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Warpage set to Warp Plaid at Montage Mountain

By Michael Meade

Posted 7/28/10 1:00PM EST

The 2010 Vans Warped Tour hit the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton Pennsylvania on Thursday July 15 2010 for a day of revelry and great music to a crowd of thousands. Despite the heat of the day the grounds of Montage were filled with fans, street team members, vendors, even monks! Summer at the Warped Tour was never better than it was this summer in Scranton. Spread around the Toyota Pavilion’s grounds were the seven stages of the 2010 Warped Tour including the Stewart Teggart Main stage, the Altec Lansing Stage, the Skull Candy Stage, the Glamour Kills Stage, the AP Advent Stage, the Kia Kevin Says Stage, and the Ernie Ball Stage.

Hosted on these stages for the Scranton stop were: Motion City Soundtrack, Bring Me The Horizon, We The Kings, Face to Face, Bouncing Souls (their last day on the Warped Tour), Alkaline Trio, Reel Big Fish, Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die, Andrew W.K., The All American Rejects, Attack Attack, Parkway Drive, Emmure, Whitechapel, Four Year Strong, Set Your Goals, You me at Six, Hey Monday, Breathe Carolina, Pierce the Veil, Suicide Silence, Confide, AM Taxi, Of Mice and Men, Tomorrows Bad Seeds, We Are The In Crowd, Call The Cops, After Midnight Project, In Fear and Faith, Breathe Electric, Far From Finished, Fight Fair, I Can Make a Mess.. (Ace Enders), Alesana, The Summer Set, VersaEmerge, Sparks The Rescue, Sum 41, I See Stars, Enter Shikari, Artist Vs. Poet, The Cab, Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band, The Casualties, Polar Bear Club, The Rocket Summer, The Pretty Reckless, NeverShoutNever, Fake Problems, Anarbor, Mike Posner, The Heisman Hopefuls, Kelsey and The Chaos, Left Alone, Dr. Madvibes, Set Phasers to Stun, Middle Finger Salute, Gardening Not Architecture, The Bigger Lights, Automatic Loveletter, The Mighty Regis, The Flatliners, Flatfoot 56, The Downtown Fiction, Motionless in White, A Clear Blur, Kaeyo, An Oceans Glance, Terror on The Screen, The Groundbreaking Ceremony, Eyes Set to Kill, The Sparring, Riverboat Gamblers, Closure in Moscow, The Swellers, Emarosa, Mayday Parade, Dinner and a Suit.

Motion City Soundtrack - Photo: Peter Yang

The 11 o’clock hour saw performances by Motion City Soundtrack on the Teggart Main stage, Attack Attack on the Altec Lansing Stage, The Cab on the AP Advent Stage, The Heisman Hopefuls on the Kia Kevin Says Stage, Confide on the Skull Candy Stage, A Clear Blur on the Ernie Ball Stage, and I Can Make a Mess.. (Ace Enders) on the Glamour Kills Stage. Motion City Soundtrack kicked off the day with their alternative flavored songs that including hits “A Lifeless Ordinary (Need A Little Help)”and “Her Words Destroyed My Planet”. During their set MCS took time to plug their latest promotion, The Give A Little Help Campaign*; a contest where MCS gives $3,500 to three lucky winners to be used for a charity of their choosing.

Alesana - Photo: Michael Meade

Noon heralded Bring Me The Horizon on the Teggart Main stage, Kelsey and The Chaos and Left Alone on the Kia Kevin Says stage, Parkway Drive on the Altec Lansing Stage, AM Taxi on the Skull Candy Stage, Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band on the AP Advent Stage, Kaeyo on the Ernie Ball Stage, and Alesana on the Glamour Kills Stage. Alesana turned the Glamour Kills Stage into a showcase of hardcore fury and brought about the first circle pit of the day TLR! was witness to. The crowd stayed on the edge of frenzy for Alesana until the end of their set, with thunderous applause for the inclusion of a young punk from the crowd on vocals for their second to last song.

Amethyst Jeans Giveaway - Photo: Michael Meade

The first long line in the vendor section wasn’t for a band meet and greet as would be expected at Warped Tour, no it was in fact for Amethyst Jeans’ Denim Tour Jean Giveaway. Amethyst Jeans has been touring with Warped for all of their 2010 stops and will be until the conclusion of the tour. The line for the 1PM giveaway was at least 100 deep and growing as people signed up right to the last second for a chance at a free pair of jeans from Amethyst, and there were a few fights that came close to breaking out over the free Amethyst t-shirts randomly tossed to the crowd during the giveaway. Even some hardcore skate punks wandered over from the Vans Skate Ramp to see if they could score during the product toss. Amethyst Jeans gave away well over 500 pairs of their jeans at the top of every hour from twelve noon until five thirty.

