>> There's something about being in New York City that makes everything better, but I have the feeling that it would've been an amazing show no matter which date of the tour I attended. 'Toursick' ran from 3/31/10 - 5/16/10, and I caught it on the first of 2 nights at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square. The tour featured Veara (@veara), Enter Shikari (@entershikari), Silverstein (@silverstein), August Burns Red (@abrband), and of course, A Day To Remember (@WhereIsADTR). The atmosphere was intense, the pits were insane, and the performances were amazing. It was an incredible show, and I'm sure anyone else who attended would agree.
>> Upon arrival, my friends & I received VIP passes that allowed us access to the balcony in front of and above the sides of the stage (It's hard to describe it, but you'll see what I mean when you look at my pictures.) I got a lot of great pictures, but if I only have a few of a certain band, well that's because I didn't bring my camera into the pit ;) I got a bunch of videos as well, you can see all 14 on my YouTube Channel. I'm not sure if it was because I was in NYC with my friends, that I had a VIP pass to see bands I love, or some combination of the 2, but on April 9th, I attended one of the best shows I've ever been to.
>> I had never heard of Veara until I saw them on the line-up for the tour. I didn't have a chance to listen to them before the show, so I was really interested in seeing them that night. They played first, and really started the show off right. It was clear that a good amount of people were hearing the band for the first time like I was, but Veara got the crowd moving after a song or two. It was almost like a warm-up; a great pop-punk band helped get the crowd pumped for the heavier bands playing after. The audience had a great response for a good reason, the band obviously had fun while they were playing, and it encouraged us to do the same. Their set was upbeat & full of energy. They were probably the least known band on the tour, but I'm sure they gained a lot of fans thanks to that great first impression. They have great off-stage personalities as well, but I'll talk more about that later :)
>> Before the show, I had only listened to at most 2 songs by Enter Shikari, and I liked what I heard. I was looking forward to seeing them live as well... but I can, and probably will say that for every band haha. Their sound is unlike pretty much anything out there right now. Their songs have screamo/hardcore roots with a kick of electronic flavor. It's a combination you wouldn't expect, but ES certainly makes it work. Not only were the mosh pits getting crazy, but a good percentage of the people in the audience were just dancing. Enter Shikari created what seemed like one big energetic dance party set to alternative punk music with singing, and screaming. It was a similar atmosphere when I saw 3OH!3, but something about this crowd was even better. I bought their album Common Dreads when I was there, and I probably listened to it for a week+ straight after. They have catchy songs that won't get old after a while.. trust me, I know :)
>> After the first two bands, everyone was stoked to see Silverstein perform. This is a band I've known for years but never saw live. I loved that they played "Smile In Your Sleep", my favorite song by them. According to Shane, they play it at every show, but this was the first time I was seeing them live so I was unaware haha. I didn't get too many pictures or videos of their set because I spent most of my time in the crowd. This is where the pits really started getting intense, and the insanity of it only increased from here. Silverstein has been around for a while, so the long-time fans took great pride in belting out the words whenever the band played one of their older songs. As the night progressed, the crowd only got more and more intense. I only have one video of Silverstein's performance because I spent 90% of the set in the chaos taking place in front of the stage :)
>> I only caught the first song that August Burns Red played. I don't know the band well, but they sounded good from what I heard. Their set was the point in the night when I walked around the venue meeting up with friends, scoping out the merch tables, and hanging out with Veara. Apparently I was asking a lot of interview - style questions without realizing, but it was simply a fun conversation. I learned from Bryan (Bass/vocals) that the band has been together for about 7 years, and about 2 with the current line-up. They're releasing their album What We Left Behind on May 25th through Epitaph / Running Man Records. I don't want to say much else just in case I remember something incorrectly, if I haven't already haha. I spoke with the other band members as well, and the four of them seem like really sweet, funny, and determined people. I'd really love to see them go far. Help the cause & get their album!
After hanging out with them for a while, I walked around a bit more before going back up to the balcony to get ready for the headliner.
>> A DAY TO REMEMBER
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