I miss 2004. My nostalgia has been building all year, as seemingly half of the bands I listened to in high school—Jimmy Eat World, Say Anything, Mae, Relient K, and the list goes on—announce tour dates celebrating the tenth anniversary of particularly spectacular albums. Every time another one of these shows goes on sale, I find myself both marveling at how fast the time has passed, and feeling like I should go curl up in bed because I am obviously an ancient old woman at this point.
Two days ago, I purchased tickets for Motion City Soundtrack’s anniversary tour for Commit This to Memory. I distinctly remember listening to that album in my eleventh grade history class. (Dear God, has it been almost ten years since high school already? These tour dates might be sending me into an existential crisis.)
Anyway, my point is that after I bought the MCS tickets, I swung over to Wikipedia to see what other bands put out albums in 2004—and wow, what a fabulous year for my iTunes library it was. These days, I can go for months between albums that I’m truly excited about. But back then, there was apparently new music to be thrilled about every couple of weeks.
Naturally, I had to make a playlist to really complement the reminiscing process. (I allowed a few favorites from early 2005 to sneak in too, because we’re practically there at this point.) The funny thing is, my taste in music has barely changed in the last decade. Sure, there are a few songs on this list that are just a little too emo for my “mature” (read: old and crippled) tastes now. But mostly, these are bands became my favorite when I was an angsty teen, and have stayed with me throughout my life.
So whether or not all these bands decide to do special tours for these records, I’m going to celebrate them on my own. Here’s the playlist, in case you want to get a feel for what how rockin' I was in high school:
PS: They were only on Now 16 in 2004! Ah, it was a simpler time.
Is it 2005 again? I’ve been having so many musical flashbacks to high school this week.
First, I saw Green Day on Sunday night. Like so many kids before me, Green Day was my gateway into rock music. And I know I don’t get any street cred for admitting this, but I absolutely adore American Idiot (and I will fight anyone who disagrees with me). It’s been a few years since they came around, so needless to say, I was psyched to see them again.
Sadly, this was the best picture I could get.
As you can see from the picture, we didn't have the best seats. Green Day shows are just not the same if you're not in the pit, but unfortunately, general admission tickets sold out way too fast. But it was still an incredible show. Billie Joe Armstrong has always been one of my favorite frontmen to watch perform, and his rehab stint certainly didn’t change that. He’s still the crazy ball of energy he always is— although I felt like maybe he didn’t drop quite as many F-bombs as usual. (What is this world coming to?!?)
Side note: after years of talking up Green Day’s live show to my friend Ali, she finally came along with me. And now she just keeps asking what the hell took her so long. So seriously, if you haven’t seen them yet, do it. Just DO IT.
And then on Tuesday, I saw Andrew McMahon (formerly of Something Corporate and Jack’s Mannequin) play at the Highline Ballroom. In 2003, Something Corporate was the opening act to my first concert (Good Charlotte, hell yeah!) and I immediately fell in love. Andrew and I have been through a lot together over the years, but his music has always been there for me. So it was a blast to take a musical tour through the last decade of my life. Obviously the highlight was when Andrew crowdsurfed to the bar, took a shot, crowdsurfed back to the bar and then finished singing “La La Lie.” The best.
Andrew McMahon prowlin' around on his piano.
And because these concerts apparently just weren’t enough to make me feel 16 again, Fall Out Boy, Paramore and Jimmy Eat World have all released new music this week. I wish I could pretend that I'm going to listen to some cool indie band after this but let's be real. I'm too busy learning all the words to this Fall Out Boy song featuring Elton John so I can belt it out next time I'm alone in the car. My inner teen is in heaven and I’m never growing up.
Thank you Instagram for making this even prettier.
I spent this past weekend in Asbury Park, New Jersey for Bamboozle. Before I arrived, I had no idea that the festival would be on the beach. Seriously. This made the layout of the stages slightly confusing, but I got to dance to several of my favorite bands with my feet actually in the sand, so I'll overlook it.
My highlights of the weekend:
Incubus. This band influenced my life more than any other, and seeing them live is always like a religious experience for me. Plus, hearing "Wish You Were Here" and realizing I could literally go dig my toes in the sand at that moment was just surreal.
Incubus playing "In The Company of Wolves"
Watching people dance to Skrillex. Dubstep is really not my thing, but after watching these kids, I started to appreciate it just a tiny bit more. (There were even better moves going on before, but it was too dark for my camera at that point!)
Motion City Soundtrack. To be honest, I haven't really kept up with their latest albums (I know, shame!) but they consistently put on a fun, energetic show that's not to be missed.
The All-American Rejects. I don't know what I love more, the music or Tyson Ritter's habit of changing the words to their songs. He is easily one of the most entertaining frontmen I've ever seen.
