Oh Noooooos! The Scr-Emo T-Shirt
Hahaha. My friend Rach sent this link to me to purchase the “Scr-Emo” tshirt on Threadless.com. The illustration depicts a skinny dark-haired person clad all in black, standing on the side of a skate bowl with a broken deck, hands to face, shouting for their dear little life–start tattoo exposed on their arm. It’s pretty priceless. It was the winning design for a contest Long Island band Patent Pending sponsored on Threadless.
Taking Back Sunday’s “12 Days of Christmas”
Can’t type that much because I’ve got a Carpal Tunnel flare up, but just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, and point you to this Taking Back Sunday version of the “12 Days of Christmas” animated by Robert Smigel. Thanks for the link, e.:
Wanna play this version on your Xmas mix? Download the MP3 version…
Taking Back Sunday’s New Video: “Liar (Takes One to Know One)”
TBS has a new video for their song “Liar (It Takes One to Know One)”. It seems as though you cannot have a music video for your punk pop band unless the opening scene features someone hooked up to some type of medical machine (see MCR’s “The Black Parade” and The Academy Is…’s “The Phrase that Pays”).
In any case this video totally makes me think of A-Ha’s “Take On Me” meets Lit’s “Miserable” meets Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl”. Do you agree? See for yourself:
WATCH: “Liar (Takes One to Know One)” by Taking Back Sunday: WINDOWS | QUICKTIME
Adam Get Your Gun…and More Fun from the Boost Mobile Rock Corps Show
On Saturday I got a chance to go to the Boost Mobile Rock Corps concert at New York City’s famed Radio City Music Hall. This awesome event was the “thank you” given to the thousands of kids who did at least 4 hours of community service at select locations throughout NYC. What a great idea!
I was blown away by the sheer star power of the lineup. I mean it’s not every day that you get to see Nelly, Taking Back Sunday, Panic! at the Disco, and T.I. for FREE in one of the most beautiful music venues in the country. What a classy show.
The roster was pretty hip-hop heavy, with the aforementioned Nelly and T.I. opening and closing the show respectively, in addition to other big names like Kelis and Nas, Fabolous, Don Omar, Young Jeezy, Papoose, with MTV’s Wild ‘n’ Out star (who I’m pretty sure I have a raging crush on) Nick Cannon serving as emcee. I had a sneaking suspicion that most of the kids there were not super into emo-ish rock bands like TBS and Panic!, but boy was I wrong–
TBS had a pretty good crowd response. Sure it wasn’t as crazy as the first time I saw them, but it wasn’t as chilly of a reception as I first thought it would be. They went on during the middle of the show, with their flashing “TAKING BACK SUNDAY” sign lowering down from the ceiling as they came on stage.
By the time they played “MakeDamnSure”, lead singer Adam Lazzara had removed the jacket he was wearing to reveal that he was wearing an empty tan gun holster over his black button down shirt (!!!!). Later when talking to Gurj (who got mixed up in the “white people’s row”), she jokingly asked, “Who does he think he is? Carlos D.?!?!” Eggggzzactly.
Panic! was on second to last and had a ridiculously GREAT response. They opened up with “Lying Is the Most Fun that a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off” and during their big hit, “I Write Sins, Not Tragedies”, so many people were up on their feet! During the line where Brendon sings “what a shame the poor groom’s bride is a whore” he added the word “slut” after the phrase. There was some kid decked out in head-to-toe colorful BAPE-type clothing that was singing EVERY WORD of all the Panic! songs. Incredible! They rounded off their set with “Build God, Then We’ll Talk”.
WATCH: “Build God, Then We’ll Talk” by Panic! @ the Disco at BMRC
Lead singer Brendon Urie was doing the same over-the-top acting/singing that kinda disturbed me during the MTV VMA’s. (Thankfully there wasn’t a reapperance of that RIDIC black and red Mad Hatter’s hat.) I don’t remember his singing being so dramatic when I saw Panic! earlier this year at Nokia Theater, so methinks maybe all that singing on the road may have taken a toll on his voice.
