But wow, what a day.
My 4th X96 BASh. This year it was a little weird, because they had it in the Spring instead of in the Fall. The weather was pretty much great. It wasn't too hot, mostly overcast. Which is perfect for a concert. Dark clouds hovered ominously, but they proved to be harmless.
Rachel and I skipped the last half of school to go and get our stuff together and get ready. It was at the USANA Ampitheater and started at 3:00PM, which is much later from the previous BASh's I've been to. They usually start around 11:00AM. We went to the USANA Ampitheater last year and were really disappointed. The set up is kind of lame; regular GA is on the grass, which is about 200 feet away from the stage. Then closer up there are seats. And in front of that it Mosh Pit GA. Last year Rachel and I got regular GA.. and vowed that next time they had it at USANA we were going to get pit tix. They usually play at different venues every year, and this is the first time since I've been going that they've played in the same venue two years in a row. We got there around 2:40 and proceeded in line.
I was stressing out all day about whether or not they were going to let me in with my camera. The sign reads "Point and Shoot camera only". Technically, my camera is point and shoot. It's not an SLR or proffessional. So in reality they should let me in with no problem. Last year I barely got through, and in all the concert I went to in between I was denied entrance with my camera. When we got to the front of the line, the security guard asked me to open my camera case. "I don't think we can let you in. It's bigger than the limit we were told." she said. "...are you really serious?" I replied. I showed her that I couldn't take the lense off, and Rachel also told this to the security guard that was checking her. "Oh, well that changes it then. I guess you can go in." she said. Man, can you say relief?
At 3:25 Mury was on stage. Their a band from SLC and they weren't bad! They were actually pretty good and Rachel and I were happy that we got to hear them. After Mury, Rachel and I hurried over to the Graywhale booth where they were having band signings. The deal was that if you bought a band's CD, you were garunteed to get to meet them and get a signature. I have ever Escape the Fate song made on my iTunes already, and I have their second CD that I bought at one of their last concerts. But I was going to do just about anything to get to meet them again :) so I bought their old CD. Ronnie was still their singer on this CD, so it sounds totally different from their new one.
While we were buying merch, Mury was to the side of us and they were still signing. The line was pretty short so Rachel and I jumped in to get our shirts signed. They signed them with personalized signatures, which was pretty cool. Most bands are cocky and want to get the signings over as quick as possible :).
At 4:30 Escape the Fate was signing. I don't think I've confessed my love for them on my blog before. Well, I was introduced to Escape the Fate at the beginning of 8th grade. The first song/music video I heard of them was Not Good Enough for Truth in Cliche. After that I was hooked. Partly because Ronnie was amazingly attractive, and also partly because the song was incredible.. If you're into mainstream Rock, that is. But Escape the Fate is more than just mainstream rock. They're unique. They probably have one of the best guitar players and bass players out there. The solos that Monte come up with are amazing (and he's even vegan!!). To quote a few reviews;
"Emo bliss mixed with a punch of hardcore that will make you want to get up dance."-Epitaph
"...makes up for what it lacks in originality with unrestrained energy, as exemplified by fast-paced, wire-tight "Situations" and the morbid, New Wave-influenced "My Apocalypse."-CD Universe.
Ronnie Radke was the lead vocals from 2004 to 2008. He has an amazing talent. The album Dying Is Your Latest Fashion is the only full album that he's featured on. In 2008 he was put on probation for being involved in a fight that led up to the death of Micheal Cook. "First we couldn't tour out of the country.. then out of the state"-Max Green. He was later sent to jail for violating his probation. Escape the Fate didn't know what to do, because they know that they had just lost an amazing singer. For a couple months they were lost, not really knowing if the band was going to make it. They were nearly ruined by their former frontman, due to his involvment in drugs and bipolar personality. "It was like walking on egg-shells, not knowing who he was going to freak out on next"-Ortiz. Then, they found Craig. Craig Mabbit, and Arizona native, is the former lead vocalist of Blessthefall. "When Craig came to us there were so many emotions. We all has this sense of desperation because of everything we had just been through. ...And everything just clicked in place better than we'd ever imagined." After Ronnie got the news of their new singer, he broke into a rage. He began writing hate blogs about his former buddies in the band. One was directly aimed at his old best friend Max Green; "Trust me you're gonna get what you deserve. Escape the Fate is ME and will always be ME. And YOU will forever live in MY shadow".