We The Kings - Photo: Michael Meade

The Summer Set - Photo: Michael Meade

Meanwhile We The Kings were keeping the crowd amped during the height of the day’s heat for their 1PM performance on the Stewart Teggart Main stage. Couples dancing during We The Kings’ romantic numbers, beach balls flying through the crowd, people on each other’s shoulders; all the sights that make you think of a summer concert all taking place in a half hour set. We The Kings kept their performance on high throughout their set with hits like “Check Yes Juliet”, “All Again For You”, amongst others. The hour also heard sets from Emmure on the Altec Lansing Stage, Of Mice and Men on the Skull Candy Stage, Dr. Madvibes and Set Phasers to Stun on the Kia Kevin Says Stage, Terror on the Screen on the Ernie Ball Stage, The Casualties on the AP Advent Stage, and The Summer Set on the Glamour Kills Stage. The Summer Set jammed out their indie/pop sound to the support of their fans while earning a lot of new fans in the Scranton area. The crowd was serenaded with Summer Set songs that included “The Boys You Do (Get Back At You)”, “Young”, and “Close To Me”. The Summer Set sports solid musicianship across the board, and vocals; that despite their pop pep are enjoyable. Drums stand out particularly well thanks to drummer Jess Bowen’s jamming prowess; she provides a solid backbone to The Summer Set’s sound.

Jess Bowen of The Summer Set - Photo: Meade

VersaEmerge - Photo: Michael Meade

Hour four of Warped Tour held Face To Face on the Teggart Main stage, Four Year Strong on the Altec Lansing Stage, Polar Bear Club on the AP Advent Stage, The Ground Breaking Ceremony and Eyes Set To Kill on the Ernie Ball Stage, Middle Finger Salute on the Kia Kevin Says Stage, VersaEmerge on the Glamour Kills Stage, and Tomorrows Bad Seeds on the Skull Candy Stage. VersaEmerge was definitely the stand out band of the relatively up and coming acts featured on the Glamour Kills Stage this year, keeping the crowd’s attention rapt and focused on their performance with experimental alt-pop songs, including the title song of their current album “Fixed At Zero”.

Sierra of VersaEmerge - Photo: Meade

Tomorrows Bad Seeds - Photo: Meade

Tomorrows Bad Seeds also kept the crowd entranced at the Skull Candy Stage with their fusion of rock, reggae, and ska. Dancing, a small circle pit, and deep grooves colored TBS’s set, proving to be a definite favorite on the Skull Candy Stage; Tomorrows Bad Seeds was truly one of the best bands playing the two o’clock hour on any stage of the Warped Tour with “Uplift”, “Only For You”, and “Warrior Poet”. TBS also spent time signing and greeting fans in the official tent for the Lion’s Gate feature film The Expendables; TBS was chosen to be their official Warped Tour liaisons.

Alkaline Trio - Photo: Meade

The halfway point of the day had jamming sets from Alkaline Trio, Set Your Goals, Sparks The Rescue, The Rocket Summer, Call The Cops Gardening Not Architechure, and The Sparring. Each respectively played the Teggart Main stage, the Altec Lansing Stage, the Glamour Kills Stage, the AP Advent Stage, the Skull Candy Stage, the Kia Kevin Says Stage, and the Ernie Ball Stage. Alkaline Trio inspired a wave of crowd surfing larger than any other band on the Main stage excepting The All American Rejects and Andrew W.K. Joining them on stage was Bouncing Souls guitarist Pete Steinkopf as a goodbye to the 2010 Warped Tour.

