Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Seen It Live: W A R P E D ! 0 9
>>After waiting 4 years, I finally got to go to Warped Tour <3 July 18th is a day I won't soon forget, for many reasons. Let's just say Uniondale, NY knows what's up.
>>I actually got 2 votes on my poll for the "what is Warped..?" option.. WELL, The Vans Warped Tour is basically a playground you go to once every summer, except instead of swings you have stages. There are a bunch of stages actually, all spread out, usually in a large parking lot. Various bands perform on each stage throughout the day, and fans get the opportunity to not only see some of their favorite bands live, but the chance to meet them too. There are tents set up all over, selling merchandise among other things. A bunch of bands have their own tents, as do some record labels & clothing lines. Just walking around the tents once, you're bound to find some free stuff. Warped is an all day concert that helps bring bands & fans together. It's truly a beautiful thing.
>>...when it says doors open at 11, you shouldn't leave the house at 10:45. Traffic was ridiculous, hardly moving once we got close to the Coliseum. I can't really complain though, because "who can blast the radio louder" contests between cars, people hanging out of their windows, people actually getting out of their cars & running around shouting "WARPED FOR THE WIN BITCHES, WARPED FOR THE WIN" only added to the excitement. Trust me, that was the best way we could've started the day.
>>As soon as I walked through the entrance, I got a schedule & ran into some friends. Then it was off to figure out where Jac Vanek's tent & the Glamour Kills tents were (for street team purposes), which wasn't exactly an easy task. The tents for bands, record labels, clothing companies, etc were scattered all over with no real pattern, so basically you just had to walk around & hope you found some interesting stuff along the way. And at Warped, it's almost impossible not to. For example, there were a bunch of bands just chilling at their tents, whether they were playing that day or if they were just there promoting. To be honest, I think I met/hung out with more bands than I saw perform.. and I loved it :D
>The first band I met was Colors in The Air from Buffalo, NY. They weren't playing live, but they were playing tracks from their CD "Vessels In The Air" via iPod+Headphones. Good stuff, definitely worth looking into. They were one of 2 er 3 bands I went back to talk to various times throughout the day :] The other 2 I spoke to a few times were Kelsey and The Chaos & Mandy K. I've mentioned Kelsey and The Chaos before, and they remembered talking to me. They're super fun & way nice to talk to. I picked up their "Shut Up and Deal" EP, and it's soo good. PS, it's now available on iTunes. So I'd heard of Mandy K, just nothing by them.. So when they let me listen to some of their CD via iPod+headphones, I was pretty psyched. Turns out, they're fairly amazing :] Their song "Are You From Tennessee? Cause You're The Only Ten I See" makes me smile super big. You can also find their self-titled EP on iTunes. I got the chance to talk to Anarbor, Mercy Mercedes (well, Mickey & Austin anyway.. plus I've met the band like 3 times before this<3),There For Tomorrow . I also got to meet Pat from Sing It Loud, VersaEmerge, & Buddy from Senses Fail, but I didn't really get to talk to them for as long. I probably met more throughout the day, & I'll add to this list if I remember any more. Regardless of how many times, or how long I talked to these people, everyone was really friendly and they seemed genuinely stoked on the Warped atmosphere.
>>Of all the bands I saw play, I think The Maine & 3OH!3 were my favorite to watch.
>When listening to The Maine, you can't help but smile; they're seriously so adorable & genuine in every song. Now imagine experiencing that live. 'Nuff said. But also you could tell the crowd was really into their set, and some of the things they said between songs just made us laugh. My 2 favorite parts of their set?
>By simply listening to their songs, you can immediately tell that the guys in 3OH!3 just want to have fun with what they're doing. This definitely stands true for their live performances as well. You can just see how hyped they are to be on a stage doing what they love. The crowd was insaaaane, possibly one of the biggest that day. Everyone was really pumped to be seeing 3OH!3 to begin with.. but I'd noticed a guy dressed in green who looked like Lil' Jon on stage with them, just in the background. I figured, "nahh that can't really be him,"- One song later, during "Chokechain" he runs out to join his friends in 3OH!3. Everyone freaked, it was such a sick experience. Nobody expected that. And yes, he did give us his signature "YEEeEeEAAAAaAaAAAhhHhHH" before leaving the stage. No worries.
