Summer Ends Music Festival

     After this weekend it really does feel like summer is over. Not that I'm complaining, I can't wait for this fall/winter. This past Friday and Saturday I went to this really awesome music festival. I'll break it down by days because I feel like so much has happened.

Friday:
     I made my way down to Tempe Beach Park at about 6pm, an hour before my first volunteer shift. I signed up to volunteer on Friday and Saturday which allowed me to get into the entire festival for free so that was really nice. The first act I saw was O.A.R. I didn't think I knew who they were so it was a happy surprise to find that I was able to sing along to a lot of the songs. It was a cool night and the entire park was filled with university students. After O.A.R., I began my shift at the water truck. I spent the next two hours with another girl filling up little water cups. The water table was right next to the main stage so we had the perfect view to see Lindsey Stirling perform. If you don't know who she is, I suggest looking her up. She plays the violin and she resemble a pixie the way she dances and hops around stage.
     After volunteering, I stuck around for a couple more hours to watch the American Authors and Capital Cities. American Authors were my favorite act of the night. The lead singer, Zac Barnett, got really involved with the crowd. He said he felt too far away from us,so he jumped off stage and sang a few songs while leaning across the barricade that separated him from the fans. There was one time that he ran over to exactly where I was standing and he sang with such passion. I love those kind of performers, the ones where you can tell they are doing exactly what they want to do in life.
     Capital Cities did a really good job but I didn't stay for the last half of their set. I was surprised that they attracted an older audience. I don't know where they came from, but a bunch of people in their late 30s, maybe 40s, were dancing and singing. I love seeing that the festival was able to make everyone happy.

Saturday:
     Where do I start. Well, if you don't know, this was the named "the wettest day in Arizona history". Before the rain hit, the day was beautiful. The sky was filled with clouds and there was a nice breeze. I got to see a local band called Katastro play. My dad sat towards the back of the park while I had the best spot in the house, right up against the barricade, slightly right of center stage. There was a reason I made sure to have the best spot. The next act to perform after Katastro was going to be one of my favorite bands, The Maine. I loved being slightly right of center because I was able to see all five members perfectly, especially Garrett, the bassist. I spotted Pat (drummer), Kennedy (guitarist), and Garrett setting up on stage before IT happened.
     A giant, dark cloud was quickly approaching but that was not going to make me give up my spot. Unfortunately, that choice wasn't up to me. Security made everyone at the festival take cover under the bridge. Everyone laughed because, well, it couldn't be that bad. It was Arizona, after all. Oh, were we wrong. The storm was nothing like anyone expected. I later found out that the storm had 60+ mph winds and up to 2 inches of rain in just two hours. I know I would've fallen over a few times if it wasn't for the nice people around me. Police ordered everyone to head towards the parking garage. By the time I made it to the garage, I felt like I just went swimming. I soon got a message saying that the event had been cancelled for the day. I couldn't - wouldn't - believe it. I was literally just about to see The Maine and they had announced that it was their last Arizona show for the year.
     Anyways, I'm going to fast forward a few hours. A new message went out saying that the rest of the shows planned for the day had been moved to the Marquee. If you don't know the Marquee, it holds just about 1,000 people. Good thing there were less than 1000 people who paid for tickets, but people who had comp tickets (like myself) had to rely on "first come first serve" to get into the venue. (Side note: A few weeks ago I won tickets for Day 2 of the festival because I wrote this thing about how much I wanted to see The Maine and a website gave me a pair of free tickets.) I waited two hours in front of the venue, impatiently watching all the paid viewers go inside to get ready for the first act which just happened to be The Maine. I'm not even sure how to say this because I can't even describe how I feel. While I waited outside, The Maine performed their show inside. They had the shortest set - only 20 minutes, just enough time for four songs. The second I got inside, they walked off stage. I was speechless. How ironic was it that I won tickets to see this band and ended up missing their show? Who knew free tickets could be a bad thing...
     Moving on from that huge disappointment, I was still able to enjoy a few other bands. The first band I saw was Switchfoot. Even though I was most looking forward to Taking Back Sunday and The Descendents, these guys were probably my favorite part of the night. They were so energetic and lively. The lead singer and bassist (I think it was the bassist) were brothers so I thought it was pretty cool how they have had the experience of being in a band together. The lead singer was also one of those performers who like to get close to the audience. He stood against the barricade and there was even one part of the show where he crowd surfed!
     The next band was Taking Back Sunday. I felt bad because a lot of the equipment was destroyed in the storm so their sound was a bit sketchy. They still put on a great show though. Unfortunately, they didn't play my favorite song (Flicker, Fade) but they still played a lot of songs I knew and was able to sing along to.
     After TBS, The Descendents took the stage. I never, ever would have thought that I would see The Descendents live in concert. They were first formed in 1978, 18 years before I was born!! Age had no effect on these four guys, they played with as much energy as they probably did in the 80s. I have to admit, it was funny to hear guys in their 40s sing a couple songs about girls and how much school sucks! They are literally the fathers of punk. It was amazing to be able to hear them rock out.
     The next group was The Replacements, which I am sad to say I missed because I left after The Descendents. I heard it was The Replacements first club show in twenty something years which is pretty incredible.


