Georgia

Due to a series of beneficial events, or some might say, unfortunate events, I was able to see 3 bands in one day!
After checking out Breakdown's set, I wandered over to the Hurley Stage to hear Alexisonfire's most awe inspiring set. Between Dallas Green's powerful vocals and George's constant low screams, their performance was one of the most crowd pleasing sets in Atlanta. There were so many crowd surfers that George announced from the stage that more security was needed. A full security team was added in place to catch the kids and control any rushes to the stage. They had a few songs left in their set when I noticed the wind starting to pick up and the sky started to become gray and murky. Definitely my cue to head back to my bus.

I was headed back to my bus, when I heard Junior, the head of security, calling my name from a mic at the main stage, saying "Molly, do you know what it's like to tell 2000 screaming girls in the middle of a thunder storm that All Time Low's stage has been switched?" Then the audience morphed into a form that looked like a massive school of fish swimming away into the shelter of the amphitheater. In stead of heading back to my bus, I had to head to the ATL stage too.

The lot was empty and as the winds were blowing tossing tents around, I felt like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. I only had a about a 100 yard walk, but with the rain coming down like bullets and thunder and lightning were crashing it seemed like an eternity.

The amphitheater was full by the time Big D finished their set, and there was a nervous energy as Valencia was about to go on. They have never been in front of such a huge audience. They have a punk/ pop vibe, just like ATL, so I think this was the perfect crowd for them. Even the set up crew started to dance before their next set up. When Valencia finished up their set the security told everyone on the stage that they had to leave and stand outside. I was walking towards the door and Geary (head stage manager) looked at me and points to the direction of the sound booth. I was slightly confused, and he walked over and said "you can stay and hang out in the sound booth." I was beyond excited!!! As the band took the stage the crowd of fans (who had waited two hours to see them) went insane. The intensity of the excitement filled the entire amphitheater, and then Jack started playing the rift for their newest single, and there are no words that can fully explain everything I had seen. After that one song I realized it was almost bus call and I had to make my way back to my home on wheels.

I do believe this has been the most rain Warped has ever seen... rain rain please please go away!!! tomorrow we are in OHIOOO!!!

I was so excited for this series of unfortunate events

Orlando , Florida

It's 10am in Orlando, 90 degrees with 80% humidity and when you breathe in it feels like you're drinking hot water. Two guys, totally unaffected by the heat, are driving up to us in a beach cruiser with drinks in hand. As they get closer, I realize it's Greg and Bryan from the Bouncing Souls. They came straight to hug Artie and introduce themselves to me. We got to chat for a while about the usual topics like: where are you from? what do you do when you're not on the road?...If I were only 16 again!

Florida has the "no cussing" on stage rule, and police were there on both sides of the stage to either issue tickets or arrest the offender(s)...A little too severe in my opinion, and every band that walked onto the stage made some remark about how mental the law was, and pushed the envelope a little, but always on their best behavior. Less Than Jake did have the hardest time censoring themselves. The band members banter alot between songs and as one member would start to swear, he was cut off or "rescued" by another band mate.

We break down at the last hour of the concert, of course, that's when the headline band starts. I did get to see glimpses of Greg wearing a white suit diving into the crowd. The Bouncing Souls are the perfect band to hear while breaking down because they take your mind off the lifting and heat, and from the peeks I stole, I'll try and catch as many sets as I can.

Erin, my bus mate, is from Orlando, so after the show, we jumped in her car and ventured out to her parent's house. It was so nice to be in a family environment. Her mom got us pizza and salad, and we just sat outside with her family and Hollywood Lies, a band that she manages. It was awesome to be out of the bus for a "home delivered" meal...not to mention I got an awesome "mom" hug!

Goodnight Orlando Helloooo Miami

Boston, MA

Having the flu on warped is the most difficult thing ever!!! I would take heat stoke over the flu any day!!!. But lucky for me today I woke up after the three days of sleep and felt well!!! That was until I opened the door of bus 14 to see that it mad raining :-( Thank goodness I invested in a pair of rain boots, because when it rains it pours, and the show must go on. The bands play with all their hearts and the kids keep dancing. It's still beyond me how some kids can show up wearing next to nothing knowing it's raining... just looking at them made me cold!