>>Throughout the day, I also saw Sing It Loud, Lights, A Day To Remember, Bayside, Escape The Fate, and possibly more that I can't think of at the moment.. I got there during Lights' set, and I have to say she's probably the cutest person ever, both personality and music wise. Seriously, check this picture I took (insert).
Sing It Loud was so good, they played some of my favorites like "Best Beating Heart", "Bite Your Lip", and of course their two biggest "Come Around" and "No One Can Touch Us." Yet another band that, when you hear their songs, you can't help but smile. Unfortunately, I didn't realize people would've swarmed the stage a solid half hour before A Day To Remember played, so I was all the way in the back of the crowd.. BUT I could still hear them fairly well. The crowd surfing I saw from my spot was ridiculous, looked like so much fun. Everyone got super hyped when they played "The Downfall Of Us All", even from as far away as I was, they sounded flawless. Just like how I'd been waiting for ages to go to Warped, I'd been dying to see Bayside live. So worth the wait. One of the best parts about seeing them was the 2 guys behind me. They were hardcore fans who proceeded to shout the words of every song. Normally, that's me too.. but these guys could hardly speak by the end of the set. They, like myself, went all out when they played "The Walking Wounded." So great. It was pretty sweet seeing a band from Long Island at home :] The day ended with Escape The Fate. This performance was incredible. The moshing insane, there were 2 pits on my side of the crowd that eventually combined into one mega-pit, and remember, that was only on my half of the crowd. Imagine the other side. It was so great that towards the end of the set, a security guard comes running out of nowhere right in front of me (near the barricades<3) some girl got an elbow to the face that broke her nose. Now that's my kind of crowd ;].
>>Overall, I'd say that Warped this year was amazing, as did a bunch of the people I'd asked. A good amount did point out that this year's line-up wasn't necessarily as strong as it usually is, but it was a great day nonetheless. I asked for your opinions on this year's Warped Tour, and I spoke to a lot of people about it, but I only got 2 legit responses (Thanks Amy & Eric :D). I've already posted them on my fb fan page, but I'll put em up in the comments on this post as well.
>>I actually got 2 votes on my poll for the "what is Warped..?" option.. WELL, The Vans Warped Tour is basically a playground you go to once every summer, except instead of swings you have stages. There are a bunch of stages actually, all spread out, usually in a large parking lot. Various bands perform on each stage throughout the day, and fans get the opportunity to not only see some of their favorite bands live, but the chance to meet them too. There are tents set up all over, selling merchandise among other things. A bunch of bands have their own tents, as do some record labels & clothing lines. Just walking around the tents once, you're bound to find some free stuff. Warped is an all day concert that helps bring bands & fans together. It's truly a beautiful thing.
>>...when it says doors open at 11, you shouldn't leave the house at 10:45. Traffic was ridiculous, hardly moving once we got close to the Coliseum. I can't really complain though, because "who can blast the radio louder" contests between cars, people hanging out of their windows, people actually getting out of their cars & running around shouting "WARPED FOR THE WIN BITCHES, WARPED FOR THE WIN" only added to the excitement. Trust me, that was the best way we could've started the day.
>>As soon as I walked through the entrance, I got a schedule & ran into some friends. Then it was off to figure out where Jac Vanek's tent & the Glamour Kills tents were (for street team purposes), which wasn't exactly an easy task. The tents for bands, record labels, clothing companies, etc were scattered all over with no real pattern, so basically you just had to walk around & hope you found some interesting stuff along the way. And at Warped, it's almost impossible not to. For example, there were a bunch of bands just chilling at their tents, whether they were playing that day or if they were just there promoting. To be honest, I think I met/hung out with more bands than I saw perform.. and I loved it :D
>The first band I met was Colors in The Air from Buffalo, NY. They weren't playing live, but they were playing tracks from their CD "Vessels In The Air" via iPod+Headphones. Good stuff, definitely worth looking into. They were one of 2 er 3 bands I went back to talk to various times throughout the day :] The other 2 I spoke to a few times were Kelsey and The Chaos & Mandy K. I've mentioned Kelsey and The Chaos before, and they remembered talking to me. They're super fun & way nice to talk to. I picked up their "Shut Up and Deal" EP, and it's soo good. PS, it's now available on iTunes. So I'd heard of Mandy K, just nothing by them.. So when they let me listen to some of their CD via iPod+headphones, I was pretty psyched. Turns out, they're fairly amazing :] Their song "Are You From Tennessee? Cause You're The Only Ten I See" makes me smile super big. You can also find their self-titled EP on iTunes. I got the chance to talk to Anarbor, Mercy Mercedes (well, Mickey & Austin anyway.. plus I've met the band like 3 times before this<3),There For Tomorrow . I also got to meet Pat from Sing It Loud, VersaEmerge, & Buddy from Senses Fail, but I didn't really get to talk to them for as long. I probably met more throughout the day, & I'll add to this list if I remember any more. Regardless of how many times, or how long I talked to these people, everyone was really friendly and they seemed genuinely stoked on the Warped atmosphere.
