Sarahindie

You may have seen me remark on Twitter that the Bamboozle preliminary lineup had only two bands I’d even heard of, which meant I probably didn’t have to go. Well, now there’s more information, and I’m still definitely not going, but I am deeply, deeply baffled. Here’s the crux: From the way the front page looks and what we know about Bamboozle (traditionally two main stages, with each stage’s headliner running unopposed), old school heroes The Gaslight Anthem are headlining on one side vs Mötley Crüe on the other (which, like, who the hell is even going to go to Bamboozle to see Mötley damn Crüe. I foresee a lot of MC fans (don’t make me do the umlauts anymore) buying tickets and then rolling in at the end of the day, leaving the earlier bands playing to very few people), while on the other day, Taking Back Sunday is on one side and Lil’ Wayne is on the other.

Remember last year, when they at least tried to thematically organize the days? A scene day and a hipster day? They gave up on that, which is fine, because how are you going to categorize Lil Wayne and MC in a way that can also incorporate the traditional litany of scene bands.

And now, the rest of the list sorted into three categories: Bands I Want to See, Except How I’m Not Going to Fucking Bamboozle Again; Bands Whose Presence on This Bill Confuses Me; and Scene Bands With Terrible Names. (Prediction: the first group will be shortest and the last will be epically long.)

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If you are unfamiliar, the premise of Hoodwink, traditionally held the night before Bamboozle festivals, is that bands pick a favorite, different band, and play a set of their songs. I, who loves cover songs, love Hoodwink. Because some people (me) have real jobs, I missed the first few bands. I am told that Eye Alaska, who did the music of Kanye West, stagecrashed the set of The Summer Set, who were doing Taylor Swift. So Eye Alaska wins at life.

All the Day Holiday plays The Beach Boys: they have dressed in costume, which is adorable. Blue oxford shirts, black trousers, sunglasses, hair neatly combed. It almost makes up for the terrible sound mix. It’s about 80% too loud treble, underscored by just enough bass to rattle my ribcage. The really weakness in this set is their insistence on using as much falsetto as the original band. It takes a real man to admit that his falsetto isn’t ready for prime time. Also, thanks to this band’s popularity, this is the first time I’ve seen kids running and dancing wildly at the sound of the Beach Boys in … ever.

The Maine plays Everclear: From the first song, they are excellent. (To be fair, the source material is way easier.) But the Phoenix-based Maine has the right laid-back SoCal angst for this band’s repetoire.

Hmm, as they go on, it becomes apparent that they frontloaded the set with the songs they were good at. The lead singer’s grip on the lyrics collapses after the second song.

Say Anything plays The Misfits: Okay. Loud. Par for the course.

Motion City Soundtrack plays Nine Inch Nails: I suppose anyone who thought about it a moment would realize that MCS would be the best band at Hoodwink this year. They picked source material that was strong and adapted it to their strengths rather than trying to force themselves to be an electrometal band for a night. But it still shows a new side of them, which I think is the secret aim behind the Hoodwink concerts. This is awesome, hard as hell rock. Plus, they use their techs to their full ability, so at one point, there are seven guys playing on stage. Plus, no one except drummer Tony Thaxton seems to be the only one allowed to play just one instrument. It’s positively Arcade Fire. But it is amazingly worth it, if just for the three dueling synths + Moog closing of “Closer.”

The way frontman Justin Pierre throws himself around the stage, I think this might be the closest I ever coming to seeing Trent Reznor himself. It’s almost worth the horrible pain in my eardrums from the WAY TOO MANY amps.

When they start “Hurt”, there are at least a dozen real lighters in the air. That is more than I’ve seen at a show in at least ten years. Also, my favorite people here are3 the nice middle-aged mom with the string backpack and her husband, who is having a religious experience.

Andrew McMahon plays Bar Classics: He starts with a Dylan impression. Progresses to “Rocket Man,” a deep Simon & Garfunkel cut, and a quarter-speed version of MGMT’s “Kids.” Time to go home!

The Bamboozle is a bi-coastal festival catering to scene kids. Ours is in May in the swamp in New Jersey, so it is either raining on my face or so hot I want to die. Everyone has spent an hour on their hair and is wearing a combination of band merch and stuff sold at Hot Topic or American Apparel. The median age is about 17. Every year I say I am not going, and then a band is playing so good that I have to go. But I think not this year! Yay! Continue reading