Pete Steinkopf - Photo: Meade

Reel Big Fish - Photo: Meade

The four o’clock slots had Reel Big Fish on the Teggart Stage, You me at Six on the Altec Lansing Stage, After Midnight Project on the Skull Candy Stage, Automatic Loveletter on the Kia Kevin Says Stage, Sum 41 on the Glamour Kills Stage, The Pretty Reckless on the AP Advent Stage, The Riverboat Gamblers and Closure in Moscow on the Ernie Ball Stage. Reel Big Fish was in fine form for their 2010 Warped appearance, as soon as the applause for their entrance died down, the band waved at the crowd and thanked them for an awesome and walked off stage… the running gag for their whole set. Crowd surfing, circle dancing, jumping around, and mild hysteria ensued among Reel Big Fish’s longtime fans; culminating when the band played their biggest hits “Sell Out” and “Beer”. Though “She Has A Girlfriend Now” garnered a loud uproar from several ladies throughout the crowd. Reel Big Fish gathered together one of the larger crowds the Teggart Mainstage saw for the day, showing that real fans don’t care how often a band charts (which in Reel Big Fish’s case is not enough, due to the decline in popularity of ska on mainstream radio). Automatic Loveletter’s set on the Kia Kevin Says Stage drew quite a crowd as well, keeping the people jamming in the afternoon heat with Juliet Simms’ awesome vocals serving as focal point to their alt/indie-pop sound.

Aaron Barret - Photo Michael Meade

Happy Hour sported performances from Dillinger Escape Plan on the Teggart Stage, Hey Monday on the Altec Lansing Stage, In Fear and Faith on the Skull Candy Stage, The Mighty Regis on the Kia Kevin Says Stage, I See Stars on the Glamour Kills Stage, Never Shout Never on the AP Advent Stage, and The Swellers on the Ernie Ball Stage. Hey Monday lit the Altec Lansing more than the sun with their brand of powerpop, waking the audience up from the beating sun reaching a new level of scorching as the day drew closer to sunset. The front of the stage was jammed deep and tight by fans wanting a closer look at the quartet during their set; including “Hey You Love Me Now”, “Wish You Were Here”, and “Run Don’t Walk”.

Anarbor - Photo: Michael Meade

Andrew W.K. - Photo: Meade

The final hours of the Scranton stop of Warped Tour featured Every Time I Die, Andrew W.K., and The All American Rejects on the Teggart Main stage; Breathe Carolina, Pierce the Veil, and Suicide Silence on Altec Lansing Stage; Breathe Electric, Far From Finished, and Fight Fair on the Skull Candy Stage; Flatfoot 56, The Downtown Fiction, and Motionless in White on the Kia Kevin Says Stage; Enter Shikari and Artist Vs. Poet on the Glamour Kills Stage; Fake Problems, Anarbor, and Mike Posner on the AP Advent Stage; Emarosa, Mayday Parade, and Dinner and a Suit on the Ernie Ball Stage. Andrew W.K.’s 30 minutes on stage brought the assembled throng of people to a circle pitting, moshing, crowd surfing frenzy unmatched all day. People were literally thrown across gaps in the crowd toward the stage where security pulled them down sending them back into the madness. Bras were thrown en mass onto the stage at Andrew and his crew, and between every song he or one of the band would do their best to make sure the people made even more noise and pumped up the party as hard as they were capable of without bringing security down on themselves. The explosion point during the Andrew W.K. set was of course his break out hit “Party Hard”; there are no words for the unity of the crowd’s party meltdown.

Andrew W.K. - Photo: Michael Meade

The All American Rejects - Photo: Meade

The All American Rejects came close to matching the affect on their fans. Fans sang out with their favorite songs including “Gives You Hell”, “Dirty Little Secret”, “Move Along”, and new song “Bonerville”. Vocalist and bassist Tyson Ritter continually egged on the crowd with overt sexual innuendo and proclamations of Scranton being the best stop to date on the tour. Fans became so excited that one could hardly see through the mass of water and beer bottles among other things being flung through the air, this reporter was in fact hit by a flying stick of deodorant… The All American Rejects were the last act of the day and earned the reaction of the audience with their performance, even throwing in charity work by sending out a storage tub into the crowd asking each person to throw in a dollar to aid a still devastated Haiti; which front man Ritter claimed he would be building a clean water well with.

Tyson Ritter - Photo Michael Meade

Main Stage VIP loft - Photo: Meade

Regardless of the band a person came to Warped Tour to see, this reporter can honestly say there were no unhappy faces in the crowd at any point of this awesome day of music, merch, revelry, and camaraderie. There were plenty of overheated and dehydrated faces among the people present but never were there any unhappy to be there in the midst of the crowd, even navigating the overcrowded midway between stages. Warped Tour has proved once again that music can and will bring people together in unison, even in the more violent mosh pits that sprang up there was never seen, by this reporter, true malice in the eyes of any involved. Days like this have become rare, even in music, in these times of economic trials and environmental instability; making it all the more important when they do happen that they should be remembered and modeled after by fans, promoters, bands, and reporters alike. Sun burnt, sweaty, and laden with swag at the end of the performances, each person in attendance seemed satisfied walking out of the Toyota Pavilion’s grounds as their day enjoying the 2010 Vans Warped Tour came to an end with the first cool breezes of a summer night stilled filled with the echoes of 79 incredible bands.

