Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Paramore, All-American Rejects, Jimmy Eat World Get Fans Riled Up At SoCal's Bamboozle Left
Hawthorne Heights hit the stage for the first time since guitarist Casey Calvert's death in November.
IRVINE, California — The second-annual Bamboozle Left rolled into Southern California over the weekend, bringing some big names and fresh new talent with it.
One of the biggest draws of the two-day fest was Paramore, who attracted throngs of fans to their stage on Saturday. Just before the lights went up, a low rumble of "Par-a-more" arose from the crowd and dissolved into screams as the lights went up and Hayley Williams bounced onstage. The pint-size rock star with the larger-than-life voice rambunctiously jumped around the stage, with her fire-engine-red hair flailing around her. Fans ate up the performance, singing along and duplicating her moves.
Seconds after Paramore finished their set, current tourmates Jimmy Eat World took to the stage. As the guys burst into their hit "Sweetness" from the 2001 album Bleed American, the crowd joined in with every cry of "Are you listening? Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh." The group boasted the biggest and most age-diverse crowd of the festival by far.
The All-American Rejects and their ever-so-animated frontman, Tyson Ritter, closed out Saturday night by calling the Bamboozle fans "the hoodie generation." He then commanded that the crowd put their hoods up. Almost instantly, the crowd transformed from an endless array of hairstyles into a sea of black, white and grey dots. Ritter then debuted a new acoustic song called "Mona Lisa," which the guys joked before the set would be leaked onto YouTube by Sunday. The song will be part of their new album, which they are hoping to debut in September. The album has not yet been named, but the band assures that it will not be called Remember Us, as was reported in the Bamboozle program.
Pop-punk band the Audition were a crowd-pleasing favorite on Saturday too, as their soulful undertones and on-point performance transformed the audience's typical mosh-pit moves into the writhing body movements of lead singer Danny Stevens.
Hawthorne Heights took the stage Sunday afternoon for their first show since the accidental death of guitarist Casey Calvert in November. Calvert died due to a mixture of prescribed antidepressants and anxiety and pain medications. Fans wore "In Loving Memory of Casey Calvert" T-shirts in support of Hawthorne Heights, who thanked them for their well-wishes and played a song in Casey's memory. After the set, fans lined up to meet the band and expressed their condolences and encouragement in person.
While Bamboozle Left marked the first show back for Hawthorne Heights, it marked the last for My Chemical Romance. After spending the past two years on tour promoting The Black Parade, MCR are overdue for a break and a new album. They played the final set of the festival and gave concertgoers something to remember. As the band began to play the title track from Parade, the stage went black with a spotlight on lead singer Gerard Way, who acted as a conductor of the audience. The crowd sang the entire first verse without missing a beat.
With tens of thousands of people and a handful of rock bands playing, there was rarely a quiet moment, but Escape the Fate frontman Craig Mabbitt definitely silenced the crowd Sunday afternoon. In the middle of the set, Mabbitt dropped his mic, climbed the light tower 20 feet in the air and threw himself backward into the crowd. The crowd gasped, then going silent with confusion, shock and worry. Mabbitt's bandmates continued to play as the fans awaited his fate. After what seemed like several minutes, Mabbitt finally emerged from the crowd seemingly uninjured and finished the set as two stripper-esque dancers joined him onstage.
Jeffree Star transformed his stage into a West Hollywood rave on Sunday night. The audience watched wide-eyed and completely transfixed as the 6-foot-tall, pink-haired cross-dresser pranced around the stage in black booty shorts and 5-inch stilettos. Star definitely had the most controversial and original performance of the festival.
Planning on going to any big music fests this year? Be sure to join the You R Here community, where you can upload your concert photos, videos and reviews
IRVINE, California — The second-annual Bamboozle Left rolled into Southern California over the weekend, bringing some big names and fresh new talent with it.
One of the biggest draws of the two-day fest was Paramore, who attracted throngs of fans to their stage on Saturday. Just before the lights went up, a low rumble of "Par-a-more" arose from the crowd and dissolved into screams as the lights went up and Hayley Williams bounced onstage. The pint-size rock star with the larger-than-life voice rambunctiously jumped around the stage, with her fire-engine-red hair flailing around her. Fans ate up the performance, singing along and duplicating her moves.
Seconds after Paramore finished their set, current tourmates Jimmy Eat World took to the stage. As the guys burst into their hit "Sweetness" from the 2001 album Bleed American, the crowd joined in with every cry of "Are you listening? Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh." The group boasted the biggest and most age-diverse crowd of the festival by far.