Oh and I just have to say, little Ryan Ross looked adorable in a tastefull all-black suit.
Volunteer to Get a Ticket to a Free Taking Back Sunday/ Panic! at the Disco Concert in NYC
How cool is this? Boost Mobile RockCorps is in New York, are asking for volunteers to help clean up NY. They payoff? Those who donate their time will get a ticket to a hot concert at Radio City Music Hall on September 23, 2006.
According to the press release:
T.I., Panic! At the Disco, Young Jeezy, Taking Back Sunday, Fabolous, Don Omar and others will perform at this year’s New York City concert event on September 23 at the legendary Radio City Music Hall. The event will be hosted by Nick Cannon. The concert is in recognition of the 5,000 hard-working local youth who volunteered four hours of community service through BMRC to earn tickets to this ultra-exclusive event.
Check out the Boost Mobile RockCorps web site for more information and to sign up.
Taking Back Sunday + 30 Seconds to Mars - 40 Dollars = Booo
Taking Back Sunday and 30 Seconds to Mars will play an MTV/Lifebeat show at Webster Hall on August 30th. Tickets are a whopping 40 bucks. Password…ARGUS.
Warped Tour 2006: Strong Island, Reprezent!
[Check out all my Warped Tour 2006 photos on Flickr!]
Yesterday, August 5th, I nurtured my roots and got all suburban by heading out to Long Island to go to Warped Tour at Nassau Coliseum.
The day started off a little sad because we got there an hour after it started (a little after 1pm) and I ended up missing all of The Academy Is… by about 15 minutes because when I got to the board I saw they went on at 12:25!!! I was SO BUMMED because they were the one band I was DYING to see. I wanted to cry little emo tears when I realized what had happened. So heartbreaking. As poor Jocelyn can attest, I complained about missing them the entire day.
So yes, not only did I miss TAI… I only got to see like 2 songs by The Sounds, who went on at 12:55. I heard the Sounds’ songs when we arrived, and I kept asking Jocelyn, “um, are the Sounds on right now…because I hear their song…” It was crazy! This is the one thing I hate about Warped Tour–you never know when any of the bands are going to go on until you get there. Who would have known that two of the biggest (in my mind) bands to play at the festival would be one of the first ones to go on! Tragic.
The Vans Warped Tour board of disappointing news
Anyway, as I recovered from the devastation of missing TAI… I took some notes of what the set times were and discovered that Cartel wasn’t even playing. WTF?! I’d wanted to see Cartel also, and I could’ve sworn they were on the list of bands playing that day…things were looking bleak already.
So I figured out we had some time to kill before the next band I really wanted to see, Motion City Soundtrack, so we walked around and got the lay of the land–figured out what stages were where and where important things like water, shade, and air conditioning were. Jocelyn and I ended up getting to sample a lunch courtesy of the Warped Tour catering crew and as I mindlessly scarfed down a mini pizza and mozzarella sticks, my stomach started doing flip flops. I don’t know how those kids eat that kind of stuff like every day on the tour, just two bites of the mozzarella stick alone made me slightly nauseous. And to think, I passed on the fried calamari and fried zucchini.
Here’s a tip: If you kids want to get in with the bands on Warped Tour, don’t waste your time slutting youself out–just bring a good hot meal and you will probably be greeted with open arms by the band member of your choice.
So by this time it was almost 2:15 and I was NOT going to miss yet another band, so we ran over to Main Stage Left where MCS had just started their set. Ok, it’s confession time–I’ve had a tiny crush on bassist Matthew Taylor (below) since like 4 months ago when I sat across from him for like an hour and didn’t say anything to him because I didn’t know him and I had no idea who Motion City Soundtrack were. (Read my “about” section–I didn’t know who ANY of the people that are going to be mentioned in this post until like 3 months ago–I’m serious. It’s not easy trying to get up to speed with “the scene”. I still don’t know who half these bands are anyway. I’m sure you know more about this stuff than I do.)