For more on Vans Warped Tour and the great bands that played the 2010 tour visit www.vanswarpedtour.com.

*for more info on The Give a Little Help contest click here.

Bamboozle Roadshow bamboozles City of Brotherly Love

By Michael Meade

Posted 6/29/10 11:00PM EST

The third year of the Bamboozle Roadshow began on May 21 and is running until June 27, included in this year’s line up was All Time Low, Third Eye Blind, Boys Like Girls, LMFAO, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Hanson, The Ready Set, Great Big Planes, Cady Groves, Cartel, Mercy Mercedes, Hellogoodbye, The Downtown Fiction, Drive A, Vita Chambers, and Stereo Skyline. On June 2 the Roadshow joined with The Too Fast For Love Tour featuring 3OH!3, Cobra Starship, and Travie McKoy for one day combined performance.

On Sunday June 20 Bamboozle came to Philadelphia Pennsylvania to rock Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing, and despite being the hottest as well as last day of spring the bands did their best to show Philly a good time. The second stage was geared up to start the day off with Drive A, Mercy Mercedes, Vita Chambers, Great Big Planes, Cady Groves, Stereo Skyline, and The Ready Set.

Great Big Planes - Photograph: Michael Meade

Great Big Planes had the crowd swaying with their music, bringing couples together for hand holding and public cuddle sessions in spite of the day’s intense heat. Also throwing in a few up tempo party songs to get the people pumped. Cady kept the front of the stage mobbed with fans from beginning to end of her set, the cute popster with depth displays a maturity in her lyrics that shows an old soul; certain overexposed pop princesses could learn a lot from Ms. Groves. While The Ready Set later got the audience jumping with a few attempts at crowd surfing that didn’t take. The Ready Set brainchild Jordan Witzigreuter and his backing band kept the fans gathered around the second stage jamming to the twenty year old singer’s groove laden alt pop compositions. The second stage was the center of attention from noon until four when the main stage took center stage.

Cady Groves - Photograph: Deborah Meade

Courtesy Coca Cola

In between second stage sets though, focus fell on the Coca Cola Swelter Stopper tent with its Coke sampling station, frosty photo booth, DJ, and band meet and greet ticket giveaways. The Swelter Stopper remained a force to be reckoned with for crowd draw throughout the day as people wanted to stay cool and try for a shot at meeting their favorite acts.

Photograph: Michael Meade

Competing for attention with the Swelter Stopper between sets was of course the merch tent! Partly for the chance to meet the bands that were visiting their booths and partly for the air conditioning, at the height of the day’s heat wave the tent was impossible to walk through as people crammed in as much as they could; many taking up residency on the floor until their favorite bands were on stage.

Photograph: Deborah Meade

Standing out from the usual suspects of tables full of band shirts and other souvenirs was the booth for To Write Love on Her Arms, a non-profit organization dedicated to instilling hope and finding aid for depression, addiction, self inflicted injury, and suicide. Began in 2006 as an attempt to help a friend in need, To Write Love on Her Arms started by telling a story of pain and hope, addiction and getting clean, finding freedom and a better life. T-shirts sold through Myspace to pay for treatment for their was just the beginning for the organization, over the years TWLOHA has been in operation they’ve responded to over 80,000 messages reaching out to them for help from 40 different countries.

Photograph: Michael Meade

At four the main stage queued up and all eyes and ears were peeled for Forever The Sickest Kids, Simple Plan, Good Charlotte, Third Eye Blind, LMFAO, Boys Like Girls, and All Time Low. Forever The Sickest Kids started the main stage off right, coming out swinging and revving the gathered people back up and making them forget the heat as the sun beat down in its last hours. Water bottles and beach balls flew threw the air from the first cheer to the last cheer for FTSK, the first band to finally inspire people to really dance and cut loose in the hundred degree sun that beset Philly all day long. Despite the heat Forever The Sickest Kids kept pumping the crowd and themselves up to make the first performance on the main stage a hit.

Simple Plan took the main stage next, keeping the energy FTSK generated by kicking off their set with “I’d Do Anything” to cheers and the audience joining the band for each verse. Later lead singer Pierre Bouvier prompted the crowd to sing along with the band for “Welcome to My Life”, and organized the one for “Addicted”. Regrettably Simple Plan didn’t include “I’m Just a Kid”. Cheers rang loud for Simple Plan as they finished their 20 minute set, they really gave the Roadshow goers one of the highest energy and most fun shows of the day.

