Bamboozle Day 1: Music On The Boardwalk

I made it to Bamboozle! After an insane day of traveling (plans, trains and automobiles) I arrived in Asbury Park, New Jersey Thursday night and got the live music rolling. To prepare for all the hi-jinx of the weekend, I went to The Saint in Asbury to see Athletics, a local post rock band who impressed me a lot. They are also a bunch of really nice dudes and they have a new album out in June, keep an ear out.

Yesterday got off to a slow start. The doors for the festival didn’t open until 5pm, so I spent the afternoon in a local music store Russo Music checking out guitars. While in the charming store I feel in love with a Strat that was very hard to say goodbye to and chatted with some locals about living in Asbury. They seem to have a very strong sense of community there and various clubs and ambitious musicians power the music scene. Very cool.

Once the festival was underway we walked down the shoreline on the boardwalk and onto the ground. The backdrop for Bamboozle is the Atlantic Ocean and the main stage is right on the beach! Had the chance to check out The Story So Far for the first time and were my best new take away from the day. Later on I saw The Wonder Years on the Harley-Davidson stage and a circle pit broke out right in front of me. I have been to a lot of shows in my day but that has never happened.

We also took a break and hung out in the Red Bull Artist Lounge and chatted with Ryan Wilson from Hi-Deaf about house music. I didn’t know much about it so he was kind enough to give me some background on his career and what exactly Skrillex is up to when he is on stage. For Skrillex’s set we sunk onto the room top of the Berkeley Oceanfrot Hotel and watched the crowd burst into insanity. It was amazing.

Today I will be chatting with Christofer Drew of Never Shout Never and Pat Kirch of The Maine; and have a packed day of music including Foo Fighters, The Maine, and Jimmy Eat World! Here we go! #musicrules.

Let’s talk music, let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Who would you want to see at Bamboozle?