But then I saw him start singing along to the Beyonce song that was playing (was it “Crazy In Love”?) and that totally sealed the deal–an official sweet spot was created for him then and there. I said to myself, “I have no idea who the hell that guy is, but I cannot believe he’s singing Beyonce to himself when he thinks no one is looking. He is a genius.”
MCS had tons of energy and the crowd was so great. Kids bopping around screaming along to infectious pop punk songs like “Everything Is Alright”.
So. Much. Fun. Luckily for me and Joc, the next band we wanted to see was Thursday, which was going to be at the same stage. While we were hanging back waiting for Thursday to go on at 3:10, we ran into our friend Mandy from Stellastarr*, who was there to support Andrew. I managed to snap this ADORABLE photo of them right before Andrew had to go on stage. Can you say “ubercute”?
Before we knew it, Thursday was onstage playing to a sea of sweaty, dirty Long Island teenagers with a gignormous Marriott looming in the background. It looked like this:
I couldn’t believe that the sweet, mild-mannered guy I’d just met moments ago was now YELLING HIS BRAINS OUT into his microphone and thrashing at his keyboard right before my very eyes. Hahah! I never would have guessed that Andrew was “The Screamy Guy”–which is an absolutely necessary member of every self-respecting post-hardcore band. Amazing!
Somewhere during the course of the show, I looked up at lead singer Geoff and noticed he was bleeding. Not just bleeding, he was GUSHING BLOOD. Red liquid was streaming all down the front of his face and in the process of wiping some it off, he stained the whole of his forearms. Joc described the situation by saying it looked as though Geoff had “eaten a baby”. It was really disgusting, but totally rock as he blazed through the rest of the set, not even blinking an eye as his DNA dripped all over the place.
WATCH: “Understanding In a Car Crash” by Thursday (live at Warped Tour, Uniondale, NY)
Now I know why Geoff kicks butt in the Warped Tour Massacre–it’s totally based on real life. He takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
He did eventually stop to take a moment inbetween songs to wipe off some of the excess blood, and even having crew members suggest pouring water down the front of his face to get rid of some of the crimson trail.
I don’t know what the official or commonly-used name is for this manuver that I call “The Tornado”–It’s basically when someone takes a microphone chord and whips it around like it’s a lasso and then catches the microphone again. I’m always completely amazed when people do it. And there’s always a LOT of this being done on Warped Tour. Some are better at it than others. If I had to rate Geoff’s Tornado, I would give it a 8.5.
There was also the hilarious Hulk outfit that started off onstage (the big “mash ‘em” hands and head piece), got thrown into the crowd, and then eventually ended up back on stage. One kid actually got all three pieces together and put them on, so you can imagine how amused I was to see the Incredible Hulk crowd surfing during Thursday’s set.
After Thursday was done we ran over to the Volcom Stage where Red Jumpsuit Apparatus was playing. RJA seems to be everywhere these days–in ads in my Teen Vogue, the number one band on Purevolume.com, staring back at me on a Wheaties box–Ok, the last one isn’t true, but I really can’t turn around w/out seeing their band name everywhere.
WATCH: “Face Down” by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (live at Warped Tour, Uniondale, NY)
By this point I was sweaty and could feel the flesh burning off of my skin, so we took a break and got some cold drinks and then headed out again to catch Saves the Day on Main Stage Left at 5:10.
I’d never seen Saves the Day before, and for some reason I wasn’t expecting much. My only real knowledge of STD was the song “At Your Funeral“, which was a video that seemed to be on constant rotation on MTV2 when I was in college–that song and their clever/stupid tshirts that say stuff like “I <3 My STD: Saves the Day".
Well color me surprised--I actually liked STD quite a bit. They were a bit more rock than I expected they were going to be, but they were still really very poppy.