     The third day of the festival still took place. Much of the equipment and stage was ruined during the storm and the power at the park was still not on, so the shows had to go on in the Marquee. I didn't go to third day but I was still able to get something out of it. Volunteers, who were allowed to go to all three days for free because of their help, were unable to get into the venue because it hit full capacity. To make it up to us, the coordinators of the festival are gifting us with a pair of tickets to any upcoming Marquee show. While I'm still bummed that I couldn't volunteer and help out, you can say I'm pretty happy with this news. Some of the bands that headlined Sunday included Foster the People, Violent Femmes, Fitz & the Tantrums and Kongos.


And that was my weekend.

✖ Nikole ✖

Some of the songs I listened to while writing this:
Cigarette Daydreams (Cage the Elephant), Young Hearts (Strange Talk), Bad (The Cab), Off to the Races (Lana Del Rey), When the Sun Goes Down (Arctic Monkeys), Voo Doo Doll (5SOS), Bad Blood (Bastille) and then a bunch of songs from Jimmy Eat World

I'm Back! (...hopefully)

     I could have sworn that I had more than two posts on here. I have a feeling I started a second blog somewhere but I have no clue where it would be. I really wish I would've stuck with this blogging thing over the summer but too late now. There are a couple of reasons why I wanted to bring it back up. One, I just finished my first rough draft of my first story for my school's magazine this year. I was a little nervous to start writing journalistically (that's not a word) again because for the past two years I thought I was going to major in biology... Yeah, that's not happening. The research part of biology was cool and I still love the subject, but the thought of doing it for the rest of my life is scary. So I'm going back to my game plan when I was a freshmen which was to go into journalism. Honestly, I regret ever taking a break from magazine/writing. At least I'm back again. The second reason I decided to dig this blog back up again was because I've been reading my twin's blog and it's really inspired me to start blogging again. Okay, so she's not really my twin, but we are a lot alike.
     I might start blogging regularly, I might not. I'm probably going to treat this blog more like a diary (again, inspired by my twiiin). It's less formal and easier read, so why not. I still want to blog about the concerts I go to. That will be the major theme of my - whatever you want to call "this."
   
      Here's a list of my future concerts and (hopefully) future blog topics:

     September:
     Summer Ends Music Festival (THIS WEEKEND!!)

     October:
     -Blink 182 (Oct. 11)

     November (I really can't wait for this month) :
     -Pierce the Veil and Sleeping with Sirens (Nov. 8)
     -5 Seconds of Summer (Nov. 13)
     -The Ready Set (Nov. 19)
     -The 1975 (Nov. 20)

     I might even write about a couple of the recent concerts I went to. I was at Warped Tour over the summer. I also got to go to the Monumentour (Fall Out Boy, Paramore, New Politics) and Where We Are Tour (5sos, One Direction).
     Not sure how to end this. I hope I'll be on again soon. I have a feeling I will be. Until then, farewell.

✖ Nikole ✖

Some of the songs I listened to while writing this:
Stuck on You (New Politics), On Your Side (A Rocket to the Moon), Photograph (Ed Sheeran), Beside You (5SOS), Always (Panic at the Disco), Trouble (nevershoutnever), If You're Wondering... (Weezer)

Twenty One Pilots Concert // Tempe, Arizona

    On May 7 I went to the the Twenty One Pilots concert at the Marquee Theater in Tempe, Arizona. The opening acts included Hunter Hunted and NONONO.
    If you have never heard of this band, it includes two guys, Tyler Joseph (singer, pianist, guitarist, ukulele-ist) and Josh Dun (drummer). The duo formed the band during high school in Ohio back in 2009. They have three albums: "Twenty One Pilots" (2009), "Regional at Best" (2011) and "Vessels" (2013). Twenty One Pilots remind me of a mix between Eminem and fun. The verses resemble rap while the choruses tend to be more pop. The band refers to themself as a "distinctive fusion of piano-driven schizoid pop and lyrical uplift."
    The two opening acts are a little less unheard of. Hunter Hunted, formed in early 2013, are an indie pop band from Los Angeles. The members include Dan Chang and Michael Garner. They released their first EP in 2013 and have an album coming Fall 2014. NONONO are a Swedish trio with an electro-dance type of tune. Their most well-known song called "Pumpin Blood" debuted in 2013.

Ok, now I'll get to the actual concert.

