Kittie's Run Like Hell Tour with My Ruin & Flaw
Written By: Maureen Benedict * April 10, 2002 * Showplace Theatre in Buffalo, NY
Kittie's first headlining tour seemed to go very well for them. They brought along new comers Flaw and indie
metal band My Ruin. Even though the Showplace is very small, I think it was the perfect place for this
perticular show. My Ruin were the first to take the stage, they immediately went into "Blasphemous Girl".
They played a good eight song set before they brought a cake out and sang "Happy Birthday" to Meghan.
Next to take the stage was Flaw and they really got the crowd going with the opening song "Reliance". They
played their radio hits "Payback" and the newly released "Whole", plus several others from their debut album
Through The Eyes. Finally Kittie took the stage and jumped right into "No Name". They played old favourites
like "Brackish", "Charlotte", "Spit" and "Suck" as well as songs from their new album Oracle. "What I Always
Wanted", "Mouthful Of Poison" and their cover of Pink Floyd's "Run Like Hell" seemed to be the favorites off
the new album. They ended their set with "Pain" and "Brackish" then headed outside to sign autographs. They
took the time to hang with the fans outside the building for autographs and pictures before heading upstairs to
celebrate Meghan's birthday. While Kittie was outside My Ruin was handing out at their merch booth doing
autographs and selling stuff. They gave free shirts to whoever bought something from them. Then we all
headed upstairs for Meghan's birthday. The bands on this tour did an amazing job and they are all definately
worth checking out.
Sum 41's Sum Like It Loud Tour with Autopilot Off and H20
Written By: Maureen Benedict * April 6, 2002 * RIT in Rochester, NY
Before heading back into the studio to record their third album, Sum 41 decided to do another tour. They
brought out some friends of theirs, H20 and labelmates Autopilot Off. The guys in Autopilot Off had just
released an EP this month and H20 have also released a new album called Go. I had the chance to watch
Autopilot Off's soundcheck before the show and they were excellent! At about 6:00pm the doors opened and in
poured the fans. Autopilot Off were the first to take the stage at about 7:00pm. They got the crowd going with
their Green Day meets Sum 41 sound. They did a great 7-8 song set playing songs off the new EP like "Long
Way To Fall". There was a twenty minute block after Autopilot Off before H20 took the stage and played a lot
of songs off their new album including "Role Model". Up next was Sum 41 who totally blew away the crowd
with their killer guitar solos. They played most of the songs off All Killer, No Filler and a few favorites off their
debut album Half Hour Of Power. Drummer Steve Jocz came out from behind his drum kit to do lead vocals
on "What We're All About" (which they recently shot a video for) and "Pain For Pleasure" in which frontman
Deryck Whibley played drums on. The show was great! Good job to all three bands!
HFStival 2002
Written By: Nicole Yuschak * May 25 & 26 2001 * RFK Stadium in Washington, DC
So we took the smelly Greyhound bus for 12 hours down to Washington, DC from Rochester, NY, just to
support Good Charlotte. Well there was a lot more good bands than that too. The whole day was hot, crowded
and exhaustingly fun. I've never been that close to hundreds of strangers. Ewwy. The first band that actually
woke up and crawled out of bed to see was SEV. They were a local celebrity in DC, a decent fan base showed
up. There sound was a metal/rock sound with a little rapping involved in some songs. They knew how to get
the pit started, that's for sure. Next up was Quarashi, a widely known band from Europe. They came with a lot
of energy and definately pumped the crowd up. Of course they played their hit song "Stick 'Em Up" last and it
was a sweet ending. N.E.R.D. played one hell of a set. I'm not a huge fan of this band but I was definately
impressed. They had a rock/rap/pop sound, which they pulled off quite well. N.E.R.D. was the oddball band
that day and they left a good impression on everyone, they have a lot of musical skill. One of my personal
favorites, Our Lady Peace was up next. Considering they didn't a long set they put in a lot of songs and effort
for a half hour. The set consisted of a lot of older songs, hits and current single. Luckily they played the next
day, which I unfortunately missed. Being one of the few Canadian bands there they made a good statement
for a foreign band. I was psyched to see this band, they didn't let me down. On one of the side stages later that
afternoon was New Found Glory. The crowd was packed, mostly teenieboppers but no one can hear their
squeaky voices anyways. They played a longer set than the bands that played the main stage. I was impressed
by the energy they showed through out the whole set, but then again it's New Found Glory, it's expected. The
whole band in general was very active and uplifting. The crowd wasn't still for a second. All the songs were
played to the fullest and the new single "My Friends Over You" kicked everyone's ass. It was cool of the band
to meet fans after the show that waited on the side of the stage. On the main stage we caught the end of
Hoobastank's set. Even though we only saw the last five minutes the crowd was definately pleased with the
show. The only song I heard was "Running Away", the song was awesome and it wasn't the worst sight to see
half the band playing without shirts on. Eminem was on second to last that night. After the thirty minute wait
of police, security and medics, pulling trampled people from the crowd that wouldn't move he finally started. It
only took that long for that crowd to space outt after probably a hundred threats of not playing. His exact
words were "If you don't back the fuck up, they're not going to let me play". After one girl was sent to the
hospital practicly dead and another 24 injured to accompany her, he finally started. It was a pretty short set
with a few cameos from D-12. The next day was a bad day (at least for me). The first set we saw Sunday was
the end of Dashboard Confessional. I would have hoped to see the whole set but lunch called. There set was
pretty good from what I saw. The crowd loved it, it was a good band to go on before Good Charlotte. Going
from emo to punk was a good set up. Kelly Osbourne introduced Good Charlotte and everyone went psycho.