Photographs: Michael Meade

Photograph: Michael Meade

Good Charlotte kicked off Happy Hour with “The Anthem”, which also brought the first mosh pit of this stop of the Bamboozle Roadshow. Further moshing and crowd surfing continued through GC’s stage time, as well as water bottle fights and plastic beer bottle tossing. Surprisingly the fiercest mosh pit broke out during one of Good Charlotte’s only pop oriented songs “Dance Floor Anthem (I Don’t Want to Be in Love)”, while their ending song, also their breakout single, “Life Styles of The Rich and Famous” only inspired mild slam dancing and more crowd surfing than any other song all day. At one point Caleb Turman (lead guitarist of FTSK) joined GC on stage to play along with Benji Madden. In between songs, Benji and Joel Madden worked the crowd up with jokes, a few tour stories, and brotherly comedy.

Seven o’clock saw Third Eye Blind taking the stage to a roar of cheers from devoted fans, which only grew louder as front man Stephan Jenkins donned a top hat and urged the crowd to enjoy the last day of spring and welcome summer in. He then continued in this train of thought for the people to make it the best summer of their lives and to live fearless lives. 3eb’s set included “Jumper”, “Never Let You Go”, “How’s It Going to Be”, and of course “Semi-Charmed Life”. “Semi-Charmed Life” flowed for about ten minutes as the band drifted into other songs after the bridge, and then left the stage leaving drummer Brad Hargreaves to perform a five minute drum and percussion solo. Jenkins and new comers Kryz Reid (guitar) and Abe Millet (bass) returned to the stage for a powerful finish to “Semi-Charmed Life” and ended the set with a few songs from from 3eb’s current album “Ursa Major”.

Photographs: Michael Meade

The Bamboozle Roadshow was then finished out by the hip-hop/rap/comedy styling of LMFAO, the soulful pop of Boys Like Girls, and the pop punk of All Time Low. The roar of the crowd for each could be heard far outside Festival Pier, even beyond Spring Garden Street. Whether the Roadshow bamboozled anyone can’t be said for certain, but it definitely left fans happy they braved the intense heat. The Bamboozle Roadshow 2010’s Philadelphia stop made every bit of sunburn worth it.

Drive A is Bruno Mascolo (vocals, guitar), Jason Nott (guitar, vocals), Cody Root (drums), Taylor Knowles (bass), find them at www.myspace.com/drivea.

Mercy Mercedes is Nate Smith (vocals), $B-Real$ (lead guitar, vocals), Ben Carter (guitar, vocals), Tom Donahue (bass), and Mike Arnette (drums), find them at www.myspace.com/mercymercedes.

Vita Chambers can be found at www.myspace.com/vitachambers.

Great Big Planes is Josh Moran, Patrick Campion, and Chad Sabo, find them at www.myspace.com/greatbigplanes.

Cady Groves can be found at www.myspace.com/cadygroves.

Stereo Skyline is Kevin, Brian, Rob, and Clayton, find at www.myspace.com/stereoskyline.

The Ready Set is Jordan Witzigreuter backed for live performances by Andy Snyder (bass) and Travis Roundtree (drums), find The Ready Set at www.myspace.com/thereadyset.

Forever The Sickest Kids is Johnathan (vocals), Caleb (guitar, vocals), Marc (guitar), Austin (bass, vocals), Kent (piano, synth), and Kyle (drums); find them at www.myspace.com/foreverthesickestkids.

Simple Plan is Pierre Bouvier (vocals), Chuck Comeau (drums, backing vocals), Dave Desrosiers (bass, backing vocals), Sebastian Lefebvre (lead guitar), find them at www.myspace.com/simpleplan.

Good Charlotte is Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Billy Martin, Paul Thomas, and Dean Butterworth; find them at www.myspace.com/goodcharlotte.

Third Eye Blind is Stephan Jenkins (vocals, guitar), Brian Hargreaves (drums, percussion), Kryz Reid (guitar), and Abe Millet (bass); find them at www.myspace.com/thirdeyeblind.

LMFAO is Redfoo (Stefan Gordy) and Sky Blu (Skyler Gordy), find them at www.myspace.com/lmfao.

Boys Like Girls is Martin Johnson (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Paul DiGiovanni (lead guitar, backing vocals), Bryan Donahue (bass, backing vocals), and John Keefe (drums); find them at www.myspace.com/boyslikegirls.