    The Marquee is a small venue that holds roughly 1000 people. My spot in the venue was halfway between the stage and the exit, and I had a good view of everyone in the band. The first to make an appearance was Hunter Hunted. I admit that I had never heard of this band before that night so I didn't know what to expect. Their microphone stands were wrapped in white Christmas lights and the stage was giving off a comfortable feel. The band looked at ease on stage and the crowd sang Happy Birthday to Dan. They didn't try to just play to the audience, but also have a conversation. I always find this surprising because it isn't easy trying to talk to the audience as an opening group when you know the majority of the audience is waiting for the main act. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really enjoyed their sound, and I picked up their EP after the show. This is definitely a band that you can listen and chill out to.
    The morning of the concert, I listened to NONONO's EP to have an idea of who else I would be seeing that night. If I'm being honest, I enjoyed Hunter Hunted's show more. NONONO didn't act or sound like they wanted to be on stage that night. Their songs sounded rushed and they didn't talk much. What I heard on their studio-recorded EP didn't sound like what I heard that night. There were on stage, played about 5 songs, and were gone.
    Now to the part that everyone in the venue was waiting for. Jumping on to stage with their traditional ski masks in place, Twenty One Pilots opened their show with the song Guns for Hands. Talk about a light show. A storm of flashing lights of all colors flooded the venue and that was the theme for much of the show. Josh was stable in his seat, drumming away, while Tyler ran everywhere and anywhere on stage. The only time Tyler wasn't moving was when he was seated at his piano or when he was playing the ukulele during House of Gold. There were many memorable parts to the show but the first one that comes to mind is the dual drumming that Tyler and Josh showed off towards the end of the night. The room was black except for flashing blue lights that illuminated the two. The moment was filled with such energy and passion that it isn't easy to put into words. A second amazing moment is a special interaction with the crowd that I have never seen or heard of happening at any other concert. First they send out platforms into the crowd and it is either equipped with a small drum set or nothing at all. At one moment, Tyler was on top of the platform, singing his heart out. Another time, Josh was drumming right on top of the crowd. Unfortunately, I wasn't close enough to really touch the platform so it's difficult to describe. It's something that's hard to appreciate without seeing.
    Twenty One Pilots preformed most of their Vessels album along with a couple songs from their first album. What I was happy to find out was that the duo were better live than they are in the studio. You can feel the energy and hear the emotion in Tyler's voice as he shouts the lyrics. A lot of energy was put in to the two encore songs, Car Radio and Trees. It was a great feeling to be able to listen to Car Radio live because Tyler wrote about how "sometimes silence is violent," but with their music, Twenty One Pilots gave everyone in the venue something to connect to. The night had no reason to be silent. Tyler is extremely talented with words and his speech before their final song was the perfect ending to a great show.

"Whatever's weighing you down, whatever it is

that you're going through right now;

you can use these songs,

you can use this show,

to leave it all here tonight." -Tyler Joseph

When they took their final bows, the smiles on their faces were brighter than the light show. You could tell that they were at home on stage.


--Nikole--

Tuning In

    Hello! My name is Nikole, and I've started this blog to talk about music and recent concerts I've been to. I'm currently thinking about majoring in journalism (specifically music journalism) once I attend college. I figured I should start writing stuff down if I want to be a journalist. I'm not too sure what my ideas are for this blog but my thoughts just include writing reviews on recent bands I'm listening to and reviews of concerts I have gone to. I might as well have this first post be an "about me" post so I'll tell you a bit about myself. This probably isn't considered professional, but this is also me figuring out how to use this Blogger website (and I'm not professional).

1. My favorite band of all time is Blink 182. I have too many other favorite bands to list here.
2. The first concert that I can remember is Kelly Clarkson back in 2008.
3. My favorite concert I have been to would have to be Blink 182 in 2011 during the Honda Civic Tour. The opening acts included My Chemical Romance and Matt & Kim. 
4. My favorite concert experience was when I saw Green Day at the Marquee Theater in Tempe, Arizona. That was the first time I witnessed a mosh pit and crowd surfing. A second favorite is All Time Low in 2014 because it was the first time I was against the barricade that separates you from the stage. I have never been that close. 
5.  My music taste is very expansive (I would like to think), but if I had to pick a favorite genre, it would be punk.
6. I considered majoring in biology, but I can't picture myself in a lab anymore. Music is my passion.
7. Sadly, I do not know how to play any instruments. I wish I could play guitar or piano or the ukulele. I have a guitar so I'm considering about picking that up again and trying to teach myself over the summer.
8. My favorite movie is Almost Famous.
9. I want to travel. Anywhere. Everywhere.
10. I don't want this blog to be very formal. I just want to test it out and have fun with it. (Knowing me, I will probably dedicate myself to this for a month and then forget about it. Or probably not. Who knows)

So I noticed that this ended up being a "My Favorite..." list than anything else. 

I hope I can update this blog a lot during the summer. I know I can talk about music for days and months and years. I feel like I can have fun with this.

*insert catchy signing off phrase I'll think of later here*

--Nikole--

Songs I listened to while writing this:

Let's Dance to Joy Division (The Wombats), Jet (Paul McCartney), Viva la Gloria (Green Day), Mountains (Biffy Clyro), In Too Deep (Sum 41), Goodnight Moon (Go Radio), Island in the Sun (Weezer), Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison)