By Elena Winger

I don’t know who planned Fall Frenzy at Tempe Beach Park this past weekend, but whoever it was must have not checked the weather conditions. It was so ridiculously hot, but that didn’t stop all the music lovers and concert goers, just the line to get in wrapped halfway around the park perimeter. By the time anyone was actually able to get in, we all felt like we had high fevers. Refreshingly enough though, there were van-typed fan stations blowing a combination of cool air and water randomly placed around the park. Although, I’m sure a couple dozen more of these would have been appreciated.

Other than the weather, it was all good times at Fall Frenzy, starting off with a Corbin Bleu-looking guy directing me to the right window to get my admission ticket. This in itself made me feel special, one, because I could just introduce myself and get in, and two, because my (station-sponsored) ticket was waiting for me under the window labeled “Band Guest List,” not that I actually had any connections with any of the bands, but it made me feel cool. It doesn’t take much.

Music festival unwritten norm tends to say ‘If thou art a suck band, thou shalt go first,’ but that was certainly not the case on Saturday. Opening act Authority Zero, despite the lack of popularity and exposure was actually quite good. While in most music festivals the audience tends to use the opening act’s performance time to get food, a t-shirt, or locate friends, this band did a heck of a job attracting a crowd and maintaining it.

Next up was Asther Roth whose humble celebrity attire included a sunburn, green gym shorts, and flip flops. He had the crowd swaying and singing along to hits like ‘Be by Myself,’ ‘I Love College,’ and ‘She Don’t Want a Man.’ And to the thrill of girls in the audience he invited several ladies up onstage to dance while he sang, unfortunately for the rest of us, they were only semi-attractive, and couldn’t dance. Following Asther Roth came the all-American alternative rock band Anberlin. The band, recently formed in 2002, had a rockin’ performance and made sure to play the crowd favorite ‘Paper Thin Hymn.’ If you don’t already know who these guys are, check them out, I recommend it.

Next came the riot that was Pepper. This was my first experience of the band, who dressed themselves in army gear and potty mouths. Besides the fact that the band talked more than they played, and when they played, admittedly screwed up often, they weren’t that bad.  All in all they were quality obnoxious entertainment, mostly due to the inappropriate commentaries.

As Pepper closed and left stage the crowd began to chant “stupid! stupid!,” which would have been found offensive to any other band, but it was Slightly Stoopid who were up next. As the band came out and began to play their unique and relaxing reggae-rock style music half the crowd began dancing, while the other half brought out their weed. Throughout the duration of this particular band’s performance largely visible puffs of smoke erupted throughout the crowd. Had I not been asthmatic, it would have been a good time.

By this time of day the scorching sunshine was gone and it was actually nice to be outside, and now the crowd awaited with much anticipation for the next two acts, Fall Out Boy and Blink 182.

Fall Out Boy proved to be one hell of a good time breaking out hit single after hit single, a light show where their guitars flashed to the beat of the music, and song dedications. They dedicated a song to the guys lucky enough to score an ASU chick, because apparently ASU chicks are hot, another to a guy who spent the performance flipping them off, and even one to all the guys who were only there because their girlfriends liked the band and were just hoping to get laid that night.

As Fall Out Boy left the stage the crowd went absolutely nuts knowing that the following would be the headlining act, Blink 182. With much too much shoving forward, it was time for me to exit the crowd. Swimming through the sea of people uniformed in Blink 182 concert tees was a feat in itself and by the time I was able to get out and turned back towards the stage, the band began playing and the crowd had multiplied to the extent that where I was standing at the outskirts of the audience, not even the jumbotron was visible anymore. Obviously pleased with the outcome, the band introduced themselves to the cheering ocean of people and played long anticipated hits including ‘All Small Things,’ ‘Dammit,’ ‘Anthem Part II,’ ‘Down,’ and ‘I Miss You.’ This summer 2009 tour being their first since December of 2004 proved highly successful. When Blink 182 makes a comeback, they really do come back.

Filed under: Creamy Radio, Live Events, Music