The Bamboozle Festival, May 1st, 2010 
I wasn’t going to write an article on the only day of the Bamboozle Festival that I went to. This was my first Bamboozle and I wanted to just experience it as a fan, and as a fan something happened that really pissed me off.
I want to start on a high note by saying VersaEmerge were one of the best bands I have ever seen live. There show was frantic and energetic. The band (fronted by charismatic lead sing Sierra) took the fact that they were the first band on the Sony Bloggie Stage and used it to their advantage as they became one of the most energetic acts of the day. We stayed for the full set, and although I could not sing along to a single song, they made me a fan. VersaEmerge are set to release their debut album Fixed At Zero on June 22nd, get excited people.
With a little time Dianna (co-editor) and I went exploring, we split up from Ricky, my brother (Photographer) and Chris (ex-Throw Money) and agreed to meet up at the Skate and Surf Stage to see Four Year Strong. Dianna bought herself a shirt and a bag for her to use as a beach bag this summer, I didn’t buy anything. We walked over to the Skate and Surf Stage at 2:30.
This was my first time seeing Four Year Strong, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I stood somewhat to the right side of the stage, hoping to get some decent photos. Dianna knew there was one song I wanted to jump into the pits for, and it happened to be the first song they played. “It Must Really Suck to Be Four Years Strong Right Now” opened things up with a bang. We left a few songs into their set, but what I saw I was totally in love with.
We saw a couple of Relient K songs before heading over to cut the line to get Angels and Airwaves autographs (Over the course of the day, I only waited once on line thanks to my brother.) We got stickers autographed, tickets autographed, and Dianna’s Bamboozle shirt autographed.
By the time we got our autographs from Angels and Airwaves, The Aquabats had hit the Skate and Surf Stage. Dressed in their usual Blue shirts and silver helmets, The Aquabats were a band hell bent on entertaining the crowd. During the middle of their Set they made their fans scream so loud that they almost literally lite screamo on fire. They played great staples in their archive like “Pool Party”, during that one they had stage hands throw pool toys like beach balls and blown up dolphins into the crowd. The Aquabats even had time to discuss making the security guards into a taco and beat three giant crab things that threatened to ruin their set. The Aquabats are a must see for everyone, even if your not a Ska fan.
We explored a little bit and found a signing for VersaEmerge. They seemed like really nice people. We saw some songs from the band Escape the Fate (second time seeing them). I really don’t know what to say about them, with Craig it’s a totally different experience than with Ronnie, not better or worse, just different.
A little while later we got to see Saves the Day, this is my second time seeing this legendary punk act (the first time being when Chris Conley had pink hair haha). Seriously though, another fantastic show. They played “The End” which made me happy and I think turned Dianna into a fan.
Bullet for My Valentine went on and suddenly you got a sense of how many people that went to Bamboozle were there for the metal bands. The crowd sang along like a chorus line to the song “Tears Don’t Fall” and I saw how they belted the words to “Scream Aim Fire” in amazement, the only disappointing thing about this show was that they were only able to play about four songs.
Angel and Airwaves hit the stage a bit later (second time we’ve seen them). Lead singer Tom sang the words to his songs with a passion that (I think) is totally different than what you would get from a Blink-182 show. The way his personality fits the music is incredible. Great band to see live. The atmosphere around this band is palpable and yet soothing.
It was finally time for the headliners to start. Something Corporate hit the stage and I had never seen anything quite like it. We were surrounded by fans all curious to see how one of their old favorites would do. I’ve never been a big Something Corporate fan, but their set was overall a masterpiece. It was the perfect thing to listen to as he sun began to set on Bamboozle. 
Drama struck our small group of four (I will be discussing this later) and the next act we got to see was Ke$ha, who was impressively…actually… entertaining? Now, I’m not going to say I was blown away or anything but what I did see of her I did somewhat enjoy. Not bad, I guess.
We left Ke$ha to see Protest the Hero. 
This Canadian metal band has to be one of the coolest bands I’ve ever seen. Tim Millar clearly knows how to party, as he got on stage wearing a drinking helmet equipped with two beers in it. I got to see “Blindfolds Aside” and leave a very happy person. That’s when we went to see Paramore.
If you want a happy ending to my Bamboozle experience I’d stop there. I’ve kept the drama out of most of what I put above but we all know it was going to come into play eventually. You want to find out? Than please, read on.
Chris drove Dianna, Ricky, and I to the festival, okay? Ricky got hurt…many times. He got hit in the pits (to be expected), dropped while crowd surfing, and than had people fall on top of him during the band I See Stars set. He could barely walk come 8 o’clock and him and Chris wanted to leave so he could go to the ER. The problem was that if they left, Dianna and I would have to also. 
I called as many people as I could offering a hundred cash and gas money to whoever could drive up there and get us after Paramore, My uncle agreed to get us at ten o’clock on the dot. I thanked him greatly and hung up the phone. Something that you should all know is that Paramore are one of Dianna’s favorite bands. There are two females she idolizes in the music industry; Hayley Williams, and Avril Lavigne. Paramore were the only band Dianna actually cared about seeing at this show, well not the only one, but the BIG ONE.
My brother and Chris left. Dianna and I continued on without them (this is around when we saw Ke$ha. Paramore were schedule to go on at 9:15, my uncle would be there at ten). That left us forty five minutes to see the band that Dianna paid seventy dollars to see. So we left Protest early and pushed ourselves to as close as we could to the stage for Paramore. Every other act had been on time that day, every single act, until Ke$ha who ran fifteen minutes late. No problem, I could have my uncle wait a bit and Di could still see Paramore.
Nine fifteen hit, Drake was still on stage, Nine thirty, same thing, ten o’clock came, we were still standing there, and there was still no Paramore. Throughout all of this fights had nearly broken out amongst the fans, chants of “Fuck you Drake,” “Start the show,” and “Paramore” began and ended. We left at 10:08, and there were no signs of Paramore besides the people fooling around with the lights; which they had already done several times. We left with out seeing Paramore.
In the end Dianna and I spent well over 150$ for tickets and parking, missed one of my best friends (and photographers) birthday, did not go with my brother home or to the ER, and had my uncle take two hours out of his busy time to come get us only to not see the one band that she went for. This was honestly one of the most horrendous things I have ever seen happen to a fan. I don’t know what the hold up was, but apparently Paramore did eventually hit the stage.
Paramore lost a fan in me that night, I know this probably was not their faults, but I really don’t care. I promised Dianna that she would get to see this band and Bamboozle made a liar out of me, they made and asshole out of me, and to be honest I might not go back to Bamboozle again. What does it matter though? I’m Mike O, co-founder of Audio Addiction Magazine, but at Bamboozle I was just a fan that left unhappy.
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pictures by Michael O, Ricky O, DiAnna S