Not even going to tip toe around this. I went to Bazooka Rock Fest just to see Anberlin. Okay, maybe to watch over my cousin who was there too. Although I think I did a pretty shoddy job at it. Because we always wear this look of surprise when we chance upon each other at the mosh pit. I hung out with my friends at the hallway of SMX listening to the bands playing inside the lower ground halls. Hung out bay side too. And had lunch at the other end of the Mall of Asia compound. I had so much energy saved up for the day long rock fest so why not walk some of it off?
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| Tonight Alive |
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| We Came As Romans |
The only other set that I got to experience completely (mosh pit and all) was We Came As Romans. I found one of my good friends at the pit so I figured why not? Besides, the crowd was great. Which was an understatement. I don't think I've ever enjoyed a band whose music I wasn't familiar with as much as I did them. I am getting one of their albums too on the next music shopping spree.
I've never been so scared and excited to be at a mosh pit before and I thought it was insane how WCAR worked the crowd. Even with a failed circle pit. Sorry guys, we tried. We tried and we landed on each other. I have never been more amused, although a wee bit terrified, about being crushed under the weight of a few people in my life. This is exactly how I envisioned rock shows to be like.
Thus the amount of photos. Remember, I had so much energy saved up for it. Not to mention an unnatural amount of sugar in my system after trying to down a HUGE bottle of shake that will put all those super sized servings to shame. It seemed like a good idea till I eventually got hold of my bottle. Booze was also free flowing, but I was never a beer lady. So I guess no alcohol for me.
We had some time to rest after their set, watching Red Jumpsuit Apparatus from a distance. They also had someone come up on stage and perform with them after winning a contest by Pulp. I didn't catch the start of his performance but I think it's safe to assume he rocked it like a pro. The crowd was so hyped, jumping, dancing, and moving along to every single song the band played, I can only imagine how great the pictures would turn out. Me and my friends enjoyed it from a safe distance and only joined the crowd when they sang My Guardian Angel.
And finally, the moment I've waited months for. Getting crushed in a sea of people who never really stopped pushing and shoving until Anberlin took the stage.
As expected, they played a good number of songs off their new album. Which I already had a copy of, but never had a chance to officially listen to until after the rock fest. But they did Dismantle.Repair and Feel Good Drag to which I sang and tried to jump and dance to. It's hard to dance in the pit when you're all being crushed and shoved. Personally thought they were flawless on stage and I am not going to sugarcoat how gutted I was that people in the front were barely even moving to their music.
I remember watching videos of shows where there was absolutely nothing wrong with the band on stage, yet people were just standing. Except I never questioned what the hell is wrong with them, because I knew exactly why. They were so great on stage. It was almost everything I hoped it would be, minus the unresponsive crowd, really. I hope the screaming and singing me, my friends, and a good few people did were enough.
The next two bands were a bit of a blur for me. I was exhausted. Much like every other kid who is ready to go home after getting what they want. But I'm glad I stuck around. All Time Low was a huge ball of energy. Mirroring the crowd's shrieks and screams. You have no idea how this breaks my heart. Maybe that's a tiny bit of an exaggeration, but I honestly felt bad. I was tempted to scream "I love you!" at a couple of members of Anberlin hanging out at the side of the stage. ATL pulled out all the stops at their set. Not to mention bras falling from the ceiling and being tossed around the crowd till it made its way to the stage. Jack even wore one on his head while running to and from the farthest end of both sides of the platforms extending from the stage.
Closing the show was one last performance from A Rocket To The Moon. I honestly feel bad that I never got to listen to their stuff before, because they were really really good. I enjoyed their set from Lee's elevated platform, comfortably seated, taking everything in.
You can feel the mix of excitement, elation, and sadness from the crowd as they played song after song. Until after a brief break from singing the crowd chants "Don't break up! Don't break up!" Even I felt bad they were breaking up. And this was the first time I'm even hearing their music! You could tell how much they loved the moment, trying to extend the time between songs. But all good things do come to an end. And it ended beautifully, with fireworks.
This was my first time attending Bazooka Rocks Fest and I'm hoping this won't be the last! All in all I had a great time, and I'm glad everything worked out. I've been told that this was way better than last year's, and I feel so proud for surviving the day. Congratulations to Pulp and everyone who made this event possible!
P.S.
Seeing as this is my diary of sorts, and I'm still in Bazooka Rocks hangover, this happened the other day:
This happened a few hours after I put up one of the photos I took that night on my instagram and tagged them like crazy. Nothing makes me happier than seeing someone I photographed be happy with the same photo that makes me happy. not sure if that sentence made sense, but you get the drift. They're in Thailand now and here's hoping they'll be back next year.
x
Henri
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