Saturday morning dawned and all my prayers were answered – sunshine, clear skies and perfect 80F weather. You really couldn’t ask for a better day to start the festivities. Jules and I left early to meet up with other people and made our way over to Jersey courtsey of a Jersey Transit bus. For some reason the bus we took didn’t drop us right at the stadium, but down the highway a bit so we got stop at Mr. Hamburger for drinks and then trek over the highway to where the music awaited!

This is what we look like in New Jersey

We got a bit carried away with photos with Bamboozle signs

The line to get into Bamboozle was kinda crazy and it stressed me out a little since Title Fight were one of the first bands on and I really wanted to be able to see them again, since it would mean I’d seen them in 3 different states in just over a month. We ran as fast as we could across the asphalt and got to the Zumiez Stage just as Title Fight started. Despite their early spot, it was rad to see so many people out to support Title Fight. Maybe it was the midday sun, maybe just the excitement of seeing Title Fight AGAIN, but I’m pretty sure I did my fair share of shouting out and singing along a bit too loudly.

Title Fight ARE STARTING!!!!

Title Fight are rad, you should listen to them

He's in mid-air!!!

He's kinda a babe

After Title Fight, we walked around to the main stages just in time to catch a few songs from the band Versaemerge. They sounded like a bad rip-off of headliners Paramore, which isn’t saying a lot really. Bamboozle got a dose of Gossip Girl next up though when Taylor Momsen (Little J guys!!) took the stage with her band, The Pretty Reckless. I’d heard they’re not that good so I was pleasantly surprised when Momsen actually managed to carry a tune (she really does have a good voice). She had on aviators and when she took them off her eye make-up was so thick around her eyes that it looked like she still had her glasses on. Nice to see some things crossover well from TV to real life.

versaemerge

The Pretty Reckless

Taylor Momsen and her heinous looking band of old men

Four Year Strong played straight after Taylor & co, and ripped up the stage. Not only did they play my favorite song, Heroes Get Remembered, Legends Never Die, but also songs from their new album Enemy of the World. A definite highlight was their new song Wasting Time (Eternal Summer).

Four Year Strong

More Four Year Strong

One of the bands on the line-up that I wanted to see was Relient K. When I was a teenager I really liked them and even went so far as to enter (and win) a contest to win one of their CD’s back in the day. I was disappointed though because they only seemed to play new songs because I didn’t recognise any of them. Kinda boring really. How could they not play ‘Sadie Hawkins Dance’?!

Relient K being boring and not playing songs I wanted to hear

Random cute dude with huge plugs

The Aquabats in their matching costumes, no wonder Travis Barker left..

So the next band we spent our time watching was (long ago) teen heart throbs Hanson. They’re all grown up now, Taylor doesn’t look like a girl anymore and apparently they don’t play ‘Mmmmmbop’ or ‘Where is the Love’ anymore either. Again, I was disappointed due to lack of songs I loved but it was still pretty cool to see a band I really liked when I was 13, all the way back in the 1990s!!!

Yes, that's Taylor Hanson

All of Hanson, in all their glory

So to get over the disappoint I felt in Hanson, we went back over to the Zumiez Stages to watch the surprise guests of the day Against Me! I’d never seen them before so it was totally awesome to be able to finally see them live. Pretty sure I’ve danced/sang along to their songs SOOOO many times at Hot Damn.

Secret/surprise guests Against Me!

More amazingness

While Against Me! were on I had to sit down in the shade near the stage, I could still hear/see them playing so I wasn’t missing out on anything, my feet just really needed some rest! Saves The Day were playing the Main Stage so we caught them as well, finally getting to hear the song ‘At Your Funeral’ was a memorable experience to say the least.

Saves the Day takes me to my happy place

Check out the mega babe with the fake moustache and the umbrella hat. HAH

To fill in the last hour before I got to see Tom Delonge again (hello Angels & Airwaves) we stopped over at one of the small stages to watch screamo duo I Set My Friends on Fire. I saw them at Warped Tour this past summer and the kids still love them!

I Set My Friends on Fire

6:40pm and it was finally ANGELS & AIRWAVES time!!! It may not be Blink 182, but it’s still Tom Delonge!!! He looks older now and seems to be sporting a bit of a beer belly, definitely still a cutie though. And you got to love his crazy dance moves. They only had 35 minutes to play, and because most of their songs are 4-5 minutes they only got to play 5 or 6 songs. Tom seemed to love extending ‘The War’ to make his introductions to the crowd, and despite it cutting into their other song times, it let a bit of Blink 182-Tom shine through.

Oh hai, Tom!! So nice to see you again!

Show us your moves Tom!