All Time Low is Alex Gaskarth (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Jack Barakat (lead guitar), Zack Merrick (bass, backing vocals), and Rian Dawson (drums, percussion); find them at www.alltimelow.com.

And now courtesy of Coca Cola here are interviews and special performances from the stars of the 2010 Bamboozle Roadshow!

Forever The Sickest Kids interview in the Coca Cola Swelter Stopper

All Time Low interview in the Coca Cola Swelter Stopper

All Time Low Acoustic Performances

"Damned If I Do"

"Dear Maria"

"Weightless"

Boys Like Girls acoustic perfomances

"The Great Escape"

"Two is Better than One"

"Love Drunk"

The Bamboozle Roadshow hits Philly hard in June

By Michael Meade

Posted 5/17/10 2:54PM EST

The Bamboozle Roadshow is coming to Philidelphia this June with one of the most impressive line ups yet in the Bamboozle Festival's history.

The Roadshow this year features:

Third Eye Blind, All Time Low, Boy Like Girls, LMFAO, Good Charlotte, Hanson, A Cursive Memory, Cady Groves, Cartel, Drive A, Forever The Sickest Kids, Great Big Planes, Hellogoodbye, Mercy Mercedes, Shwayze, Simple Plan, Stereo Skyline, The Downtown Fiction, The Ready Set, Vedera, Vita Chambers.

Bamboozle is hitting the brakes to stop at Festival Pier at Penn's Landing in Philidelphia Pennsylvania on Sunday June 20th, the set breakdown for the day has not been released yet but regardless of the order it's going to be an awesome day!

For those in Pennsylvania that can't make the Philly stop, Bamboozle is also making stops in Pittsburgh on Wednesday June 23 at the Amphitheatre at Station Square, and in Hershey on Friday June 25 at the Hershey Park Pavilion and Stadium.

The Bamboozle Roadshow kicks off Friday May 21 in Colombia, Maryland and runs through Sunday June 27 with the last stop in Boston, Massachusetts.

Here's the full calendar (line up alternates daily):

May 21 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion – All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Cartel, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Hanson, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, The Downtown Fiction, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

May 22 – Charlotte, NC – Uptown Amphitheatre @ The Music Factory – All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Cartel, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Hanson, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, The Downtown Fiction, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

May 23 – Atlanta, GA – Six Flags Over Georgia - All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Cartel, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Hanson, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, The Downtown Fiction, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

May 25 – West Palm Beach, FL – Cruzan Amphitheatre -- All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Cartel, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Hanson, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, The Downtown Fiction, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

May 26 – Tampa, FL – Ford Amphitheatre -- All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Cartel, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Hanson, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, The Downtown Fiction, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

May 28 – Houston, TX – Verizon Wireless Theatre (No 2^nd Stage) -- All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Cartel, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Hanson, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, The Downtown Fiction, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

May 29 – San Antonio, TX – Six Flags Fiesta Texas -- All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Cartel, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Hanson, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, The Downtown Fiction, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

May 30 – Arlington, TX – Six Flags Over Texas -- All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Cartel, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Hanson, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, The Downtown Fiction, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

June 2 – Phoenix, AZ – Cricket Amphitheatre - All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, 3OH!3, Cobra Starship, Good Charlotte, Travie McKoy, Forever The Sickest Kids, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, I Fight Dragons, Mercy Mercedes, The Downtown Fiction, The Ready Set

June 5 – Concord, CA - Sleep Train Pavilion at Concord – All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Third Eye Blind, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Hellogoodbye, Shwayze, A Cursive Memory, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, The Downtown Fiction, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

June 6 – Chula Vista, CA – Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre – Parking Lot -- All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Third Eye Blind, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Hellogoodbye, Shwayze, A Cursive Memory, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, The Downtown Fiction, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

June 10 – Minneapolis, MN - Cabooze Plaza – All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, LMFAO, Third Eye Blind, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Hellogoodbye, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, Stereo Skyline, The Readt Set, Vita Chambers

June 11 – Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom - All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Third Eye Blind, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Hellogoodbye, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, Stereo Skyline, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

June 12 – Chicago, IL- Soldier Field - Parking Lot - All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Third Eye Blind, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Hellogoodbye, Cadt Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, Stereo Skyline, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

June 13 – Eureka, MO – Six Flags St. Louis - All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, LMFAO, Third Eye Blind, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Hellogoodbye, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, Stereo Skyline, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

