The Top 6 Bands I Saw at Bamboozle 2010

6.  Saves the Day

I love Saves the Day, so their return to their home state’s music festival was exciting for the audience and the band. Even though they played the same songs as they did during their tour with New Found Glory, it was still a wonderful performance. Saves the Day mixed a few of their new songs with old classics for the fans to enjoy. The crowd went nuts during hits like “Firefly” and “At Your Funeral.” I can never get enough of Saves the Day.

Setlist:

All-Star Me
The End
Radio
Anywhere With You
Firefly
Holly Hox, Forget Me Nots
Can’t Stay the Same
Eulogy
Freakish
Shoulder to the Wheel
At Your Funeral
Kaleidoscope

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5.  Paramore

Even though the disrespect of Drake’s overlong performance was a buzzkill for the thousands of fans waiting for Paramore, once they came on everyone left all their frustration behind and enjoyed the Nashville pop-rockers light up the stage with their energy and their professionalism. Front-woman Hayley Williams has matured a lot since Paramore first formed and now has the stage presence comparable to that of Gwen Stefani. Her vocal range has also improved dramatically since their debut album “All We Know is Falling.” As the headliners of Saturday, the pop-punk crowd went bonkers for these stars.The highlight of their set was when they played their hit “crushcrushcrush” followed by an extended-rock version of “Let the Flames Begin.” I absolutely loved the excitement the band had for headlining Bamboozle and they returned the favor by putting on a memorable set.

Setlist:

Looking Up
That’s What You Get
Playing God
Pressure
For a Pessimist, I’m Pretty Optimistic
Turn It Off
The Only Exception
Whoa
crushcrushcrush
Let the Flames Begin
Ignorance
Where the Lines Overlap
Careful
Brick By Boring Brick
Decode
Misery Business

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4.  Motion City Soundtrack

These guys are definitely one of my favorite bands to see live. Their energy and crowd-friendly tunes with sing-a-longs make a perfect blend of an awesome live performance. Out of the entire weekend, Motion City Soundtrack had one of the best and most fun crowds. There were a lot of people in the audience for MCS and they returned the favor by putting on a totally rocking set.

Setlist:

Worker Bee/The Future Freaks Me Out
My Favorite Accident
Her Words Destroyed My Planet
This is for Real
Attractive Today
A Lifeless Ordinary (Need a Little Help)
Broken Heart
Disappear
L.G.F.U.A.D
Everything is Alright

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3.  Girl Talk

I’ll admit, I had my doubts for Gregg Michael Gillis (better known as his stage name Girl Talk) when my friends talked about him. After some research, I couldn’t comprehend how much fun listening to samples of songs mashed together could be. But with a laptop on stage, Gillis brought his game to the stage and pumped out forty minutes of club-like mash-ups that had the entire crowd (including the dozens of people on stage) dancing with their arms in the air. Add on the toilet paper leaf-blowers, beach balls, confetti, and light show at dusk and it was an outdoor, dance-party, mayhem of fun. Girl Talk was definitely the big surprise for me this weekend. I never knew I could have so much fun at an artist I knew nothing about.

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2.  Weezer

Ah yes. The headliners of the entire festival: Weezer. This was my first time seeing the nerd-rock legends. I was supposed to see them at Susquehanna Center a few months ago but Rivers’ bus accident resulted in the cancelation of that concert. So as you can imagine, I was extremely stoked for the last band of the weekend. It was the perfect way to end an insanely fun weekend.

Weezer packed a powerful punch as they basically played all of their hits they ever recorded. Rivers was moving all around the stage, jumping on the drumset, spazzing out, dancing, smashing a ukulele over his head, and throwing guitars and mic stands everywhere. This was a lot more entertaining than the solemn Weezer that I was expecting. Although I was a bit disappointed with the setlist, they still put on an amazing show.

Rivers gave the fans in the back a close-up view when he walked into the crowd for “Let It All Hang Out.” The highlight of their set was performing the insanely popular and edgy “Say It Ain’t So.” And of course, their covers of MGMT’s “Kids” and Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” was something to remember.