Jimmy Eat World. Do I really need to elaborate on this? They're a fantastic band and they always put on a beautiful show. They've been around for almost two decades for a reason.
Foo Fighters. I only know a couple of their albums, but this band is just a must-see live act. In an industry full of computers and Auto-Tune, it is so refreshing to see true rock 'n roll like this.
I didn't stay for Sunday, although I would have loved to catch Brand New and the Gaslight Anthem. Oh well. At the end of Saturday night, I had almost no voice left and my legs were barely holding out. Aside from being forced to sit through half a Mac Miller set, I'd call Bamboozle 2012 a great success.
I saw AFI again last night at the House of Blues. It was definitely one of the best shows I'd been to in a long, long time (excluding AFI at Hampton Beach a week ago, of course). I got to hold Davey Havok up while he walked on the crowd. He also did a flip into the audience and I helped catch him then too. Now my left arm is sore, but I can't think of a better reason to be in pain.
In honor of these two absolutely incredible shows, here's a list of my top 10 most memorable concerts, in no particular order. (NOTE: None of the videos belong to me, except for the Sugarcult one).
1. Third Eye Blind (Babson College, 4/21/07 AND Bamboozle 2009). Honestly, I have seen this band so many times that it's hard to narrow it down to one show. But Babson was the first time I was in the front row, and the first time I met the band afterwards. (It was completely accidental too. We were lost and managed to end up right behind the guys in some parking lot). And Bamboozle was just plain awesome.
(Not the best quality, and possibly one of the band's worst songs, but this video really captures the fun of Bamboozle
2. AFI (Hampton Beach, 10/17/09 and House of Blues Boston, 10/25/09). See my last entry and the paragraph above. AFI is seriously one of the best live bands around.
3. A Fine Frenzy (The Paradise, March 2008). I adore Alison Sudol, the voice and mastermind behind A Fine Frenzy. She is one of the sweetest, most talented individuals in music today. She is so grateful and appreciative of her fans. She's on tour right now, so go see her if you get a chance. (www.afinefrenzy.com)
4. The Airborne Toxic Event (The Paradise, 3/7/09). Well first of all, during the encore, they threw out cheap tamborines into the audience. I got to go up onstage with my tamborine and a handful of other fans to dance around during "Missy." This band is so tight live, and they sound awesome every time I see them. It's also refreshing to see a group of musicians who can play so many instruments well. This isn't just a bunch of guys who decided they wanted to be rockstars so they picked up guitars. Rather, The Airborne Toxic Event are trained many instruments including the viola and the cello. Another must-see live band.
5. Good Charlotte with Something Corporate and Mest, (UMass Amherst, October 10, 2003) Yes, this was my first concert. I went with one of my best friends, Veronika, and we had an absolute ball. At the time, I was completely obsessed with Good Charlotte (and even now, I will defend them, so don't mess with me!). I counted down to this concert for months. It feels like a dream now, it was so long ago, but I was always treasure the memories from this show.
6. Sugarcult (Framingham, MA Community Center, sometime in winter or spring of 2008, I think). This was the most punk-rock show I have ever been to. I know, SUGARCULT?!? Punk rock? They were label-less and playing at this deserted community center full of local high school kids. The atmosphere was so laidback and intimate though. Sugarcult interacts with the crowd anyway, but at a show that size, lead singer Tim Pagnotta spent half his time joking with fans. Then, at 11 pm, the cops showed up and said it was curfew time. Sugarcult was not even half way done their set, and they refused to stop. They kept playing until the sound was cut off, and afterwards, they hung out in the lobby to talk to fans and apologize for the short set.
7. Green Day (Verizon Wireless Arenain Manchester, NH. Spring 2004). Green Day is without a doubt the greatest live band I have ever seen. It's not a "show," it's a masterpiece. There is no way to put into words just how mindblowing a Green Day show is. I know several people who don't even care about the band's new songs, but will still go to see them just for the epic performance. So seriously, drop what you're doing and go see them right now.
(This video is from their Bullet in a Bible DVD, not my show. But it really captures how completely awesome Green Day is live).
8. Blaqk Audio (The Roxy, 9/10/07) The first time I got to see and meet my idol, Davey Havok. He and fellow AFI member Jade Puget were on tour promoting their side project. I shook Davey's hand after the show and was in shock for the next week.
9. Jimmy Eat World (The Orpheum, October 2007, I think). Yet another one of the best live bands I've ever seen. The music is even more perfect and beautiful live. And the fans are pretty chill and normal, so it's nice not to have to deal with screaming teenyboppers all night. 10. Fiona Apple (Bank of America Pavilion, July 21, 2006). Fiona is a little kooky to begin with, and when you put her on stage, she becomes even more insane. She flails around like she's possessed, but boy, has she got some pipes. Her music sounds amazing live. 'Nuff said.
So there are my top 10 concerts. What are yours? What bands do I need to see still?
