The fist pumpin’, head bobbin’, feet stompin’, body shakin’, two day music festival The Bamboozle, presented by Wonka, was certainly a concert that rocked your body.
The concert was held in the parking lot of the Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey and it was host to thousands of screaming fans who waited in the scorching heat and pouring rain to see the artists. There were six stages, tons of food stands and merchandise booths, a Wonka tent where a ton of candy was given out, and even a ferris wheel. Some of the biggest bands of the weekend were No Doubt, Taking Back Sunday, Fall Out Boy, GWAR, Third Eye Blind, and 3OH!3.
On Sunday night, No Doubt had their fans in an uproar when Gwen Stefani decided to crowd surf, and Taking Back Sunday’s Adam Lazzara climbed up the stage and hung upside down, hanging on with only his legs, which made his fans all the more energized.
Family Force 5, the rock group from Atlanta, Georgia, put on a great show when they took over the stage. “Start the party now, g’on put your hands up!” they sang to the crowd. There was definitely a party goin’ on. The mosh pits really started to open up during Billy Talent when they played “Red Flag” and “Fallen Leaves”, but the biggest pit formed when Taking Back Sunday told the crowd to make a giant pit in the middle. It was one concert that you just had to be at to understand how intense things became.
Bamboozle also had some comedians from Comedy Central Records come to the show to entertain the crowd. The young comedian Bo Burnham, originally seen on YouTube.com, was there and had his audience laughing hysterically. He was also one of the few artists, including Taking Back Sunday, who had a signing after his performance.
I highly recommend going to Bamboozle next year to anyone who has never been there before. Even when the rain was pouring on Sunday, no one wanted to leave. They forgot about the weather and danced and moshed until they couldn’t anymore. Everyone wanted the party to go on when it was over. People already started reminiscing when the last song was done, talking about how proud they were of some of their bruises, how they got to touch Gwen when she crowd surfed, and flipping through pictures on their cameras. It’s one experience I’ll never forget and hopefully will become something that I do every year. If you want a rockin’ time, this is the place to go.