Despite all of the drama they had been through, their new CD was just as amazing as I expected. With incredible metal solos and emotional screams, This War is Ours was a hit. It was so much different than their last CD. They lost a huge amount of faithful Ronnie fans, but they gained so many more fans as well. I love both of their CDs, and I think it's sad that Ronnie is wasting his talent. As Ortiz said, instead of getting his life back together and recognizing what he has, he's sitting in jail writing hate blogs about his friends and about a women who lost her son. It's insane.
Escape the Fate isn't for everyone. And I'm pretty sure a lot of the people who read this blog probably won't like them, which is why they aren't in my playlist on the side of my blog (if I had it my way, all of their songs would be there). But please don't take my word for it. Check them out, I recommend it. Some popular [note the word "popular". I can't say "good", because they're all good:)] ones from their old CD Dying is Your Latest Fashion with Ronnie are "Reverse This Curse" "Not Good Enough for Truth in Cliche" "Situations" and "My Apocolypse". Some more popular ones from their new CD This War is Ours with Craig as the vocalist are "The Flood" "On To The Next One" "Ashley" "We Won't Back Down" and "This War is Ours (Guillotine pt. 2)" <-(this one has amazing guitar but there's more screaming in it than in the other songs). You can probably very easily find all of these on youtube or any other music site. PHEW, Back to the BASh! ;). At the 4:30 signing for Escape the Fate, Rachel and I were waiting in line. I was trying to snap a few pics of them, but it wasn't working out very well. People kept getting in the way, and I couldn't keep my camera still because I was shaking from nerves! I got an okay one of Craig.
(In most of these I used an "HDR" effect-it makes it look cooler)
I got my shirt signed by the band and it was the first time I had met Craig and Monte in person. I've met Max and Robert at earlier shows before, but Craig and Monte usually hide away.
Monte and I at the signing.
Rachel and I went against the rules and got a picture with Monte. The security guard told her to move away and she stood there and snapped a shot (good job Rach!). I love this picture!
After the signing my nerves died down a bit. They were excited before the signing when I ran into Max, and then again during their concert, and then again after when I ran into Craig and was flashed a smile. We made our way back down into the pit and found that a band called Single File was playing. They were pretty good. We were enjoying the music and then the next song was starting. "This one's called Dear Meghan." Whoa. I turned to Rach, "Did I just hear what I thought I heard?" "No, they say Dear Maiden." she replied. Psh... Dear Maiden.. Who the heck is Maiden anyways?! :P. We were listening to the song and it was confirmed that it was in fact Dear Meghan. This was pretty exciting! But the song wasn't exactly a love song.. Here are some lyrics;
Dear Meghan,
Would it kill you to be honest once in a while?
You're just findin' better ways to suit yourself...
Closer-- never close enough to hurt you.
Yeah, we're getting closer (closer), but never close enough to reach you, no.
And your smile fades with every photograph (photograph)...
All them years of blastin' ducks on Grandma's old TV,
Meghan is a vegetarian now, and so are all her peepz.
Well "LA-DI-DA", with your friends all crackin' up.
Sing, "LA-DI-DA", cuz your friends won't back you up,
Oh no...
Back you up?
Oh no...
Before my obsession with Escape the Fate, I had an extreme obsession with Madina Lake. I discovered them at my second Big Ass Show which was at the Salt Palace. I think it was mainly the cute singer and the cute bassist in the band that got me hooked. And the music, of course. The bassist and singer are twins. I got a few good pictures while they were playing.
Singer-Nathan Leone
Bassist-Mathew Leone
Guitarist-Mateo Camargo
Drummer-Dan Torelli
While writing this blog I remembered that I got a poster of them signed at the last BASh I saw them at. I think it's funny that I knew EXACTLY where it was. It fell behind my dresser forever ago, and I just went and fished it out :).
After Madina Lake, Rachel and I pushed to the front where Escape the Fate was going to be playing. We took precautions as to who we were standing by (big macho emo men=HUUUGE moshpit=danger). We got pretty close, about as close as I was at their last concert at the Murray Theater. The only difference was the lighting and security; at this concert I could get some amazing photos. My grip was extremely tight around my camera through the whole concert. I never put it away, however. I wanted to make sure I got as many photos as I could, for this opportunity probably wasn't going to happen again. As we were waiting, I noticed a huge hole in the bottom of my bag.. Just my luck, right? I didn't know what to do. I couldn't hold my bag, and my camera, and rock out at the same time. It just wasn't going to happy. I took my signed shirt and wrapped it around my bags and pulled the drawstring around the end. That would do if it was held with care.. which is something I wouldn't have during the concert. Rachel being her amazignly kind self took the bag for me and held it during the concert, and I took her bag in return and wore it on my back. I felt like I was going to faint because of the anticipation crawling throughout my body. My stomach wrenched. Finally, they arrived. They started out with their recent single, the Flood. The music hardly reached my ears as I was frantically trying to get pictures of Robert on the drums before his signature sunglasses fell off by the power of rock.
