When James asked if I’d be down to write a description to go along with the photos from Vainstream, in all honestly, I was a little hesitant, because I was completely unsure how to sum up this experience into words, ones that would probably never do it justice.
Quite honestly, I am more or less a festival newbie. I have only been able to make it to warped twice so far, because normally I am out of town during the summer. So after making it to Warped back to back, I was stoked to go again this year, until starting college in the fall, “complicated” my plans. That was until I stumbled upon Vainstream. I won’t lie, I was a bit bummed about the idea of missing crowd pleasers such as Knuckle Puck and Real Friends. I am a huge sucker for pop-punk, so when I told my friend I was heading to a “hardcore” festival rather than warped their reply was “wait, you mean as in music where like they scream?” So only having minimal Warped experience for comparison, I had no idea what to expect from Vainstream, but it was definitely not what the second of July held for me.
To get to the Munster, I took a two hour bus ride the day before and the day of I took a half an hour train ride to get to the actual festival itself. When getting out train, I was honestly amazed. It literally looked like Munster was taken over by “punks” at the early morning hours. Hair colors ranging from the brightest neon end of color spectrum to the darkest shade of black were all equally eye catching. Band shirts of all sorts matched with the skinniest skinny jeans were standing in clusters everywhere you looked. Somewhere between all of this were a whole art collection of tattoos. It was a pretty amusing sight to take in, literally looked like an elderly conservative’s nightmare.
From there on, the crowd dispersed from the station and headed towards the festival grounds in masses. As I was waiting in line at the guest list and security booth, a slight nervousness set in. Although I have been photographing shows for a while now, I am used to doing small venues and local shows, one where no photo pass is needed. So not only was this just my second photo pass, but it was my first time photographing a festival, along with the fact that it was my first time photographing a show overseas. This was not some small show with less than a hundred people, but instead a sold out festival with roughly 13,000 people. I was stoked, but still a little anxious. Vainstream was pretty specific about the fact that they strictly limit the amount of passes they give out, so I was so grateful to be among the lucky few. But it turned out that there weren’t as few as I thought there would be. I spent the majority of the day with about fifteen other photographers and at least eight security guards, squished in the photo pit, shoulder by shoulder, like sardines.
I was really thankful for the lineup, because it included a handful of bands that I love, but also bands that I had heard of or were somewhat into, but may not have gotten the chance to see them otherwise. Any Given Day was up first, bright and early at 9:45. As I streamed into the pit alongside the other photographers and the first note hit my ears, I was in my zone. The nervousness left and I was snapping away. Any Given Day are locals from Germany, but put on a really impressive set. Dennis Diehl, the vocalist has a great voice. Towards the end of their set they did a “metal” cover of Rihanna’s Diamonds, so even if you didn’t know them, there was at least one song you could sing along too.
I am a little bummed that the next band was listed so early on the schedual, but at the same time grateful, because then I did not have to spend all day in anticipation. Being As An Ocean holds a special place in my heart with their emotional and crowd inclusive sets. They started off with their newest single Dissolve, and not long after that Joel got down from their high pedestal on stage and got up close and personal with the crowd, which is always great to watch, especially how the crowd reacts. Many sang the lyrics back full of passion; crowd surfers greeted Joel with a hug as he helped lift them out of the crowd. BAAO is somewhat know to be a politically aware band, especially when it comes to current events. Joel gave a speech about how “the problem is all of us,” and how we need to work together to promote change, and shortly after that jumped into the crowd as the set slowly drew to an end.
Best known for their Youtube covers, Our Last Night hit the stage next, bringing on another great set. After ended, I watched and photographed Bury Tomorrow, Deez Nuts, and August Burns Red, all bands I had heard off, but wasn’t quite into, but regardless enjoyed all of their sets. Bury Tomorrow promoted love and urged to end the idea that “metal is just for big tough guys” and to instead have fun, encouraging everyone in the crowd to wrap their arm around their neighbor for a hug. I especially found August Burns Red’s set interesting as the singer did all types of tricks with his mic when asking the crowd to dance with him. I then headed to watch Silverstein take over the stage. I have been listening to them for a while, but have never gotten around to seeing them, but the wait was definitely worth it. They put on a great and heavy set.
The Amity Affliction is one of those bands that I could never get tired of, and I have so much love for them. They are one of those bands where I can’t help getting goosebumps when listening to them. Sometimes I forget how amazing it is to literally be feet away from one of your favorite bands. To put it lightly, I did not hold back during their set. I stood in the photo pit and sang my heart out. What happened next probably made my summer. I hate to sound like a fan girl, but that happened to get Joel’s attention, who then gave me the biggest smile and shot me a quick hang loose sign in between lyrics, and I couldn’t have been happier. As soon as my three song access ended, I headed straight for the crowd and got lost in Amity’s set.
After that, I had a chance to catch a break, not to mention that it started to rain lightly. So I put on my windbreaker and grabbed some lunch. I finished “refueling” just in time to catch Anti-Flag, and was honestly blown away by their set. They discussed mainly issues that we are facing in the States, and Europe as well. The played an entire song dedicated to “fuck police brutality which got the whole crowd hyped. They then continued with the importance of being anti-racism, homophobic, sexism, transphobic, war, nationalist, capitalism, etc. Anti-Flag made good use of having a large platform to express themselves on current problems to a wide audience.
For the first time that day, I set foot in the indoor venue to catch Turnstile and Beartooth. And all I can say is wow. Turnstile literally went off like a rocket. They had so much energy. Brendan Yates, the vocalist of Turnstile didn’t spend a single moment standing still; he was literally off the walls. Overall it was a really fun set to watch, especially when they closed with Blue By You. The best part though was the fact that I had the photo pit to myself. Beartooth was another band that I practically waited all day to see, all I can say is that they killed it. Beartooth also holds a special place in my heart, and on that stage, they once again proved why.
I hate to say it because it sounds lame, but maybe I am getting old. After shooting and watching eleven bands, I was honestly exhausted. Although Vainstream did not end until one in the morning, I caught a ride back around 7:30ish, because I was literally so done. Even though Warped is a little more organized, I think Vainstream may have topped Warped just by the slightest, tiniest bit. I honestly still had songs stuck in my head five days afterwards. It was a blast and I am so thankful that I went, definitely will not forget this summer anytime soon.
The post Photo Showcase: Vainstream Rockfest appeared first on Babetalk.tv.