>>Of all the bands I saw play, I think The Maine & 3OH!3 were my favorite to watch.
>When listening to The Maine, you can't help but smile; they're seriously so adorable & genuine in every song. Now imagine experiencing that live. 'Nuff said. But also you could tell the crowd was really into their set, and some of the things they said between songs just made us laugh. My 2 favorite parts of their set?
- John Oh referring to Long Island as "Strong Island".
- John Oh IN the crowd:
>By simply listening to their songs, you can immediately tell that the guys in 3OH!3 just want to have fun with what they're doing. This definitely stands true for their live performances as well. You can just see how hyped they are to be on a stage doing what they love. The crowd was insaaaane, possibly one of the biggest that day. Everyone was really pumped to be seeing 3OH!3 to begin with.. but I'd noticed a guy dressed in green who looked like Lil' Jon on stage with them, just in the background. I figured, "nahh that can't really be him,"- One song later, during "Chokechain" he runs out to join his friends in 3OH!3. Everyone freaked, it was such a sick experience. Nobody expected that. And yes, he did give us his signature "YEEeEeEAAAAaAaAAAhhHhHH" before leaving the stage. No worries.
>>Throughout the day, I also saw Sing It Loud, Lights, A Day To Remember, Bayside, Escape The Fate, and possibly more that I can't think of at the moment.. I got there during Lights' set, and I have to say she's probably the cutest person ever, both personality and music wise. Seriously, check this picture I took (insert).
Sing It Loud was so good, they played some of my favorites like "Best Beating Heart", "Bite Your Lip", and of course their two biggest "Come Around" and "No One Can Touch Us." Yet another band that, when you hear their songs, you can't help but smile. Unfortunately, I didn't realize people would've swarmed the stage a solid half hour before A Day To Remember played, so I was all the way in the back of the crowd.. BUT I could still hear them fairly well. The crowd surfing I saw from my spot was ridiculous, looked like so much fun. Everyone got super hyped when they played "The Downfall Of Us All", even from as far away as I was, they sounded flawless. Just like how I'd been waiting for ages to go to Warped, I'd been dying to see Bayside live. So worth the wait. One of the best parts about seeing them was the 2 guys behind me. They were hardcore fans who proceeded to shout the words of every song. Normally, that's me too.. but these guys could hardly speak by the end of the set. They, like myself, went all out when they played "The Walking Wounded." So great. It was pretty sweet seeing a band from Long Island at home :] The day ended with Escape The Fate. This performance was incredible. The moshing insane, there were 2 pits on my side of the crowd that eventually combined into one mega-pit, and remember, that was only on my half of the crowd. Imagine the other side. It was so great that towards the end of the set, a security guard comes running out of nowhere right in front of me (near the barricades<3) some girl got an elbow to the face that broke her nose. Now that's my kind of crowd ;].>>Overall, I'd say that Warped this year was amazing, as did a bunch of the people I'd asked. A good amount did point out that this year's line-up wasn't necessarily as strong as it usually is, but it was a great day nonetheless. I asked for your opinions on this year's Warped Tour, and I spoke to a lot of people about it, but I only got 2 legit responses (Thanks Amy & Eric :D). I've already posted them on my fb fan page, but I'll put em up in the comments on this post as well.
