May 15, 2020
Asbury Park, NJ 11 // 30 // 2018
seen from Germany
seen from Australia
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from France
seen from China
seen from Netherlands
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Netherlands
seen from United States
Asbury Park, NJ 11 // 30 // 2018
I miss Man Overboard
I miss Man Overboard
Man Overboard // Dead End Dreams
Man Overboard // I Ate My Gluestick
You move awfully quiet now, but I still feel you everywhere*
I Defended Pop Punk With Man Overboard For The Last Time
When I arrived to the Man Overboard show at the Theatre of the Living Arts (TLA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I had no idea what to expect. This is a band that I have been seeing for five years now. A band that played in small basement shows & small venues to performing on the main stage at the Vans Warped Tour in 2015. Now, I’m standing outside the venue waiting for their arrival to begin photo documenting their last show, for now.
It’s nearly 2:30 PM and the band still hasn’t arrived. I guess if it’s your last show for a while, punk time is acceptable. I have been standing outside the venue for roughly 35 minutes waiting patiently, but I had the opportunity to talk with a few people who were already forming a line outside the venue. They said that they have been there since at least 10 in the morning, anxiously in line to see their favorite band for one last time. I recognized them from other Man Overboard shows I had attended over the years. It always makes me happy to see people return to see the same band over and over again, especially in their hometown.
When Man Overboard arrived to the venue, it was a blissful reunion. It has been nine months since I had last worked with them, which called for a lot of catching up! Load in began immediately, which was rather chaotic and intense, as the squad of fifteen quickly got everything in doors in record timing. Following load in was Man Overboard’s soundcheck. Soundcheck is one of my favorite parts of working a show because it feels intimate to watch a band in a nearly empty venue practice a song or two before the show begins. While Man Overboard was soundchecking, I also took that time to quickly introduce myself to Microwave and Gin War, who I had the pleasure of meeting for the first time.
Shortly after Man Overboard had their soundcheck, the meet & greet began. I truly enjoy watching the Man Overboard meet & greet’s because I love watching the expressions that these fans have on their face when they get to meet one of their favorite band’s for the first, second, third time. It reminds me of the time I met A Day To Remember for the first time back in my prime.
Once doors open, it was only a matter of time before Watermedown performed. This performance was unique because he did not have a full band on this show, compared to the other shows on the tour. This made the performance feel raw, emotional, and powerful. This was my first time catching his set and I was blown away. Following Watermedown was New Jersey band Gin War. I have heard of this band for a few months now and I was so impressed with their set. This is one of those bands that I had the opportunity to see live and immediately wanted to go home and check out all of their music. If you haven’t checked out Gin War yet, please do it.
When I found out Microwave was playing this show, I squealed with excitement. “Stovall” has been a record that I have been spinning ever since it came out, and having the chance to photograph this band is something I’ve been wanting to do for some time now. Microwave is one of those bands that sound even better live. Philadelphia showed Microwave a great time as they sang the lyrics right back at them.
Waiting for Man Overboard to come on stage, I felt so happy and sad at the same time. I was so happy to be a part of this last show and to see my good friends perform their songs for the last time for a while. I was also sad because this band played such a tremendous role in my life over the past five years, I just did not want that to end now. Although I felt this way, the show must go on. Man Overboard opened with “Montrose”, easily one of the best Man O songs ever written. The crowd went nuts as crowd surfers began piling up right when the first note was played. The band performed a wide range of songs from all of their releases such as “Septemberism”, “How to Hide Your Feelings”, and “Love Your Friends, Die Laughing”. What made this show feel special compared to other Man Overboard shows that I have attended in the past was that I felt that this show was truly for us: their friends, their family, and most importantly their fans. In that hour, everyone in the room became my family as we defended pop punk for the last time for now.
-TBA
I HATE YOU YOU SHOULD HAVE PICKED UP THE PHONE 2NIGHT