June 15 – Clarkston, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre - All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Third Eye Blind, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Hellogoodbye, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, Stereo Skyline, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

June 18 – Cleveland, OH – Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre @ Tower City - All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, LMFAO, Third Eye Blind, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, Stereo Skyline, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

June 19 – Cincinnati, OH - PNC Pavilion @ Riverbend Music Center - All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, LMFAO, Third Eye Blind, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, Stereo Skyline, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

June 20 – Philadelphia, PA – Festival Pier @ Penn’s Landing - All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, LMFAO, Third Eye Blind, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, Stereo Skyline, The Ready Set, Vita Chambers

June 23 – Pittsburgh, PA – Amphitheatre @ Station Square - All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, LMFAO, Third Eye Blind, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, Stereo Skyline, The Ready Set, Vedera, Vita Chambers

June 24 – Jackson, NJ – Six Flags Great Adventure - All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, LMFAO, Third Eye Blind, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, Stereo Skyline, The Ready Set, Vedera, Vita Chambers

June 25 – Hershey, PA – Hershey Park Pavilion & Stadium - All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, LMFAO, Third Eye Blind, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, Stereo Skyline, The Ready Set, Vedera, Vita Chambers

June 26 – Nassau, NY – Nassau Coliseum - Parking Lot - All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, LMFAO, Third Eye Blind, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, Stereo Skyline, The Ready Set, Vedera, Vita Chambers

June 27 – Boston, MA - Comcast Center - All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, LMFAO, Third Eye Blind, Forever The Sickest Kids, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Cady Groves, Great Big Planes, Mercy Mercedes, Stereo Skyline, The Ready Set, Vedera, Vita Chambers

For Tickets visit Bamboozle's webpage here.

Peter Steele Passes at 48

By Michael Meade

Posted 2:55PM EST 4/15/10

Peter Steele

Peter Steele, lead singer of Type O Negative, died of apparent heart failure overnight from April 14 - April 15 2010. Steele was plagued by health problems since 2004 when Type O Negative was forced to cancel a tour on account of Steele's need to be tested for "medical anomalies" found during a routine medical check.

To pay respects to the band and family please visit Type O Negative's website.

NEPA Singer Making Name in NYC

By Michael Meade

Scranton Pennsylvania native Hollis "Holly" Mahady has been singing solo and in various bands for about seven years. After graduating from college, Holly moved to New York City in the quest to attain her dream of rock stardom; and with the recent reformation of her namesake band Hollis, Ms. Mahady is closer than ever!

After a few false starts, Hollis is back and at it's strongest since the original line up formed in 2005 from the cover band Mr. Pink, as they jumped from covers to original songs.

Hollis L-R: Hash, Holly, Mike, Roland - Courtesy Hollis

Hollis, through it's three incarnations, has played legendary venues such as the late CBGB, The Continental, and Kenny's Castaways in New York City; and The Viper Room and Whiskey A-Go-Go in Los Angeles. They've also played several regional favorites including Crocodile Rock Cafe and The Sterling Hotel both in Allentown PA, The Front Row in Stroudsburg PA, The Library Bar in Brooklyn New York, and most recently Southpaw in New York City with The Queers.

Hollis has also shared the stage with a wide range of incredible bands and artists including Alexa Ray Joel, Fosterchild (featuring Kevin Miller of Fuel), Brett Scallions of Fuel, Quiet Riot (almost a year to the day before Kevin DuBrow's untimely death), and Black Rebel Motor Cycle Club to name a few.

Besides her vocal skills, Holly is also a talented guitarist, harpist*, and pianist. Hating to stand still on stage, Holly has recently added a keytar to her musical arsenal. Finally being able to utilize her ability on the keys, while still being a kinetic ball of chaotic Rock 'n' Roll energy!

Headbanging, stage diving, crowd surfing, jumping, screaming, climbing on whatever fixtures she can reach, and the time honored tradition of leading the crowd in a sing-song chant of "1... 2... FUCK YOU" are all Mahady mainstays. And there has yet to be an audience that hasn't loved every second of it, including this writer.

Holly's greatest strength in performing, next to her musical abilities of course, is how she can pump up the audience in this way, it makes them feel a part of the fun instead of making their own fun out of observing.

Top L-R: Hash, Mike, Roland. Center: Holly. Center Front: Holly's Keytar. Courtesy Hollis

Rounding out Hollis is Queens NY native Mike Klein on guitar, Mike is also an award winning composer and producer. Brooklynite Hash is on bass, playing music since age six, he discovered bass guitar at twelve. Hash's inspiration comes from his uncle, Sekou Bunch, who played with Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross, and Tom Brown. On drums is Roland, with over twenty years of experience under his belt, he began playing drums at the ripe old age of four. Roland has performed on different occasions with several "big name" bands including hed P.E. and N Sync.