Tom, getting a bit serious

The sun came out from behind the clouds while AVA were playing and it looked really dramatic, like even the Gods loved them

The last time I saw Something Corporate was when I was 19 and one of the girls I went with to see them is now married with a baby. Times change but good music doesn’t. Sooooo cliched, but in the case of Something Corporate, so true. They played ALL their old hits, and even rocked out Konstantine, a song they hardly ever play live. It felt so fun to sing along to Punk Rock Princess, I Woke Up in a Car, Hurricane and If U C Jordan. Singer Andrew McMahon even got up onto his piano at one point and played with his feet!

Something Corporate!! Together!! Again!

More Something Corporate

Pop sensation Ke$ha was the only act to get to play both days of the festival and probably the cheesiest but funnest of the bunch! As soon as she started it was obvious she was singing along to a backing track but it was still a fun set. She was even dressed in an Indian headress and covered in glitter (of course!). I think Ke$ha is one of my dirty little secrets now, you have to give props to someone that sings a song with the lyrics ‘Don’t be a little bitch with your chit chat/Just show me where your dicks at!’.

Drake was up after Ke$ha but a friend of Jules and I got us backstage passes to the VIP Redbull Artists Lounge so after a song or two of his we hit up the lounge instead. Air con, free redbull, free vodka, comfy couches and a chill DJ. What more can you ask for when you need a break at a festival?

This is what we look like after a long day in the sun listening to amazing music

I’ve seen Paramore once before, when they played at the UNSW Roundhouse back in October 2007 and pretty sure I spent most of the show upstairs drinking with the support bands. This time around wasn’t much different, Jules and I watched a few songs, but as soon as Hayley Williams introduced the slow song ‘The Only Exception’ were bailed and headed back to the Redbull Lounge. I don’t know why or how but we arrived at the conclusion we both didn’t like her very much…

The first day of the party was over *sadface*

We got lost on the way to finding our bus back to NYC and ended up walking two miles along highways in New Jersey at midnight before we found a bus. This could only happen to us...

the excitement & anticipation was building...

The day dragged on but 8pm finally rolled around and it was time for me to meet Jules in Williamsburg to pick up some drinks at Turkeys Nest before a short trip on the L train over to Union Square. By the time we made it past the 80s disco upstairs and downstairs into the concert venue there was just enough time to stake out the perfect spot near the stage before IATA took the stage. I have to admit, I was pretty excited and I’m pretty sure I sang the words to every song, bar the new ones they played.

Despite not playing very frequently as a full band, and not having released a full length album since 2005, the fans went crazy. Most of the show the crowd were singing over the top of the band and the crowd surfers didn’t stop the entire set. IATA’s set drew heavily from their self-titled album, including ‘I Took a Beating’, ‘This is Dungeon Music’ and ‘My Second Restraining Order’, as well as three songs that will be on their new album, hopefully coming out sometime this summer.

Check out the video below of ‘Green Eyes’ and the photos from the show below.

They finally took the stage!

Oh hai there I Am the Avalanche

Until then, I will go on feeling slightly disconnected from the world during work hours when I’m away from my computer.

all you'll get is a dial tone...

The worlds largest pillow fight in Union Square

The cherry blossoms are out in full bloom, SO PRETTY!

Becks & Jules

Jules needed a job but then she found one

I already have one

(Indian) Summer in the city

Sitting on the steps of the Met, like a bunch of gossip girls

van Gogh is one of my favorite artists

More cherry blossoms in Central Park

The greatest thing about Turkeys Nest is taking their drinks outside and lying in Maccarren Park

After some happy hour drinks at Mason Dixon we headed on over to Lit Lounge to meet up with Mayan, Noa & Nira for some dancing fun times. It was rad to finally have all the girls out of Brooklyn and partying in the city for once!! Lit was pretty packed and even though Mayan, Noa & Nia left early, Jules and I stayed til just before closing time, party party!!! There was a weird English actor guy that tried to convince us that we should stay out and party with him, he didn’t seem to comprehend the fact that I had to get up in a few hours to go to work the next morning, and instead of ordering me a vodka sour like I asked, he got me bourbon which was absolutely disgusting so I couldn’t drink it. But apart from that, it was definitely a great night!

Bud at Mason Dixon

Pregaming at Mason Dixon

Reunited at LIT

I <3 this photo!!!

Noa giving her best fierce look

Nira and Jules!

Jules' favorite drink

<3 <3 <3

DON'T TAKE OUR PICTURE!!!!

Waiting for the $5 Jaguar Love show

Showing off my outfit and still waiting

The weird band that played before Jaguar Love

$5 shows on Tuesday nights are pretty rad

Jaguar Love

The show was really fun; the band played a stack of songs from old to new including Jaguar Pirates, Highways of Gold and Poloroids and Red Wine.

