Since 1997, Moxie has provided high school newspaper, radio, and TV with free music and videos, along with artist’s shows and visits to use as a part of their ongoing curriculum and activities. Moxie was the only reason Marcanio and Piper had the chance to go and see these punk pop bands up close and personal. The organization is meant to make teenager’s, young adults, and adults dreams come true.
The show was at Stage AE; the venue is a multi-purpose entertainment complex located on the North Shore of Pittsburgh. Pennsylvania. Right beside Heinz Field, it contains an indoor concert hall with room for 2,400 spectators and an outdoor amphitheatre that can accommodate 5,500. The start of construction was in April, 2010, until November, 2010 and it opened the following December. The venue was perfect for the concert. The pit area was big enough for the crowd to get crazy. Parking was expensive but fairly easy to find a spot. Although, everything was far too over priced and security took The Wonder Years whole set to get everyone inside. Beforehand, A Day to Remember had a acoustic show in the indoor concert hall, strictly for VIP’s only.
The enthusiastic, eager, and surely some would say hardcore show, was an experience of a lifetime. Taking a step back to see the crowd from afar was really something; feeling everyone’s vibe come together as one. The Wonder Years, All Time Low, and Pierce the Veil were upbeat and wild; but when ADTR came on, “ridiculous” would be the only sufficient word. Everyone was crazier, happier, bouncier than the previous performance, and it was awesome. There wasn’t a place to go without a slew of people already there. It was so warm for October, like a summer night; making it a lively experience to share with 500 people in 8,000 square feet. Sharing the experience with so many other people that fell in love with the same bands you did was truly one of the greatest times to be had. Personal space couldn’t be a subject of description to someone, until they are in a “mosh pit” and people try to be as close they can get to one another; but still a good time.
When the headlining band, A Day To Remember came on stage, everyone was pushing and shoving, struggling to stay afloat while the moshing started. People running, jumping, arms flailing; a good time. Some people stayed back, and some people go in fearlessly; whichever you choose, it’s a bucket list experience. Overhead, there were plenty of people drifting along as they crowd surf, finding their way to the front. The fear of hitting the cement is logical, and it does happen, but this is what we could call: another bucket list experience.
When music fans go to a concert with the pop punk scene you have to be ready to get pushed around and probably hit in the face a few times. Kids would be crowd surfing over you and they would either land on you or go right over you. Both Piper and Marcanio crowd surfed for their first time at this concert; right as you were about to hit the ground someone would scoop you up in their arms and toss you up above the crowd again.
The reporters had the chance to talk to some other teenagers who had the opportunity to experience the radical show.
“The show was amazing, the most inspirational concert I have ever been to and it was worth every cent I paid. The atmosphere was amazing with all kinds of awesome people everywhere. The pit was full of a bunch of sweaty people though, but that’s okay! Because I had a crazy awesome time!” – Ben Martin, Junior of Derry Area.
“It was crazy! Everyone was really cool and down to earth. I had random conversations with so many new people. The pits were fun and crazy, I also liked how the second you fell there was someone making sure you got right back up. A Day to Remember’s stage performance was amazing, of course, and every single person in the crowd was going nuts. All Time Low played great songs but the tunes weren’t heavy enough for some serious moshing. Pierce the Veil did alright but didn’t catch my attention too well. But ADTR, though. They blew me away! It was my first concert and there will definitely be more to come.” – Eric Buchanan, 2013 Graduate of Derry Area.
Emily Porter, Senior of Greater Latrobe, purchased VIP tickets a few months before the show, which granted access to the pre-show acoustic performance by A Day To Remember.
We asked, what was the VIP experience like?
“In one word: Amazing. It was a very personal experience, not only did we get to be right in front of a stage of which was only about a foot high, we got to have a question and answer session with the band. We got free t-shirts and signed posters and we got first choice as to where we stood for the actual show.”
