Blink 182, Fenix TX, New Found Glory & Sum 41

I know that I'm supposed to be blase about getting backstage hook-ups to a show; I should have played my cool-guy-card, pretending that it was no big deal and that these things happen all the time. But they don't, at least to me. The truth of the matter is that when I found out that I was going to this show as guests of one of the bands it was all that I could do to keep from wetting myself. To keep a short story short; my girlfriend's friend is engaged to Will, the guitarist / singer of Fenix TX, and being the nice guy that he is he allowed us to accompany them to the show as his all-access guests. It turned out to be great. I got see what it was like for these guys before and after a huge show. The only disappointment was the lack of coked-out groupies sporting ratted hair, leather pants and Motley Crue shirts. I wanted to see heroin and Jack Daniels, but what I got was Cookie Crisp cereal and unfiltered pear juice. They just don't make rock stars like they used to.

The initial shock of my newfound celebrity was waning as Fenix TX took the stage. They were by far the heaviest band of the day, which considering the line up isn't a grand feat and they rocked the set with tons of new songs. Although some old favorites were thrown in, Fenix TX concentrated on material from their new album Lechuza on which the band took a decidedly different musical approach. Gone are the tooth ache sweet pop punk tracks of old and in their place are more refined songs verging on hard core and old school legit punk rock. As they wrapped up, I stumbled back to the dressing room to further pickle my liver and wait for Sum 41. I haven't been a Sum 41 fan for a very long time, because they've only been around for like a week, but after seeing them perform I was into it. This Canadian four-piece exploded onto the music scene almost overnight riding the success of their first single "Fat Lip" and haven't looked back since. Due to their lack of experience and the fact that they look like they're 12, I was expecting a mediocre band that got lucky with a radio friendly single and after the show would never be heard from again. Boy was I wrong.

Those little guys kicked ass. With more stage presence and energy than I have seen in a long time, Sum 41 had every little girl in the amphitheater with a Blink shirt on wishing that they had spent mommy's money at the other merch booth. They rocked, they rapped, they switched instruments, they even had a "stump the guitarist" contest. With today's music biz the way it is they probably will be gone by Saturday, but at least I got to see them once. When they finished up I headed back to my ice chest to drink and beat my head against the wall in hopes of drowning out the din of New Found Glory. Wait a minute that's not fair... yes it is. Up next was Blink, or Blink 182, if unlike me you have never been (ahem) backstage.

Moments after Blink took the stage I became somewhat confused. I couldn't tell if I was at a Blink show or on the 1976 leg of a Pink Floyd tour. The lasers and pyrotechnics and smoke machines and rotating drum platform and explosions caused me to lose my bearing. This was not your average stage show, this was an overdone extravaganza fit for any huge ‘80s glam act — shit, I saw Danzig in their hey day and all they had was a jack-o'-lantern. These guys were obviously compensating for something. Funny thing is that they didn't really need it.

But, they were good, much better than I expected. Flawless playing, tight harmonies, awesome crowd interaction and they could have pulled it off without all of the glitter, but hey, it's entertaining. During the Blink set there was a "security issue" or so I was told by the idiot power tripping security guard. This rendering my once omnipotent VIP pass useless—talk about being knocked off your pedestal, I was lost in a sea of commoners with no where to turn and my ice chest so very far away. After 20 minutes or so the issue was resolved and I was once again treated with the respect that comes along with the sticker on my chest and allowed to retrieve my belongings and head to the car for the drive back to my hotel room in Marysville.

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