The crowd was wild and no one could breathe but they tore up stage up. It was all mainstream songs, which
everyone could sing along to. The drummer is still unidentified, but he had great skills. Their home coming
concert was amazing, between their set, the crowds quite agressive possitive endery made it one of the best sets
the whole weekend. Not everyone could take the suffocation in the pit, but it was worth it. Even worth the trip
to the hospital. The cool part is they played a song off the new CD, the name of it I honestly can't remember. I
heard the rest of the show was great, but unfortunately I missed it. Other bands there were Papa Roach,
Goldfinger, P.O.D., X-Ecutioners, Trik Turner, Little Kings (vertically challenged band) and many more.
Weezer & Saves The Day
Written By: Maureen Benedict * February 7, 2002 * Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, NY
Saves The Day were the first band to take the stage. They played some old songs along with a bunch of songs
off their brand new album Stay What You Are like "At Your Funeral" and their newest single "Freakish". Even
though the people in the crowd only knew the words to "At Your Funeral" they really seemed to enjoy the set.
Saves The Day put a lot of energy into the songs and really interacted with the crowd. Weezer took the stage
after about 40 minutes of stage set up. They immediately went into their first song of the night as the crowd
started to cheer. They played pretty much all the songs off their first three albums like "My Name Is Jonas", "In
The Garage", "Say It Ain't So", "Buddy Holly", "Surf Wax America", "The Good Life", "Pink Triangle", "Island
In The Sun". Weezer also introduced us to songs that would be on their new release Maladroit like "Keep
Fishin'" and "Dope Nose". Good bands, good show!
Static-X
Written By: Nicole Yuschak * May 14, 2002 * Waterstreet Music Hall in Rochester, NY
A small bar in downtown Rochester is the only venue Static-X has played since it's five shows in this city. As
expected doors opened late, line was backed up around the block and around it again. Doors opened half an
hour late, everyone runs in to the bar to get a quick fix before the pits and then get their smoke on before the
openers come on. 40 Below Summer were a late edition to the line up, which unfortunately couldn't make it to
the show for disclosed reasons. But we still got Sinisstar, Earshot and Static-X! Sinisstar was the opener and
they did a good job starting out the show, no violent bone breaking pits during their set though. Their sound
alone was a lyrical Tantric meets musical Metallica. They can come back any time. Not too bad for a thirty
minute set. Next up was Earshot, which set us up for the chaos the rest of the night was coming down to. The
set Earshot performed was energentic and loud, the way I like it. One hell of a skilled band, lots of talent and
enthusiasm. Oh of course they performed their hit song, of course it's hard to pick a favorite from that good a
set. After this everyone was eager and ready for Static-X. It took the longest, stuffiest and pushy half hour of
waiting on a solid packed floor wall to wall wait till Static-X finally came. Thank you everyone there, we all
loved the excruciating pain of elbows digging in backs and gates under our ribcages. The chanting of "What
the fuck?", "We want Static-X!" and more "What the fuck?" kept everyone occupied. Wow, what a crazy hour
of music after that wait. This was the first show in Rochester with Tripp Eisen,the old guitarist of Dope. Once
they made it out on stage it was all out chaos, it was awesome! The shouting and pushing got worse, the pit
made it's way up to the line in front of the gate. Security was on pit patrol, for what reason I don't understand.