In case you were wondering, I'll definitely be at Warped 2010. See yah there ;]
*Added Sept 1st, 2009:
Results for the "Your Thoughts on Warped 09" poll (32 votes)
Results for the "Your Thoughts on Warped 09" poll (32 votes)
- It was absolutely AMAZING!: 8 votes
- It was pretty good, I had fun.: 5 votes
- It was okay, could've been better.: 4 votes
- It was horrible.: 4 votes
- I didn't go: 9 votes
- What's Warped?: 2 votes
Monday, August 17, 2009
Interview: The Reserve (info)
It's about damn time!
>>Yeah, I'm interviewing a band. Finally! For my first interview, I'm gonna be talking to The Reserve! The guys & I are all super stoked.
>Not only will I be asking them questions, but we're leaving it open to the fans as well.
Send me stuff you'd want them to answer. Whether you think they're stupid or too personal, just send me any questions you have because it'll make it interesting ;]
>Honestly, I'm really looking forward to this. & trust me, this is only the beginning of things to come :)
>Not only will I be asking them questions, but we're leaving it open to the fans as well.
Send me stuff you'd want them to answer. Whether you think they're stupid or too personal, just send me any questions you have because it'll make it interesting ;]
>Honestly, I'm really looking forward to this. & trust me, this is only the beginning of things to come :)
The Reserve announce two back to back shows in September
Friday, August 7, 2009
New Addition: Contact Info
>> I've bedazzled some new URLs & email addresses. Awesome. So now there's several ways to get at me:
- AIM: KateRussellFTW
- email: katerussellftw@gmail.com
- www.twitter.com/KateRussellFTW
- www.twitter.com/TheMusicObsessi
- www.facebook.com/TheMusicObsession
- www.youtube.com/KateRussellFTW
- http://katerussellftw.tumblr.com/
- http://themusicobsession.tumblr.com/
Feel free to send me questions, requests, whatever.
Oh, also keep commenting on these posts.
Thanks.
Oh, also keep commenting on these posts.
Thanks.
PS-
^Aug 14th: Patent Pending, Table 21, Something Epic!, & more
Don't ask questions.
Just be there.
^Aug 14th: Patent Pending, Table 21, Something Epic!, & moreDon't ask questions.
Just be there.
Monday, August 3, 2009
What I'm Listening To #9
Well, the 70 songs from my playlist that iTunes knew about anyway..
Yeah, I finally made one! Hazahhh :]
Yeah, I finally made one! Hazahhh :]
*>>Acknowledge it's in alphabetical order by band name, not importance hahaha. My favorites are listed below. Let me know what you think :D :D
- The Last Summer by The Forward
- Ain't No Rest For the Wicked by Cage The Elephant
- I Can Get Back Up Now by You, Me, and Everyone We Know
- Best I Never Had by The Downtown Fiction
- Saturday by Fall Out Boy
- I Was Right by New Years Day
- Punk Rock Princess by Something Corporate
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Seen It Live: Recent Shows
I've been to a few shows lately:
- July 18th: W A R P E D ! T O U R @ Nassau Coliseum
- July 21st: The Cab, A Rocket To The Moon, The Summer Set, Eye Alaska, My Favorite Highway @ The Crazy Donkey
>>I got there a little late and missed the very beginning of My Favorite Highway's set, but luckily I only missed a song. This was the first time I'd ever seen them live, and they were just amazing. I loved how when they performed "Bigger Than Love", the crowd got really into it."Say So" is so catchy everyone was moving around & having fun. >>Eye Alaska played next, and to be honest I wasn't really focused on their set. They didn't really catch my attention until they played "Walk Like A Gentleman", the only song by them I'd heard before. They seemed pretty good, but I'd suggest looking them up on MySpace or something to see for yourselves. >>Like a lot of bands I've fallen in love with lately, The Summer Set was a group I'd heard OF, I'd just never heard anything BY them. They grabbed my attention from the start, and everyone was really into their set. I don't remember which specific songs they played, considering I'm still not really familiar with them haha, but I know they played "Chelsea" & a hardcore cover of "Love In This Club." Just another reason they're so awesome ahahah. OH, did I mention their drummer is a girl?! Super badass. I met Jess (drums) & Brian (vocals) after they played, they're both really nice & fun to be around. By talking to Brian, and getting a picture with him, I kind of started a mini-mob.. so um, sorry about that... Anyway, I bought their ...In Color EP, and I highly suggest you do the same :] >>And of course, I only went to this