My Bamboozle Adventure

This year, as my birthday present, my sister took me to The Bamboozle Festival at Giant’s Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was the most fun I’ve ever had! The festival ran all weekend long with over fifty bands playing. There were six stages set up in the parking lot near the stadium that the bands would play on.

When we arrived at the concert, we grabbed the performance sheet and ran to see Metro Station. We made our way through the crowd to hear them play songs such as “Shake It”, “Dead And Gone”, and “Control”. Trace Cyrus, the lead singer, was amazing! I loved being able to see the whole band right in front of me and to hear some of my favorite songs.

Once Metro Station was done performing, we made our way to see Hey Monday. This was only Hey Monday’s second year performing at The Bamboozle Festival. Seeing Hey Monday is something that I would definitely do again. Whether it was telling a random joke, or getting the crowd to sing along with her, Cassadee Pope, the lead singer, involved the audience in the whole performance.

After seeing Hey Monday, we decided to get something to eat. My sister spotted a crowd of girls running at full speed. She grabbed my arm, and sprinted toward them. I had no idea what was going on, but I followed her lead. Thank goodness I did, because we soon realized whom the crowd was following. It was Alex Gaskarth from All Time Low. Unfortunately, we couldn’t catch up to Alex in time because his bodyguards were holding us back. He was escorted to the trailer where we could no longer see him but I still got a lot of great pictures of him, and a video too!

After seeing Alex, we started exploring the tents at the festival. We walked to the other side of the festival where a man from the Internet Explorer tent approached us. He must have noticed our home made shirts because he asked us if we were Fall Out Boy fans. Of course, I screamed yes. He then asked if we would be interested in meeting them. I thought I was going to pass out, but Heather, my sister, reminded me not to get my hopes up. The man told us to return back to his tent in an hour and we would get the opportunity to meet them. I tried not to get my hopes because I didn’t know if the man was being honest.

An hour slowly passed by, and we returned to the Internet Explorer tent where two security guards were waiting for us. We got our backstage passes, and were escorted to a closed off section of the festival. I still didn’t get my hopes up, but the tension was growing. There was a group of about twenty people waiting with us. The group started walking but my sister and I were not really paying attention to what was going on. When I finally looked up to see where I was going, Pete, Patrick, Andy, and Joe were standing twenty feet in front of me.

My sister said, “Okay, now you can get your hopes up!” This was not a dream, I was standing right in front of Fall Out Boy. I had so many thoughts running through my mind. I realized I was about to meet my favorite band in the entire universe. The line was moving quickly, which made us realize that our time was limited.

When we finally reached the band, Patrick Stump, the lead singer, was the first band member to greet us. His birthday was five days before, so I wished him a happy belated birthday. Being on tour must have made him forget that his birthday was a few days before. He gave me a confused look, thanked me, and laughed at his forgetting. He signed my shirt and I moved on.

The next band member was Andy Hurley, the drummer. Andy is probably the shyest person in the band. We exchanged hellos, Andy signed my shirt, and I was waiting for my sister to catch up to me. She was having a conversation with the lead singer, which made the bodyguard get impatient.

After Andy, I met Joe Trohman, the guitarist. Joe’s hair used to be down to his shoulders. When I noticed that he got a hair cut, I commented on it. He laughed and told me that it was getting too out of control for him. In response, I told him that I was looking forward to him head banging and his hair going all over the place. He smiled, signed my shirt, and I was scolded for talking too long.

Last but not least, I got to meet my role model. My idol. My inspiration. Pete Wentz. First, since I was in absolute shock, I tried to utter a simple hello. When I finally managed to do that, I asked him to sign my shirt. After he was done signing my shirt, I thanked him. Before I knew it, Pete Wentz had his arm out to hug me. I was in total disbelief; I got to hug Pete Wentz. Luckily, my sister was not far behind me and begged the security guard to take a picture of Pete and I. He actually said yes, and I was able to get a picture.

After meeting Fall Out Boy, we knew we had to start making our way to the stage to get a good spot. We were two hours early. After each band that had performed on the Wonka stage had left, we had the opportunity to move closer and closer to the stage because their fans were leaving. While we were waiting, we saw Journey perform and heard Third Eye Blind on a nearby stage. Finally, the time came and the stage crew began pushing big screens onto the stage. After about fifteen minutes, the screens turned on to video clips and some clips from Fall Out Boy’s songs. When the screens went black, men dressed up as S.W.A.T. members began playing drums strapped around their necks. Patrick Stump started singing, but still, no one could see them. Finally, the lights turned a bright yellow and the screens disappeared. Fall Out Boy appeared on the stage and continued singing “Disloyal Order Of Water Buffaloes.” They played all of our favorite songs with Pete giving hints as to what would be played next. Of course, we knew all the hints.

Before I knew it, they were playing their last song, “Saturday.” When they were done performing and thanking the crowd for hanging out, we made our way to the exit. This was by far the best day of my life. I can’t wait for next year and many years to come. It was such a great experience for me and I recommend that no one pass up an opportunity like this.