Setlist:

Hash Pipe
Troublemaker
Undone – The Sweater Song
Surf Wax America
Let It All Hang Out
Perfect Situation
Dope Nose (Scott Shriner singing)
Say It Ain’t So
Can’t Stop Partying
Why Bother? (Brian Bell singing)
(If You’re Wondering If I want You To) I Want  You To
My Name is Jonas
Beverly Hills

Encore:
Pork and Beans
Kids/Poker Face Cover

Encore 2:
Island in the Sun
Buddy Holly

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1.  Something Corporate

The long-awaited return of Andrew McMahon’s Something Corporate was greeted by hungry fans as the sun was setting on Saturday. Personally, Something Corporate has been on a list of bands I have to see for years. And since Andrew’s been with Jack’s Mannequin for the past half decade, this opportunity was long overdue. All I can say is that I was not disappointed one bit by SoCo’s East Coast reunion performance. It was a privilige to hear the songs that I grew up with through high school and the crowd for SoCo was nothing less than stellar. I only wish they had a longer set time instead of handing the night to those mainstream radio acts in Ke$ha and Drake. I can only hope for a reunion tour across the country. If that happens, you can bet that I’ll be there.

The highlight of the set was when Andrew announced he was going to play a song that he said has “haunted me wherever I go.” Immediately, everyone knew the almost-ten-minute-ballad of “Konstantine” was coming. Hearing the emotional piano-ballad with the beautiful backdrop of the sun setting will forever be in my memory.

Setlist:

Hurricane
21 and Invicible
I Woke Up in a Car
Me and the Moon
Fall
Space
iF U C Jordan
Konstantine
Punk Rock Princess

Paramore – Brick by Boring Brick

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What’s with this craze for Alice in Wonderland?  There’s that Alice mini-series on SyFy, the Tim Burton adaptation starring Johnny Depp, and now Paramore does a music video with the Alice theme.  Heck who cares, it looks freakin’ awesome!

Hayley Williams and Rob Pattinson Interview

 

Check out this neat video of Paramore’s front-woman, Hayley Williams and Twilight star, Rob Pattinson, interviewing each other.

Official Paramore Video from ‘Twilight’

 

Here’s a link to the MTV Movies Blog that is carrying the official release of the Paramore music video “Decode” from the Twilight soundtrack.

http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2008/11/03/watch-paramores-twilight-music-video-decode/

 

From one of the biggest current bands, this video only boosts Twilight’s insane anticipation.  And it’s a very smart move because both attract the same demographic.  There’s no doubt the vampire-romance of Twilight is going to be highly successful.  Hell, I’ve never read a single word from a Stephenie Meyer novel and I’m stoked for this movie.  But as for the song, “Decode” isn’t that good.  It probably would’ve been on the cutting board to both Paramore’s albums.  It’s not a typical Paramore song, but I guess that’s why it’s a Twilight soundtrack song… though that doesn’t mean the song can’t be good.  Example:  Dashboard Confessional’s “Vindicated” from Spider-Man 2.  That was the movie’s official song and still fit in with DC’s sound and style, and was pretty damn awesome.  But there’s no doubt this will make teen girls scream their lungs out for their excitement that their favorite band, Paramore, is being featured on their favorite book-into-movie, Twilight.

Grammy Predictions

Okay, I admit I’ve been spending a lot of time talking and analyzing the Oscar race… so for this post I’m going to dive into some unfamiliar waters and post my predictions for the upcomming Grammy Awards.  Again, like I’ve mentioned before, I do not know how the Grammy’s are decided, or what they look for… nor do I really care.  It seems to me that these awards go to the bands and artists who are the most popular… I mean, why else would Paramore get a Grammy nomination?  And why else would “Umbrella” by Rihanna be here as well?  Sure, they get huge radio-play… but other than that, are these artists that good?  Where are the bands with the raving reviews from music critics across the country?  The Field?  Arcade Fire?  Sufjan Stevens?  But anyway… here are my predictions…
Album of the Year – Amy Winehouse
Record of the Year – Rihanna “Umbrella”
Best New Artist – Amy Winehouse
Song of the Year – “Before He Cheats” Carrie Underwood
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance – Feist or Christina Aguilera
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance – Justin Timberlake
Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance – Paul McCartney
Best Rock Album – Bruce Springsteen “Magic”
Best Rock Song – Bruce Springsteen “Radio Nowhere”
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration – “Umbrella” Rihanna and Jay-Z
Best Rap Song – “Crank That” Soulja Boy
Best Rap Album – Kanye West “Graduation”
Best Pop Vocal Album – Amy Winehouse “Back to Black”

There you have it… but another thing I want to touch on… what’s up with these categories?  Best Rap/Sung Collaboration?  Best Male Pop Vocal Performance?  I don’t even know what those mean.  Nonetheless, I’ll surely watch the Grammy’s because it’s usually a pretty good show. 

I don’t usually pick up new albums when they’re released, and I definitely haven’t listened to a lot of 2007 releases…. but the albums that stand out in my mind the most from 2007 are “In Rainbows” by Radiohead and “Neon Bible” by The Arcade Fire.  Those two albums stunned me in their unique ways.  Those are definitely my two favorite albums from the past year.