The Wonder Years, an American Pop Punk band from Lansdale, Pennsylvania that formed in June of 2005 – were able to be apart of the House Party Tour. The name originates from a paper that Dan “Soupy” Campbell read, titled “The Wonder Years”. Today The Wonder Years consists of lead vocalist Dan “Soupy” Campbell, guitarist and backing vocalist Matt Brasch, a second guitarist & backing vocalist Casey Cavaliere, percussion and drummer Mike Kennedy, Bass Guitarist and backing vocalist Josh Martin, and guitarist, keyboardist and pianist Nick Steinborn. The Lansdale band was the first to play out all four bands and their set list consisted of nine songs. Tunes from “The Upsides” (released in 2010), “Suburbia I’ve Given You All & Now I’m Nothing” (released in 2011) and “The Greatest Generation” (released in March of this year). The Wonder Years opened up with Washington Square Park; as their performance continued they played Melrose Diner, Don’t Let Me Cave In, Passing Through A Screen Door, Local Man Ruins Everything, Dismantling Summer, Cul-De-Sac, Chaser and they closed with Came Out Swinging.
The alternative band All Time Low also joined A Day To Remember’s House Party Tour. Originating in Baltimore, the crew formed ATL back in 2003 with Alex Gaskarth as lead singer, Jack BaraKat on guitar, Zack Merrick on bass, and Rian Dawson on drums. Being second in the lineup, All Time Low had a classic set list including “The Reckless and the Brave,” “Weightless”, and their most popular “Dear Maria, Count Me In.” Vic Fuentes of Pierce The Veil joined All Time Low for the last song “A Love Like War,” transitioning into Pierce The Veil’s performance.
“Bulls in the Bronx,” started PTV’s setlist and flooded the sky with echoes. Pierce The Veil a post-hardcore band, also touring with A Day To Remember this year, started in 2007 in San Diego. PTV played other popular songs like “Bulletproof Love, and “Stained Glass Eyes and Colorful Tears,” only to be joined by the lead singer of A Day To Remember, Jeremy McKinnon, to finish out their gig with “King For A Day.”
A Day to Remember is an American rock band from Ocala, Florida founded in 2003 by former guitarist Tom Denney and drummer Bobby Scruggs. They are known for their unusual blend of metalcore and pop punk. Today, the band consists of vocalist Jeremy McKinnon, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Neil Westfall, bassist Joshua Woodard, percussion and drummer Alex Shelnutt, and lead guitarist Kevin Skaff. The band’s set list consisted of twenty songs, mostly classic hits but a few new ones were played. Songs from their albums “And Their Name was Treason” (released in 2005), “For Those Who Have Heart” (released in 2007), “Homesick” (released in 2009), “What Separates Me From You” (released in 2010), and “Common Courtesy” (released in October, but will officially be released on copy November 26th). Them being the headliner band, they were the last but certainly not the least. They opened with an already recorded clip of the band setting up for a house party and their actual performance was them “practicing for the party”. The stage was set up to look like a plain suburban house and as the show went on, pyrotechnics shot off the roof to the house. The band opened up with All I Want, which got the crowd rowdy; as their gnarly performance continued they played I’m Made of Wax Larry, What Are You Made Out Of?, Fast Forward to 2012, 2nd Sucks, Right Back at it Again, A Shot in the Dark, You’ll be Tails, I’ll be Sonic, Over My Head (Cable Car) The Fray Cover, You Had Me At Hello, Its Complicated; that is when McKinnon ran out onto the crowd in a giant human hamster ball, Mr. Highway’s Thinking About the End, Dead & Buried, The Danger in Starting a Fire, Have Faith in Me, Monument, The Plot to Bomb the Panhandle and their surprise encore included Violence (Enough is Enough), All Signs Point to Lauderdale, and The Downfall of Us All. They claimed they were signing off for the night but the crowd cheered and roared for another song. But the band wouldn’t just give their fans one more song, but an encore with three more songs. During their encore, they brought about 25 fans up on stage and they were considered “party guests”.
