. Its an area for independent magazines to come and promote themselves. Judy sets up everyday with zines from around the US and Canada. If you produce your own zine and want to distribute it to the masses, you can contact Judy at zinenerd@hotmail.com. She can direct you on how to ship your zines to her to have at the tour. This booth is 100% free and is all about spreading the word on independent publications. Make sure to check out Judys booth at the Boston shows because she has something up her sleeve. As soon as I know more Ill let you know. I have a feeling that its going to be an awesome surprise.
All day long it seemed like when I saw a band I wanted to go report on, by the time I made it to the stage they were almost over. It was just my luck. The one band that I did get a chance to see today seemed to fill the void I had for music for the day. Over at the Uproar stage Boys Night Out has been tearing it up. Their stage is one of the smaller side from the back tried to push the girls against the stages. This band brings such a big crowd that the once small side stage that maybe one security guard would stand at, has had to get 4 security guards and a rail to hold back the growing crowd. I watched as the security guards along with two other guys pushed back against the railing to try to hold back the audience as they tried to overtake the barricades.
After dinner I was walking past catering and noticed a bunch of people trying on jewelry. A little confused and a little excited about jewelry I walked over and met Rusty from H2O who was selling his handmade silver jewelry. The charms and necklaces were cute. There were hearts and stars and skulls and even the Bouncing Souls anchor. He is going to be at the Boston show so I know Ill be buying something then.
Tomorrow is the first day off in 12 days! I know Im ready to sleep and relax. So until we meet in Hershey, PA.