I want a job where I get paid to play in mosh pits! The beginning was all the old songs and the band drinking
some weird combination drink, which ended up on the crowd anyways, cup and all. I can't forget to talk about
pixy stix and how weird they were to those who never had them. According to Wayne Static "You're not in
Dope anymore lay off the crack". He tried one, didn't mind them. The whole band had pixy stix, it was such a
cute metal moment! The the moment of breathing and peace ended, back to elbowing people in the head. The
last part of the set was new music, a dedication to all the vampires in Rochester by our dearest lead singer
Wayne Static for the song "Cold". Unfortunately I had no one to bite during this. The whole time everyone was
shouting "Get To The Gone" so of course it was going to be last. After the wild, super loud set full of explosive
playing nobody could hear without ringing for days, a few good days, three or four. Once they exited the
stage they came back after a few minutes of shouting. The corny South Park song was playing as the band
was throwing picks, drumsticks, laffy taffy, pixy stix and one single drum head which was probably ripped to
pieces after a short round of frisbee over the crowd. Oh my god it was such a great show, so worth the hour of
waiting, besides I like the elbowing and shoving deep down. The music was running through your veins the
whole time, it was the best time I've had in forever! No one left disappointed. It was the best show Waterstreet
Music Hall has seen and probably will see. The floorboards almost gave way with all the music and
movement. Static-X has such a great stage presence you don't know what you're missing out on if you skip
their shows. If anyone misses a Static-X show, you're an idiot! Props to all the bands that played, it was an
amazing show! All the hardcore fans thanks for not de-heading anyone.
Van's Warped Tour 2002
Written By: Maureen Benedict * August 14, 2002 * LaSalle Park in Buffalo, NY
Warped Tour 2002 had a really good line-up with bands like Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Autopilot Off, New
Found Glory, The Casualties, MxPx, NoFX and many others. Throughout the day they had about eight bands
playing thirty minute sets at one time. Autopilot Off played the Drive-Thru stage. They played songs off their
new EP that they had released a few months ago. The crowd really seemed to like these guys a lot. Finch also
played on the Drive-Thru stage. They played their singles "Letters To You" and "What It Is To Burn". Other
bands on the Drive-Thru stage were The Starting Line, Homegrown, Allister and Rx Bandits just to name a
few. On the Ernie Ball stage there were female rockers like The Halo Friendlies and The Eyeliners. Then there
were more hardcore punk rockers The Casualties who played on the Maurice stage. They played stuff iff their
album Die Hards and really got the crowd into the songs. There was a nice circle pit going during their set.
After Andrew W.K. had finished his set he joined The Casualties on the satge for their last song. Canadian
pop-punk band, Simple Plan played on the Volcom stage and drew a really big crowd. They played their
singles "I'm Just A Kid" and "I'd Do Anything" along with other crowd pleasers off their debut album such as
"The Worst Day Ever", "God Must Hate Me" and "Addicted". They seemed to be the favorite out of all the
other bands that day. The Damned, New Found Glory, Reel Big Fish, MxPX, Bad Religion and Flogging
Molly rocked out on the the Brian stage throughout the day. New Found Glory played songs from their
newest album Sticks And Stones. They played a really awesome set! The crowd really seemed to enjoy them.
MxPx played an amazing set as well playing their current single "Responsibility" and old classics like "Chick
Magnent" and "Punk Rawk Show". They played a bunch of songs off their latest album The Ever Passing
Moment. They got the pit going during their set and the crowd really loved them. On the Teal (main) stage
bands like No Use For A Name, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, NoFX, Something Corporate and Good
Charlotte rocked out. The Bosstones really got the crowd going with songs like "The Impression That I Get"
and "You Gotta Go". Another crowd pleaser was NoFX. They did songs like "Bottles To The Ground", "Three
On Speed" and "Don't Drink And Drive Or You Might Spill Your Drink". They had a pretty decent mosh pit
going and lots of crowd surfing as well. Rock band Something Corporate went on second to last on the Teal
stage. They played hit singles "I Woke Up In A Car", "If U C Jordan" and "Punk Rock Princess". Last band of
the day was Good Charlotte! Their set totally rocked despite all haters that stuck around to throw bottles at
them. They played a bunch of favorites from their debut album as well as two new songs from their upcoming
release. Everyone was really psyched to hear "The Anthem" and "The Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous" as
well as songs like "East Coast Anthem" and "Festival Song". Warped Tour was a lot of fun this year!
Good Charlotte's The Young And The Hopeless Tour part 1 with Simple Plan and Autopilot Off
Written By: Maureen Benedict * October 15, 2002 * Showplace Theatre in Buffalo, NY
Three awesome bands, one amazing show! Simple Plan took the stage first starting off their set with "Perfect".