The All-American Rejects and their ever-so-animated frontman, Tyson Ritter, closed out Saturday night by calling the Bamboozle fans "the hoodie generation." He then commanded that the crowd put their hoods up. Almost instantly, the crowd transformed from an endless array of hairstyles into a sea of black, white and grey dots. Ritter then debuted a new acoustic song called "Mona Lisa," which the guys joked before the set would be leaked onto YouTube by Sunday. The song will be part of their new album, which they are hoping to debut in September. The album has not yet been named, but the band assures that it will not be called Remember Us, as was reported in the Bamboozle program.
Pop-punk band the Audition were a crowd-pleasing favorite on Saturday too, as their soulful undertones and on-point performance transformed the audience's typical mosh-pit moves into the writhing body movements of lead singer Danny Stevens.
Hawthorne Heights took the stage Sunday afternoon for their first show since the accidental death of guitarist Casey Calvert in November. Calvert died due to a mixture of prescribed antidepressants and anxiety and pain medications. Fans wore "In Loving Memory of Casey Calvert" T-shirts in support of Hawthorne Heights, who thanked them for their well-wishes and played a song in Casey's memory. After the set, fans lined up to meet the band and expressed their condolences and encouragement in person.
While Bamboozle Left marked the first show back for Hawthorne Heights, it marked the last for My Chemical Romance. After spending the past two years on tour promoting The Black Parade, MCR are overdue for a break and a new album. They played the final set of the festival and gave concertgoers something to remember. As the band began to play the title track from Parade, the stage went black with a spotlight on lead singer Gerard Way, who acted as a conductor of the audience. The crowd sang the entire first verse without missing a beat.
With tens of thousands of people and a handful of rock bands playing, there was rarely a quiet moment, but Escape the Fate frontman Craig Mabbitt definitely silenced the crowd Sunday afternoon. In the middle of the set, Mabbitt dropped his mic, climbed the light tower 20 feet in the air and threw himself backward into the crowd. The crowd gasped, then going silent with confusion, shock and worry. Mabbitt's bandmates continued to play as the fans awaited his fate. After what seemed like several minutes, Mabbitt finally emerged from the crowd seemingly uninjured and finished the set as two stripper-esque dancers joined him onstage.
Jeffree Star transformed his stage into a West Hollywood rave on Sunday night. The audience watched wide-eyed and completely transfixed as the 6-foot-tall, pink-haired cross-dresser pranced around the stage in black booty shorts and 5-inch stilettos. Star definitely had the most controversial and original performance of the festival.
Planning on going to any big music fests this year? Be sure to join the You R Here community, where you can upload your concert photos, videos and reviews
Paramore: Band is yet another reason to love it here
Singer Hayley Williams of the rock band Paramore performs at a party honoring Timbaland sponsored by Verizon Wireless and People magazine in Los Angeles. (Dan Steinberg, Associated Press / February 8, 2008)
PARAMORE
Paramore is a Grammy-nominated American emo band formed in 2004, having been influenced by such bands as Jimmy Eat World, Sunny Day Real Estate, New Found Glory, and Death Cab for Cutie. Hayley Williams (lead vocals/keyboard), Josh Farro (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jeremy Davis (bass guitar), and Zac Farro (drums) are the four current members who make up this band from Franklin, Tennessee. This fast-rising band released their debut album entitled “All We Know Is Falling” in 2005 featuring their first single “Pressure,” as well as other songs such as “Emergency” and “All We Know.” Their second and latest album to date entitled “Riot!” was released in 2007, featuring the singles “Misery Business,” “Hallelujah,” and “Crushcrushcrush,” among others. This album turned gold in the same year, after having sold more than half a million copies in record shops.
As briefly mentioned above, Paramore’s music has been greatly influenced by various emo and rock bands. This rapidly-emerging band has been nurtured and supported by the record label Fueled by Ramen, which also nurtured other well-known emo bands like Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco. Although some people may think of them as a pop-rock band, most of their fans really consider them as an emo band. As Hayley Williams once said in an interview, Paramore’s music is emo without being whiney or bratty. They downplay the emotional aspect of their music and instead they focus on the energy and dynamism of it. If their sound is not enough to convince people that they are indeed an emo band, have a look at their hair styles and their fashion sense. All of them sport straight hair with fringes combed over to one side of the face and tight-fitting shirts and skinny jeans. This is more than enough proof that Paramore is a band espousing emo, not just through their music, but through their lifestyle as well.
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