I have realized that I love selling CBGB merch on the East coast because everyone has a story to tell; whether it be a "I saw this band play there " or a "my first date was there " story, it makes everything way more fun. The stories keep things interesting because each one is new and different.

Tomorrow Bouncing Souls join the tour and I am so excited!!!

Camden, NJ

I'm living my life in open parking lots and every venue seems similar to the next . It's a shock when it's a venue that is not cement and gravel. Camden was was no different; however, there was one thing that separated it from the rest, it looked out to Philly!!! It was a pretty tame day, considering that the forecast called for Rain... Which it did. But it was a lot of fun too because Donovon (Arturo's assistant last year) came out to see what it was all about, and needless to say, he was AWESOME!!! We compared Arty stories, talked about common things people ask, stories from last year vs. this year. He brought a few of his friends who were hilarious, it seemed like had been friends for years.

The weather was so strange !!! It started off pretty hot, humid and not a cloud in the sky, but as the morning went on, the wind slowly picked up and by the time doors opened it was completely overcast. We weren't expecting a DOWN POUR...with thunder and lightning!!!!! Arty and I finished packing up our set up around 6:30 at 7 the bus 14 crew got dinner; but as were all walking back it started to really rain. Then as Jasmine and I get back to the bus, we realize that our share bike was outside... Instead of waiting it out we got this brilliant idea to pack it up in the under carriage of the bus. Needless to say that was a bad choice! It took us 30 minutes of trying to put it in the bay while being rained upon and surrounded by thunder and lightening. We finally finished and were soaked from head to toe... The rain stops. Everyone got a really great chuckle out of that one... Except Jas and me.

Our friend, Erin was smart and waited out the storm. She told us that her friends were opening up for LFO... She didn't even have time to get the O out her mouth before we had our wallets in hand asking where the closest taxi was. (for those who don't know LFO is a boy band from 2000 who had 2 hits) Jas, Christine, Rob Baptist and I crossed the bridge to Philly with our dancing shoes tied tight. As we arrived to the North Star Bar everyones faces just lit up at the thought of seeing LFO. After waiting for an hour they took the stage...It was incredible

Buffalo, NY

Rollercosters AND Warped...The best Warped yet!!! So today we were in Buffalo New York, and it was awesome because there was an amusement park at oneside of warped and the actual fest on the otherside. During the day you could catch all your favorite bands riding the rides! Everyone was really antsy all day because we knew that fun was at our finger tips!!! Right after Arturo and I closed down, I met up with the bus 14 crew and went on a few rides. It was difficult for us to walk through the park because we all have so many friends on the tour that at the end of the day we all like to just talk to friends about the days events, and so something as simple as walking from one point to another takes 20x longer because we are a group of huggers and high fivers.

I feel like I should take a moment and talk about the boys that make my life happy!!!These guys are the set up crew/ security !!! Terri, Cody, Danny, Dave, Junior, Tiny and Nate: these guys are so wonderful, and they are willing to help me out in any way shape or form (not to mention they love to dance). It's hard enough being a girl on this tour, and they go above and beyond the call of duty to make things easier. The help out by loading the dolly or carrying my bins or tent from one point to the next or if u just need a hug (Junior is the man for hugs). They are also the funniest people on the tour. There has been many nights where I'll be sleeping and they will be in our bus singing "Blue Moon" to "help" all the girls fall asleep. Any time there is a BBQ with music, they are the guys on the dance floor with the moves, and if u aren't dancing, Terri will throw you over his shoulder and drag you on the dance floor.(trust me it happens every night). They are the liveliest bunch of fellas and I'm lucky to have them on my team.

One last thing!!! We are still doing sign ups for the Ramones CBGB giveaway so stop on by the tent and check it out!!!

Scranton, PA

Today, we didn't have the usual rush of kids entering at the gate. Instead, they were slowly shuttled from the parking lot at the bottom of a hill to the concert set up on a massive hill. It made the day seem a little less rushed.

The band I caught today was Underoath... Aaron, the drummer is the equivalent to Animal from the Muppets, completely insane on the drums!!! For most main stage bands, the drummers are the farthest away and least connected with the crowed; however, Aaron (who is also the singer) is wild on the drums, and stands on his kit to sing. I was so entertained by their set! I had to run and get Arturo so he could see them.