Jaguar Love

We're hereeeeeeee

After a short flight we made it to Richmond and we were greeted by the prospect of no phone reception and no Starbucks. Instead, all there was Caribou Coffee, where they apparently don’t know what a Soy Chai Latte is. Oh well, the lady got it right on the third try.

Apart from those little interuptions, we got to our hotel nice and easy thanks to a very helpful cabbie, who took us on the scenic route through downtown Richmond and past all the pretty buildings and the Edgar Allan Poe Museum. The best surprise of the day though occurred when we got to our hotel room and discovered it was a suite, not a normal room! I swear the bathroom in the suite was bigger than my bedroom in Brooklyn, – having a living room, a huge bathroom and a huge bedroom was a bit of a luxury, even if it was only for the weekend.

Welcome to our living room

The hotel suite bigger than my apartment in Brooklyn..

The view from out our window

After we got settled into our room and unpacked we went for a walk to a local cafe and saw some of the sights along the way. Richmond is a really old city so there’s lots of super old buildings with pretty architecture, it gives off a feeling of ‘Old America’. We stopped at two thrift stores as well and I got a cute blue and aqua long sleeved mini dress as well as a 1960′s floral dress for less than $30 altogether.

I felt a bit like Little Red Riding Hood, but with a blue coat instead

We learnt the hard way that cabs are really unreliable in Richmond if you’re not getting picked up from the airport (we spent an hour waiting in the cold drizzle for a cab we’d called but never came) but finally made it to the venue Alley Katz for the first day of United Blood. The line-up for the show was pretty much amazing:

More music.

The view from above

Cruel Hand

This was right before the DJ dropped Miley Cyrus and we lost it!

The next morning we got up early and went for breakfast at a cute little cafe that had lots of yummy vegan food. I think if I’d had enough money I would have ordered one of everything on the menu!

The yummy 821 Cafe

Jules' vegan chili burrito

My avocado and veggie burger

On the walk back to the Alley Katz for the second day of the festival we passed more pretty buildings and houses that looked like they were out of a scene in a movie.

This house was so perfect it even had a porch swing!

If you look closely, you can see the cobblestone road

Obviously Cam didn't get the memo that sunglasses inside isn't cool..

Resting our feet

Oh and the Virginia State Capitol Building was right across the street from our hotel as well. I swear its a mini version of the White House, for a state like Virginia it’s a pretty nice place for your governor to live.

The Virginia State Capitol, it totally looks like a mini White House

Goodbye Virginia

17th March – Somewhere high above Earth, in between Georgia and Texas

Texas is the lone-star state, and right now, flying a few miles above it in the pitch black sky, I feel like the world has been inverted, – the clusters of lights scattered below me look like stars and the endless black of the sky above me could be the ground for all I know. The outside scenery aside, the SXSW adventure has already started and I haven’t even planted a foot on Texan soil yet.

waiting for our plane to leave

waiting, pt. 2

bye bye New York (or this could be New Jersey!)

the compulsory 'sky and aeroplane wing' shot

The flight Mayan and I took from JFK to Atlanta, Georgia was fun, – intermittent sleep combined with episodes of 30 Rock and The Office. When we deplaned in Atlanta we made friends with some other people on our flight who were also Austin-bound. The airport was typical nondescript airport fare, aside from the fact that most of the fast food restaurants served southern food and the airport bar we waited in had a smoking section indoors. Obviously they do things differently in the South.

happy St. Paddy's Day!!

down the hatch!

look how green mine is!

To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (we’re all a little bit Irish on March 17th), Mayan and I did one of the Heinkein Bar’s festive shots – mine had a combination of vodka, apple schnapps and triple sec, while Mayan’s had vodka, pineapple and some other equally green ingredients in it.

the yummiest three-coloured tortilla chips EVER

We’re now halfway into our flight to Austin and all there is to do is play the waiting game; the snack cart has already made the rounds, I’ve got my Ipod (actually a borrowed Iriver thanks to the person who stole my bag back in December) playing in my ears and am switching between writing and reading (Up In the Air – it seemed appropriate). There’s some turbulence and as much as I don’t mind the unplanned high altitude roller-coaster ride, I will be happy when I arrive in the home state of such notables as George W. Bush and Hilary Duff.

It’s going to be five days of sun, music, parties and good times. The flight out of New York tomorrow afternoon connects with another one in Georgia (I will be in the actual South!!!!) that flies to Austin. I get in just before midnight but since I plan on catching up on sleep on the flights down, I will be ready for whatever happens as soon as I hop off.

I plan on taking a lot of photos and I promise I will try and keep track of all my adventures to write about on here once I get back on Monday afternoon!

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