Beginning January 12 2010 Hollis is undertaking a nine day tour of Hollywood! Stops include this year's Winter NAMM Show** in Anaheim, The Whiskey A-Go-Go, and hi jinks in Disneyland are planned.

World you better keep an eye and both ears peeled, because here comes HOLLIS!

For full tour schedule and other show dates, as well as a listen to demos from Hollis's upcoming EP, check out www.myspace.com/hollisrules.

*Harp referring to harmonica, for those thinking of the ancient string instrument.

**NAMM is the trade association of the music products (musical instruments and equipment) industry.

Act Now to Keep It Live in Pennsylvania!

New state sales tax on arts threatens Pennsylvania tour sites

Pennsylvania wants to charge sales tax on tickets for all live performances in theaters, concert halls and auditoriums statewide. The new tax, called the "Arts Tax," has promoters and top performing acts ready to drop Pennsylvania cities from their tours in favor of other states that don't impose a tax penalty for live performances.

Make no mistake: this proposed tax, which adds 6% to ticket prices statewide (8% in Philly and 7% in Pittsburgh), is a killer for live shows all over the state.

Top performers will choose not to come here, and when that happens, everybody loses - especially loyal fans like you. The politicians are set to act on the Arts Tax THIS WEEK because they think there is no oppisition to the tax. Without your help, the tax will become law. So please, Act Now to stop the Arts Tax.

Send an email to the politicians listed below:
jscarnati@pasen.gov; dpileggi@pasen.gov; jcorman@pasen.gov; kmccall@pahouse.net; teachus@pahouse.net; devans@hacd.net; mellow@pasenate.com; costa@pasenate.com; mkeller@pahousegop.com; lfarnese@pasenate.com; kitchen@pasenate.com; jwilliam@pahouse.net; dwhite@pasen.gov; dreed@pahousegop.com; pbrowne@pasen.gov; ferlo@pasenate.com; dlevdans@pahouse.net; jearll@pasen.gov; Fontana@pasenate.com; tkirklan@pahouse.net; parep160@aol.com; jwheatley@pahouse.net; fontana2@pasenate.com

Subject:
Kill the Arts Tax

Copy and paste the following text into the new email:
I buy tickets to live performances in Pennsylvania, and I strongly oppose the Arts Tax because it will cause top performing acts to eliminate Pennsylvania tour sites. I urge you to oppose the Arts Tax, which would add state sales tax to all ticket prices for live performance concerts and shows statewide. Keep It Live in Pennsylvania! Kill the Arts Tax instead!

Reprinted from Live Nation - livenation.com

Ear Ecstasy Delivers Ear Orgasm

By Michael Meade

The title of this piece might be a stretch to some, but it is a definate certainty that Ear Ecstasy delivers some great alternative/indie style tunes.The Stroudsburg Pennsylvania-based quartet of Ben Gorski, Dan Deluca, Adam Lycomirski, and Kevin Littleton focus their music on the positive, staying positive through the hard times, and loving life.

L-R: Dan Deluca, Adam Lycomirski, Ben Gorski, and Kevin Littleton - Photo Courtesy Ear Ecstasy

Every experience for these guys is a chance for something new, a reason to live to the fullest, and to show others, with their music, the ecstasy this world can offer and that they can live in the same frame of mind propelling life to new heights on a personal as well as global level. Regardless if Ear Ecstasy broke up tomorrow, they are a success because their music does just that.
With history going back to the beginning of this decade, when the members still in their early teens, Ear Ecstasy has a true gaunlet of life experiences to draw on, both as a group and individually, to illustrate finding fulfillment even in the darkest moments of emotional and physical despair and apathy. The four members definately have unbreakable wills to thrive.

In the past months Ear Ecstasy has played several private parties and benefit shows for the Rimrock Masonic Center, Monroe County PA diabetes, and Henry's Ghost in Henryville Pennsylvania.

Once again Ear Ecstasy is Ben (lead vocals, guitar, keyboard, songwriter/lyricist), Dan (guitar, back up vocals, songwriter), Adam (drums, songwriter), and Kevin (bass, songwriter). Check them out at www.myspace.com/earecstasy for their full bio, songs, and more.
Be on the look out for more with Ear Ecstasy here at TLR!

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