WATCH: “Anywhere with You” by Saves the Day (live at Warped Tour, Uniondale, NY)
For some reason during their set I couldn’t help but notice lead singer Chris Conley’s access pass since he was wearing it on stage. I found great amusement in the fact that his hair color was almost the same shade as the bright red background he stood in front of to take his photo…because we all know how much I *love* his pink hair:
I do have to say, I found his matching pink plug chord kinda adorable–in the gayest way possible.
I left around 5:30 and headed over to the Hurley Stage to watch a bit of Everytime I Die. Holy mother of God! EID was so freaking loud, and the crowd was totally crazy. I would have one eye on the kids behind me, not to get hit in the head by a flying foot or bottle, and one eye on the band, as to not get knocked over by a flying band member or Tornado.
I ran back over to the Volcom Stage to catch a little bit of Gym Class Heroes…
But only had time to throw my hands up into the air before running back to Hurley Stage to see Aiden. I really wanted to see what Aiden was all about because Gurj is always talking about them.
OH. MY. GOD.
AIDEN IS MY NEW FAVORITE BAND!
Wow! Lead singer Wil Francis is like one part Gerard Way one part Brian Molko one part Tim Burton’s ultimate fantasy! Musically they are My Chemical Romance meets AFI. Their live show was INCREDIBLE. There was so much raw energy flying around, I swear it was like being in the middle of a hunt. Especially when Wil would jump into the crowd. If you watch the video below, you can actually see him GROWL at the audience:
WATCH: Wil Francis jumping into the crowd at Warped Tour, Uniondale, NY
So remember how I said some people’s Tornado’s were better than others? Wil Francis’s Tornado is OFF THE CHARTS. He was whipping that microphone around like a cowboy and catching it perfectly in his hand.
Almost at the same exact moment I was thinking “Woah! Aiden is the best band I’ve seen today!” Jocelyn texted me and said “This is the worst band I’ve seen”. I was flabbergasted! I couldn’t believe how different our opinion of the band was.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, Wil called for something named The Wall of Death. Basically he made the crowd seperate in the middle and then RUN AT EACH OTHER “like you’ve seen in Braveheart“. Then he made everyone throw metal signs up in the air as they ran.
HOLY CRAP! Words can’t even describe, so just watch:
WATCH: Aiden and the Wall of Death at Warped Tour, Uniondale, NY
The kids LOVE Aiden!
Aiden was the best thing I saw at Warped Tour. After seeing them I just had to leave–what could be better than that!? Ok, I’m sure some of the other bands who played last were great, but by that point I’d be in the blistering sun for about 6 hours and I had to head home so I could head out to MisShapes later for the Warped Tour after party. More on THAT later…
Yesssssssssssssssssssss! Party Time. Excellent.
Be there or be…SORRY. Don’t say I didn’t tell you so.
Watch Out! Warped Tour Here I Come!
So I am SO STOKED for this weekend. Ok ok, so I’m not going to Lollapalooza in Chicago to see some of my favorite bands on earth all in one place (The Racontuers, Panic! at the Disco, and Ryan Adams) BUT I’ll be at Warped Tour on Long Island, so that’s JUST as good because I’ve never seen The Academy Is… and they’ll be playing.
So if you’re going, and I sort of know you, please drop me a line and we can hang out. You will recognize me because I’ll be the one with the “EMOZ 4 LYFE” tattoo on her neck. Hot!
Hey, does anyone know where I can get a time sheet and stage listing of all the bands playing?
Hairwatch 2006: Emergency Update on Adam Lazzara
Ok, seriously, what’s going on here? First Gerard now Taking Back Sunday’s resident pretty-boy Adam Lazzara?!? Yes, that’s right, he too has bowed down to the peroxide gods and changed his brown mane to PLATINUM BLOND.
He managed to freak out fans who watched TBS on Jay Leno on Monday night as well.
I can’t even deal any more.
[SOURCE: Adam Lazzara search on Buzznet]
