Parks & Devastation Tour Featuring A Day To Remember, Bring Me The Horizon, Chiodos, & Motionless In White Nashville, TN 10/6/14

It is not every day that you get to photograph a band that you love. It is also not every day you see a photographer rocking out in the photo pit to said favorite bands because it is usually deemed unprofessional. That is not the case for A Day To Remember.

I have listened to this band for a long time and I jumped at the chance to be in the photo pit. I call that going after your dreams.

The first band of the evening was Motionless In White. I've never been too keen on them, but they are definitely talented and they got the crowd moving, which is something I value in the bands I see.

They played

Immaculate Misconception

Devil's Night

Generation Lost

Reincarnate

Dark Passenger

Abigail

America

Quickly following them was Chiodos. This past April, I had the pleasure of interviewing their singer, Craig Owens. He is such a sassy, down to earth guy and I was so glad to see him again.

The band recently put out a new album, Devil, their first album with Owens back in the band after a few years break from the band.

They played

The Undertaker's Thirst for Revenge Is Unquenchable. (The Final Battle)

Thermacare

Ole Fishlips is Dead Now

Two Birds Stoned at Once

The Words "Best Friend" Become Redefined

3 AM

Baby, You Wouldn't Last a Minute on the Creek

Bring Me The Horizon is a band I had not seen in several years and they are constantly growing and evolving their sound.

The most memorable part of their set, was watching this girl on the front row screaming her guts out because Oli Sykes walked on stage. She continued to scream and cry throughout their entire set and you could hear her over the music.

This is not an exaggeration.

They played

Shadow Moses

Go to Hell, for Heaven's Sake

The House of Wolves

Sleepwalking

Alligator Blood

And the Snakes Start to Sing

Chelsea Smile

Can You Feel My Heart

Antivist

 And finally, it was time for A Day To Remember. They always play every show like they are playing to the world. They have every person off their feet and they are great with crowd participation. To be able to say I have shot them makes me tear up every time.

The played

The Downfall of Us All

2nd Sucks

Right Back at It Again

City of Ocala

I'm Made of Wax, Larry, What Are You Made Of?

Monument

Violence (Enough Is Enough)

Best of Me

Mr. Highway's Thinking About the End

Macarena (Cover)

Homesick (Kevin on Vocals. Jeremy rolled over the crowd in a hamster ball)

You Be Tails, I'll Be Sonic

The Document Speaks for Itself

End of Me

Have Faith in Me

Sometimes You're the Hammer, Sometimes You're the Nail

All I Want

Encore:

If It Means a Lot to You (Prior to the song Jeremy and Kevin sang first verse and chorus of the Acceptance song "So Contagious")

All Signs Point to Lauderdale

The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle

I salute you, A Day To Remember. I salute you. 

Welcome To Rockville Metropolitan Park Jacksonville, FL April 26th and 27th, 2014

Welcome To Rockville was the first music festival I covered in my career. I did everything on my own: applied for press passes, set up band interviews, planned my entire trip, on my own. 

My first band of the weekend was Digital Summer. I had wanted to see them for a very long time and I was fortunate to have an interview opportunity with them later in the day. The band following them was Rev Theory and I had an opportunity to interview their guitar player as well. 

The bands setlists are as follows:

Upon my interview with Adelita's Way, Their performance included several new songs from their upcoming album. 

Chiodos always delivers the best sets for their audience. Half of the people there had no idea who they were, but they still played the show like it was their last, as they do every show. They played

Right after Chiodos, I finally got to see Alter Bridge. They never came close enough for me to get to, but now I finally could. Myles Kennedy is a wonderful performer. They played almost all of my favorites too, which made my first AB experience wonderful. There were people flipping out when they played Blackbird. I was surprised at how many people had Blackbird tattoos because of that song.  

Chevelle is one of those bands that I enjoy, but has always been a little too "Art Rock" for me to understand. That does not mean I do not enjoy their live show, though. Their super fans were cracking me up the whole time too. They kept screaming the lyrics to certain songs. At the time of their set, I was honestly just ready for A Day To Remember, one of my favorite bands of all time.

A Day To Remember, as I said earlier, is one of my all time favorite bands. It was the first time I had seen them since their acclaimed album Common Courtesy was released and the band was on point. Not to mention, it was basically a hometown show for them. This was my favorite set of the weekend, not because I'm biased, but because I had just met Jeremy McKinnon earlier in the day and I was on cloud nine. The energy that this band brings to their crowds is unmatched by any band I have ever seen. My only question is what kind of monster puts We Came As Romans and A Day To Remember at the same time? Both are two of my favorites, but I had to choose. I had recently seen WCAR, so I went for ADTR. The choice was not easy. ADTR played a wonderful set.

I walked over to meet WCAR after the ADTR set and caught part of The Cult, but I do not think they are really worth reviewing since I did not particularly enjoy them.

The last band of the night was Avenged Sevenfold. I like A7X, but I was exhausted and I left after Bat Country, since the first time I saw them, they did not play it. The rest of their set included

And that concluded Day 1 of my first music festival coverage experience. 

Day 2 of Rockville was underway and I was fortunate to see Birmingham, AL favorite, Within Reason. It made me feel a sense of pride for my home state and I was glad to have that sense of normalcy so far away from home. Of course they rock, but I am biased. They played

Following them, I saw The Pretty Reckless, Sick Puppies, and Lacuna Coil. GIRL POWER!!! Their setlists are as follows

It is always an anticipated show when one of your favorite bands is about to release a new album. It is also exciting when you get to interview them as well. Theory of A Deadman always brings it live and their new album will be amazing. They played 

When I found out Staind was going to be at this festival, I was so excited. I could finally cross them off my bucket list. They do not tour as much anymore so I was happy to be one of the few to witness the performance. They played

On the way out of the festival, I saw Five Finger Death Punch. I know you are probably thinking, "Why did you leave before Rob Zombie and Korn?" Well, it was exam week at the University of Alabama and I had a final the following Monday on top of an almost 10 hour drive home. Luckily, I had the excitement of everything I had just accomplished to carry me home. Until next time, Jacksonville.