During the set they played "I'm Just A Kid" and their new single "I'd Do Anything". The guys did an amazing
job warming the crowd up. People really enjoyed them and the energy they put into the set. Next was
Autopilot Off, the crowed really seemed to dig them too. They sound a little bit like Green Day but definately
have their own sound. They played their first single "Nothing Frequency" and ended their set with the popular
"Long Way To Fall". Last were headliners Good Charlotte. They played pretty much the entire new album
including the first single "The Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous", "Moving On" and the very popular "Riot
Girl". "Riot Girl" seemed to be the favorite along with "The Anthem". They did a few of their old songs like
"Festival Song" and "Waldorf Worldwide" which they renamed "Buffalo Worldwide". They also played their
song from the MTV cartoon Undergrads called "The Click". Definately a very good show!
Good Charlotte's Uniting The States Tour part 2 with Bif Naked, The Halo Friendlies & Homegrown
Written By: Maureen Benedict * November 5, 2002 * Waterstreet Music Hall in Rochester, NY
The second half of the Good Charlotte tour with new opening acts Halo Friendlies, Homegrown and Canadian
rock chick Bif Naked was really amazing! Bif Naked actually only played the Rochester show on this tour. She
played on the club side and she got a really good reaction from the crowd seeing as hardly anyone knew who
she was. She played songs from her second album, I Bificus and songs from her new album, Purge. Among
these songs was the popular songs "Moment Of Weakness" and new single "Tango Shoes". Halo Friendlies and
Homegrown played on the main stage before Good Charlotte took the stage. They played a really long set
despite frontman Joel Madden being very sick. Due to Joel being sick they took "Hold On" out of the set and
replaced it with "The Day That I Die" which Benji Madden sings lead on. That give Joel a break from lead
vocals. Good Show!
Our Lady Peace
Written By: Maureen Benedict * August 12, 2002 * Waterstreet Music Hall in Rochester, NY
Canadian rockers Our Lady Peace played for a small sold-out show of diehard fans. The band played old
favorites like "Life", "Superman's Dead" & "Clumsy" as well as new songs like "Innocent" and "Somewhere Out
There" from their newest album Gravity. After playing a two and a half hour set, the band ended the show
with "Starseed". Their set was full of energy and the crowd sang along to every song. Vocalist Raine Maida
climbed up on the bar and walked across it and climbed up the side of the balcony towards the end of the set.
He then falls into the crowd and go surfing over everyone's head. What a great way to finish off the set!
Kissmas Bash 2002 with Simple Plan, Avril Lavigne & others
Written By: Megan Schroeder * December 5, 2002 * HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY
On December 5th, Simple Plan got their break in Buffalo. Well that is how I see it. With never
being played on this station before and having hardly any fans there, Simple Plan blew us all away.
Receiving recognition from old fans and young, Simple Plan was a new hit here. I went with all
intentions on seeing these five guys, who I have seen many times before and loving them. I went
with my best friend and my other bud. They seem to enjoy Simple Plan especially my "girlfriend",
after seeing them she was inspired to buy their record. Well first it seemed like FOREVER for
them to come on. I waited to see Simple Plan through artist, that right now I can't remember the
names and at the time I didn't even know. Avril did perform at this show and I must say was
hella cute. Yes. Simple Plan played the normal routine, "God Must Hate Me", "I'd Do Anything",
"Addicted" and others. How I missed those guys. After seeing them, I heard they were doing a
signing, I went. When i got there, like WOAH! I knew they are making it now. There were trillions
of tie wearing new dedicated fans in line. Pushing, shoving, bickering and screaming the girls stood
in line for a good while. While still missing the acts, their new favorite band tried to make their way
out. Girls screaming "Pierre" and "Sebastien" (the only names they said throughout the show, eh
go figure) and trying to push their way to the front, disallowed the guys from coming out. Disappointed?
EXTREMELY! Thinking that they would come out after everything cleared from security pushing us
away, I waited another 30 minutes. I was fine with it though, I knew I was going to see them again.
WIth the luck I have, nope. They didn't show. I was so upset. I went back to my seat and soon the
guys came out again on stage to apologize for not signing. Oh well. I knew the next time I'd get them,
and that I did. So all in all, good performance and they certainly do have the GREATEST MERCH MAN
EVER! And Busta Rhymes was pretty cool, I never saw a rapper before so it was cool. Also Avril did
amazining people!