Drummers are hard to shoot! They're in the very back, they are constantly in motion, and the other musicians are always walking in front of them. These are two good ones I got before his sunglasses evidentally fell off....
...but he still kept rocking :)
The next song they played was another hit single off their album, "Something". The music actually got to my ears on this one ;). My legs were shaking like crazy because I was so excited, it was hard to get pictures! I hadto stand on my tippy toes and I was about to fall over because my legs were pretty much numb :).
"Can you help me understand?"
The next song they played was "Ashley". It's pretty much a love song about a girl named Ashley! This song is also pretty popular. I'm not totally sure who Ashley is exactly. But a good guess might be Craig's daughter.. or girlfriend. Or maybe someone in Monte's life, because he write a lot of the songs too!
"Spread these wings so I can fly.."
"Ashley, baby.."
After Ashley, they played "10 Miles Wide". They just barely got done filming their new music video for this one.. I'm excited for its premier :)
"I've got a hole inside...
..and it's 10 mile wide."
Craig got a little excited... ? :P
After 10 miles wide, they played This War is Ours (Guillotine pt.2) I love the beginning of this song because Monte has a sick riff for it. It's a lot more screamo than the rest of their songs, but I love it.
"Yes I will see you, on the front lines of war."
-everyone was jamming so hard.. I loved it.
"This is where we conquer them."
"We have to find a better way out of this tragedy.."
"This War is Ours"
Maxy Boy taking a break between songs.
The last song they played is one of their really famous ones from their old album Dying is Your Latest Fashion. It's called Situations and I must say it's pretty catchy. When I tried filming it, I played it back and you could hardly hear Craig's voice because everyone in the pit was singing along.
"The situations are irrelevant now."
Robert Ortiz-looking at the camera?
"She can't behave, and I'm just a slave."
Craig impressed at the cheer-off. Pit vs. Lawn.
Robert, throwing drumsticks at the end.
After ETF, I was perfectly content with packing up and heading home :) no other concert was going to beat their anyways! After Escape the Fate, Rachel and I went to get something to eat. While she was ordering, I saw Craig walk by the Live and Local bands, just standing there and watching. On his way back I was kind of staring at him (whoops) and I smiled. He smiled back, and it pretty much made the rest of my day :).
Rachel and I went back to the pit to watch Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. I got a few pictures of these guys. Their singer is an amazing screamer. On Face Down, when it came to the bridge.. It was like effortless to him. I loved watching it.
After Red Jumpsuit, Unwritten Law played next. These guys were pretty good. I have never really listened to them before that day, but they weren't bad. Rachel and I wandered around the tents a little bit during the Unwritten Law performance. The lead singer of a local band called The Recovery came up to us and had us listen to one of their songs on his ipod. They were pretty good and asked us if we would buy one of their CDs. They were really nice about it and said that would take anything we offered. I gave them 8 bucks for one, and Rach gave them 6. I was pretty excited that I was learning about all these cool new bands at this concert! (That's one thing I love about concerts).
After Unwritten Law was the headlining band, The Offspring. Everyone packed together so close that personal bubbles were no longer an option. It was dark, and about 10:15. It seemed like they took an eternity to set up. My back was utterly killing me. It hurt so bad that I could hardly stand anymore. I just really wanted the show to start so that I would forget about the dull pain that was eating me away. Finally, the show started at about 10:40. Rachel's mom was already there, because we called her earlier (thinking that The Offspring were going to start earlier). My back was still aching, but we stayed for a couple of songs. We met some pretty cool people standing next to us during the long wait as well. Rachel and I made our way up the hill and out of the Usana Ampitheatre. Her mom was waiting for us, and as soon as I sat down in the car my back instantly felt better. We listen to The Recovery on the way home as we excitedly shared our experiences with Rachel's mom. The night came to an almost-end when Rachel and I got back to my house. We got our signed shirts out and started to "deck them out". We were proud of the results, and finally got to bed at about 3:00AM.
My 4th BASh was an amazing experience. I think it was one of the best ones yet, as my favorite band was there and I actually got to meet the whole band. I also got to take pictures, which also led into other amazing experiences, and hopefully more. The Warped Tour is somewhat similar to the BASh, because many bands play. Escape The Fate is playing at the SLC Warped Tour on August 8th, and I am SOOO EXCITED!!! Can't wait! I hope I can get in with my camera again :).
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