Also we had a surprise visit from Tiffany who is the Warped Pit reporter She stopped by the tent to do a little interview about CBGB, the virtual tour and Ramonesworld.com for her blog. So keep an eye out for the interview on warpedtour.com

Columbia, Maryland

I have come to realize that the East coast is ten times more lush and beautiful than the West coast. During our summer months everything is brown and dried out, but here we seem to be placed in these beautiful forest like environments which bring to life the empty lots we're playing.

Today was a really hard day because one of my favorite busmates left :-( Joseph works for Green peace and took two weeks off to join the tour. He added so much life and personality to our bus that it was really hard to say goodbye. He was so peaceful and calming all the time that it feels like i lost part of myself.

There was one random WTF moment of the day and that was when Fat Mike just walked on our bus just to hang out... Now that doesn't just happen on Warped. For those of you who do now know him, Fat Mike is like the Godfather of this tour; he is the singer for NOFX. He thought that tonight was a great opportunity to meet us lovely folk on bus 14. He just held court, telling us stories for close to an hour about random things like what his songs are really about... definitely a night I doubt I will never forget.

Hartford

The catering truck broke down :-( it is difficult to set up all of our stuff without eating a good wholesome fruit breakfast.... an empty stomach made it painful. Not to mention they were rolling the food carts past every five minutes just to taunt me. THANKFULLY, I have amazing friends in Hartford who were willing to go out of their way to bring their starving friend Taco Bell.

Today was definitely a great day because it was so nice to see familiar faces!! We had Rob from CBGB's come and see how we run everything, and I had my best friend Patrick come out. It was magical for me because when you are on tour for a really long time seeing one familiar face in a sea of kids is one of the best feelings in the world... not to mention, he hugs like a mom, which was needed more than the food he brought me.

The first band I ever saw while standing on the stage was Coheed and Cambria. Today, I had the greatest feeling being able to get my friends backstage passes. Patrick, Matt and Jerry really LOVE Big D and the Kids Table; and luckily they were on at 7:45 so I told them to meet me at the back door, little did they know I opened the door and they followed me on stage to a group of screaming people and Big D even walked past them. Their faces were priceless because I could tell they wanted to play it cool but they were singing along, laughing and then pointing at their friends in the crowd. I felt like a mom watching her child walk for the first time.

Montreal

Leave it to me to be the only person pulled off the bus at 3 o'clock in the morning at the Canadian boarder to get my passport double checked...While all my busmates were sleeping off the day before, I was standing in a long line with neon lights beaming into my eyes. After about 20 minutes of standing around, I was finally allowed to rest my head on my pillow again.

BUT HEY I made it to Canada!

French Canadians dance rain or shine!!!! We were in Montreal in a massive rain storm, and suprisingley it was a LOT of fun!!!! We walked into the gravely lot at 7 in the morning with the sun shining and a soft breeze, but 4 hours later the wind picked up, the clouds moved in and the mist began to fall. Thirty minutes later, the mist turned into a full blown down pour. The crowd didn't even budge.

3oh!3 were on the main stage during the heaviest part of the storm. As I looked behind me, water was flooding the stage. All at once, we began sweeping off the standing water, making makeshift drains out of tarps and lifting up all the wires off the stage... and 3oh!3 KILLED the show. They didn't let a little rain stop them, and every time I turned around, they were dancing and jumping into the crowd.

When I ran back to the tent, I notice that our tent was transformed into the shelter for the kids trying to escape the rain. Arturo and I just hung out with the kids and talked about music, and cultural differences. We had to quickly pack up the merch so they wouldn't get rained on, and when the storm let up a bit, we packed up our truck and made the long walk in the rain back to the buses.... just to be woken up again at 3am to boarder patrol (don't worry i didn't have to leave the bus)!


Forward

Just like home

Every day I think I'm going to wake up in a city similar to the day before, but it never is. This morning I felt like I was home in San Francisco. Today, Warped is set up under three cross bridges with an industrial city as a back drop. Even though I'm not home it feels pretty damn close.

It's Nick from the AKA's birthday, so we made massive signs and hung them all over the "Skull and Candy" stage. He didn't see all the signs, and Josie, the keyboard player had to point them out to him. Nick was so surprised and his expression was priceless.

It was an easy, perfect day!

