The Bamboozle Festival At the Meadowlands NJ was a smashing success. The place was electric ! The young people were everywhere brimming with the excitement of seeing their favorite band, to step into that nirvana of the moment where everthing is as it should be.
Under the constant threat of downpour as greyclouds loomed throughout the festival there was only a light misty fog which added to the magic of the first evening. Looking out from the stage one could see the ocean of people with its currents and edies. As the bands started playing, the waves came and crashed upon the shore of the stage. Waves of humans came spilling over the barricades as the security guards fought the valiant battle of catching the wave safely. Seconds after bands finish their set, technicians onstage scramble as the tide recedes and a wizardry of sound engineering takes place. Entire sets of band gear are swapped, cables are connected and faders adjusted with care and percision; all in about 20 minutes! the pace on the stage is so highly intense, just imagine if you had to take all the stuff from your living room, stereo, tv, furniture and ALL and remove it ALL and replace it all with new stuff and hook it ALL up in time for guests to arrive and these guests only stayed for an hour and you had to repeat this process 10 times in one day on a schedule, but with a million cables to hook up! ! and yet, Everything comes off as planned. (well not really but close enough to keep the boss happy.)
Then, it's the next band's turn, and the wave comes crashing into the barricade again. People spill over the steel wall to get close to the bands they love just for a moment, (the dedication!) one crowd-surfer is dressed as winnie the pooh ! Meanwhile behind the scenes, Truck loaders & stagehands backstage are wrestling with an almost constant flow of road cases and backline,(musical equipment) packing and unpacking cases and trucks all day as the road guys assemble& disassemble drumsets and connect cables to amps and keyboards, artists stand in groups getting themselves ready for showtime with powows or chants, or just after their set, drinking a celebratory toast to their great success with their entourages. The stage manager runs everywhere directing, watching, coordinating every movement of anything on or around that stage.
Security people watch the gates and state troopers are everywhere doing checks with the german shepherds for safety's sake. The second day we saw the sun appearing all day off and on as the clouds gave way to a gorgeous partly sunny day. What an amazing scene!
Me? I was working the deck moving backline. I play the part of the stagehand. I get to see all the bands up close, a lot that I've never heard of before. kudos to the Mighty Mighty Bosstones who blew everyone off the B stage,(nowwhat.com) all the other bands were great as well. I was living on that stage for two days all day and band after band after band I was getting a little tired the bosstones woke me up!
Its only once a year, but what a rush being at Bamboozle! thanks to Doug Wallace for bringing in the chocolate cupcakes & doritoes- they were what kept me going and thanks to Chak for keepin that kid in line, and of course thanks to Jimmy and the whole crew.
aldo-guitar