concert to see A Rocket To The Moon <3 style="font-weight: bold;">Greetings From.. EP, and a new song that I didn't catch the name of :\ Apparently they've been playing it on this tour, and on Warped too. I had to leave before I could see them after the show :[ Next time boys, next time. >>The Cab was also ridiculously good. They played some of my favorites, like "Risky Business", "High Hopes in Velvet Ropes", "Take My Hand", "That 70's Song", and more. I had to leave while they were playing "One of Those Nights" :\ At least this wasn't the first time I'd seen them live. While we're talking about The Cab, check out their video for the "Take My Hand" remix from the Lady Luck EP, featuring Cassadee Pope of Hey Monday! - Take My Hand (Remix)
- July 26th: This Condition, Set In Color,
Holden PanAs A Gift, & more @ the St. Pius Fair (Plainview, NY)
- July 29th: The Reserve (acoustic show) @ Tobay Beach
All of these were amazing, especially the last two because
concerts in the rain are always insane <3>
concerts in the rain are always insane <3>
Monday, July 27, 2009
I Want Your Opinion: W A R P E D ! 0 9
I love typing it like that :D
>>I sent out a fan update (facebook), posted notes (fb) & MySpace bulletins galore, but I've only gotten 2 responses so far..
Read this, and be a part of my Warped Tour Review!
>So assuming some of you look at/read the site regularly, you'll know that when I do concert reviews it's usually just from my point of view, my opinion, etc. Well, I had an idea. Since the Vans Warped Tour is more than just a standard show, I figured I'd try something different- getting you guys involved! It's simple, really.
>If you attended Warped Tour on Saturday, July 18th in Uniondale NY & want to participate, all you have to do is write a response saying things like who you saw, if you met any bands, who was really good/bad, if you've been to warped before, how you like the atmosphere, just general stuff like that. You could write anywhere from a sentence to a paragraph, whatever you want to say! You can send it to me as a message on MySpace, post it to the Facebook page, send it as an email*, or you could post it on the wall for this page. What I'll do is take some of these responses and quote them in my post, and yes I can use specific names.. unless you'd prefer me not to. It's whatever works for you guys. Also, if you know anyone else who went that day, tell them about this response idea.
>For those of you who attended warped, but on another date, you can do the same thing, just specify which date you went to & where it was so I can compare experiences & such.
>I'd like to start my review soon, but send me your responses whenever you can; I'm in no rush :] Any other ideas you guys might have would be just super as well.
*my email: ovrachvr13@verizon.net
*my myspace
*the facebook page
Read this, and be a part of my Warped Tour Review!
>So assuming some of you look at/read the site regularly, you'll know that when I do concert reviews it's usually just from my point of view, my opinion, etc. Well, I had an idea. Since the Vans Warped Tour is more than just a standard show, I figured I'd try something different- getting you guys involved! It's simple, really.
>If you attended Warped Tour on Saturday, July 18th in Uniondale NY & want to participate, all you have to do is write a response saying things like who you saw, if you met any bands, who was really good/bad, if you've been to warped before, how you like the atmosphere, just general stuff like that. You could write anywhere from a sentence to a paragraph, whatever you want to say! You can send it to me as a message on MySpace, post it to the Facebook page, send it as an email*, or you could post it on the wall for this page. What I'll do is take some of these responses and quote them in my post, and yes I can use specific names.. unless you'd prefer me not to. It's whatever works for you guys. Also, if you know anyone else who went that day, tell them about this response idea.
>For those of you who attended warped, but on another date, you can do the same thing, just specify which date you went to & where it was so I can compare experiences & such.
>I'd like to start my review soon, but send me your responses whenever you can; I'm in no rush :] Any other ideas you guys might have would be just super as well.
If this turns out well, I'll think about doing more like this in the future.
Thanksabunch guys :D
*my email: ovrachvr13@verizon.net
*my myspace
*the facebook page
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