The Carnival of Madness 2010

Note 1/19/2011: As promised, I tracked down the following post.  It was written in early August 2010 and I never hit 'publish' until now.  Here it is...unedited.  Enjoy!

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40 bands.  One day.  Did we make it?  Read on, my friends, read on.    Before I get into Saturday's shenanigans, we need to take a quick trip back in time...

Summer 2002
10 rock bands in one day!  The tickets were cheap enough and I wanted to see the headliner, Sevendust.  Jake and I locked up our teeny studio apartment in the West End and stepped into an shimmering sunny day.  We walked a block or two over to the Cumberland County Civic Center for the start of the 1st annual WCYY Summer Camp day.  I remember Mushroomhead and Sevendust but everyone else has blended together in my mind over time.  We almost survived all 10 bands' sets.  It was hot, LOUD, and smoky in the CCCC and three songs into the Sevendust set I admitted defeat.  As a general rule, we do not leave live performances early and thanks to Jake's sister we usually wait for movie credits to roll too.  Sorry, Sevendust but I'm pretty sure Jake was relieved to leave and I had a raging headache.  Let's blame Mushroomhead!  ;)


July 31, 2010
40 rock bands in one day!  That's just crazy, right?  Nope.  Add 10,000-15,000 of our closest music loving friends and you've got Oxxfest 2010 (aka the 8th annual WCYY Summer Camp day).  The tickets were cheap enough and we both wanted to see the main stage headliner, Shinedown, again. 

The five main stage performers are on the Carnival of Madness tour: 10 Years, Sevendust, Puddle of Mudd, Chevelle, and Shinedown.   We'd seen everyone besides 10 Years before so we knew at least the evening performances on the main stage would be good. 

Jake and I were smack in the middle of this madness.

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10 Years - We didn't know their music before and I guess they weren't memorable.  I feel kind of bad.  Sorry guys.

Sevendust - Hello, we meet again. :)  Thanks for finally coming back to Maine.  We didn't know that leaving your 2002 show early would result in your staying out of Maine for eight years.  Jeesh.  The lead singer was thrilled by the Maine's cooler summer temps and kept repeating variations on "It's a beautiful day" over and over.

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Puddle of Mudd - We saw these guys in January and I liked them better that time.  Sevendust's vocalist came onstage for Psycho and let me tell you that this dude managed to rock denim bib overalls...in 2010!

A little lesson for all the scrawny lead singers out there:  No matter how scrawny you are do not, I repeat do not, jump into any crowd when it's all women in the first few rows.  They will not catch you.  They will maul you after you fall.  Also, do not leave your band stalling on stage playing the same chords over and over then never return.

For the Puddle of Mudd lead singer: Everyone saw you run back to your bus.  Everyone knew your set was supposed to end with She Hates Me.  Sorry but it's true.

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Chevelle - We saw them at Meadowbrook last summer.  I summed up that experience by saying "They make a lot of noise for three guys."  I liked them better this time around because I knew what to expect.  And, I was a bit further from the speakers.  :)

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Shinedown - We saw them last summer at Meadowbrook on tour with Staind and again in January on their Sound of Madness tour. They're engaging live performers so we wanted to see them again.

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We saw a bunch of local and regional bands too.  Here are the ones I remember at the moment...
Dead Season
Diecast
Till We Die  "and that happened."
In The Kingdom of Nightmares
Living Syndication
Leaving Eden

35 bands played continually all day starting at 10am by alternating between these two side stages.  I think the main stage shows started around 6 or 7pm.

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This time my only regret is my last minute decision to leave my camera in the truck.  What would your ultimate concert lineup look like?  What was the last concert or live performance you saw?