Hello PA

I woke up in Pittsburgh to bright sun rays seeping through the cracks of my tour bus window, and when I stepped out of the bus, I was surrounded by Simpson types clouds and the greenest trees. Usually, I wake up in the desert, and I was a bit thrown.

Today, the crew grouped all the stages together,and normally there is a little bit of distance between stages. There wasn't much quiet time today, and by the end of the show, my ears were a bit shot.

We got to set up in front of the Hurley stage today! I got to hear bands that I hadn't seen yet on the tour....Alexisonfire, A Day to Remember, The Maine and The Gallows....all from the comfort of my tent!

I got to catch up with some old friends too! Emmure played to a huge crowd at the "Kevin Says Stage" I met them a few months ago, when a friend of mine was on tour with them and Atticus. It was good to see some familiar faces! The singer, Frankie is such a welcoming guy. His arms are made for hugging and that is just what they did!

Goodnight Pittsburgh! Off to Ohio!

The Prize

Bessie the Bus deserves to be scrap metal. Last night, all the power went out; no phones, no computers, no fridge, and just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, I realized the bathroom door is electric. Enough said!

On a lighter note, today we arrived in Houston. The parking lot was all dusty gravel which left us all with a coating of film, and all I ate all day was dust. I am always surprised to see how many people know who Arturo is. He is always signing autographs and getting his picture taken. It's really cool too see how much respect people have for him. I'm also asked a lot about CBGB, and the most common question is " what does it stand for?"

So I'll propose this to anyone who can tell me what CBGB stands for will get a free water...That's liquid gold!

Nice Adam, Bad Bessie

The other night, I met Adam, the drummer from the Architects. We joked around for a while, and he asked me to stop by his set. I really didn't know what to expect, and I had no preconceived notion of what my ears were about to hear. Within the first 10 seconds, I was hooked. They're everything you look for in a REAL pop/ punk band. The high speed pace and their upbeat vocals make it sing- along worthy.

Onto another subject: My bus is about to receive a one way ticket to the junkyard. It was easy for me to forgive old Bessie for the god awful sulfur smell coming from the bathroom, but when the AC broke, she took it too far. She deserves to forever roam free!

New Mexico

Our day in New Mexico was amazing. It was sunny, breezy, and the kids were so nice! They were interested in lots of things from what bands were playing to what I do in my spare time. Arturo's cousin and his family came to the show too. He was curious about Jeffree Star because his cousin's daughter wanted to see him. Arturo came back to the tent alone about 10 minutes into Star's set, shaking his head. I figured he’d heard the Myspace's celeb tranny hip-hop writer sing his little diddy "We want C*nt?" But Arturo is too polite to say anything to me about it.

During my spare time, I usually hang with the production crews, but today I hung with The AKA's! Mike the bassist, is one of the nicest guys on the tour. His tent is next to ours, and in the mornings they play a lot of Lady GaGa, and he tends to sing along loudly. When "Poker Face" came on, I couldn't stop laughing at him. He pointed at me and yelled, "This song was just 4 you!" I know we're going to bffs! later in the day. I was really thirsty and hot, and there was Mike with 4 cans of water for me. His band and crew, all 6 of them are amazing. Hands down the best high fiving band on tour!

Yesterday was a day of swimming, massages, amazing food and the softest pillows my head has ever touched. Today, I'm not so relaxed. It's 110 degrees, I'm out of water and we're one of the last ones to get our merch. I'm in Arizona, and with this heat, I know what hell feels like, and there is no way to escape it.

I spend 45 minutes outside the tent, and today I was able to catch The Ataris. When I heard them play " In This Diary, " I felt like I was 14 again at a middle school dance. I can honestly say that they are one of the few bands that sound the same live as they do on their records! A few months ago, The Ataris played a show called "Hoodwinked" where they played an entire Misfits set. Today, they played a few songs with their spin on it. I thought I wouldn't care for it, but they played a great 30 minute set with lots of energy.

My favorite part about this job is people watching. The characteristics from state to state are so different, whether it's the style that the kids are wearing or the way they act in general. It's really interesting to watch from a step back. Whoever said that all Americans are the same has never been on tour.

After the show tonight, I'm looking forward to watching "Planet Earth" with my Baby cake friends. Our tv on the bus has no sound, so my British mates will ad lib a commentary, and I'm sure they will be so funny.