Self Help Festival
October 4, 2014
Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing- Philadelphia, PA
Arriving the venue, one could see a line full of fans at least 4 blocks back. Some fans had been anxiously waiting in line since 2 o’ clock in the morning, and had driven hours to get there. Once you were finally inside, one of the biggest challenges you were faced with all day was maneuvering through the crowd. It was almost pointless, the place was PACKED. The festival was sold out and had a phenomenal turnout. There was a main stage and a side stage, but because it was so packed, you had to pick and choose wisely. The side stage consisted of bands: Gnarwolves, Cruel Hand, Crown The Empire, and August Burns Red. At the main stage you would find bands: Chiodos, The Story So Far, Motionless In White, The Wonder Years, Bring Me The Horizon, with A Day To Remember closing out the night.
The band, Chiodos, opened up the main stage. The crowd went absolutely ape shit. Fans of all ages were singing and screaming along to their favorite Chiodos jams. The band played a variety of awesome material closing out their set with forever fan favorite Baby you wouldn’t last a minute… Crowd surfers filled the place coming at lead vocalist Craig Owens from every direction.
In agreement with lead vocalist, Chris Motionless, Motionless In White was definitely the most unique band on the bill. But that didn’t hinder them in anyway, they held their own and tore up the stage. The Wonder Years had so much energy. Soupy was all over the place with his finger pointing, jumps and kicks. The modern pop punk sensation played an array of great material including, ever popular, Melrose Diner. Fans went nuts at the sound of The Wonder Years, jumping on each other’s shoulders trying to sing into the microphone and accompany frontman, Soupy. The Story So Far, was just as tight! Both The Wonder Years and The Story So Far probably having had the most energy. Bring Me The Horizon came out with a rather dramatic stage entrance with the Sempiternal album artwork projected on the backdrop which interchanged from different scenes colors and patterns. By this point in the night fans were unstoppable. The British ‘Metalcore’ band utilized Co2 cannons, strobes etc. The lighting was tough but fun. The overall performance was very dramatic having music in between songs keeping the fans anxiously awaiting and anticipating more. After playing a few heavy songs throughout their uncanny performance, the guys decided to slow it down a bit more with, And the Snakes Start to Sing. They continued their explosive performance with songs like Shadow Moses; Chelsea Smile; Can You Feel My Heart and Antivist among many others.
Finally it was time for the moment fans have been impatiently waiting for since the festival began. A Day To Remember came out and destroyed the place. With confetti shooting out everywhere, it was time to party! Co2 and confetti were launched all over the place throughout their entire set. At one point in the night, even toilet paper was being thrown; particularly during the band’s performance of All Signs Point To Lauderdale, suitably so. The guys also played Have Faith In Me, dedicating it to all the ladies In the crowd while lead singer, Jeremy Mckinnon instructed them to get on the shoulders of the men around them. Their production in it’s entirety was insane…absolutely incredible. They were beautifully lit and had colorful projections in the background of their stage set up matched accordingly to the title or the feel of each song. The guys sounded and looked great against their ADTR customized ‘Mt. Rushmore’ backdrop. A Day To Remember played a variety of great songs; both off their previous albums as well as their current. Some of the newer material such as Violence and Sometimes your the hammer sometimes your the nail. Later in the night, lead vocalist, Jeremy McKinnon split the crowd. He came out and sang with the fans. ADTR fans were going nuts. In addition to crowd interaction, the band displayed flawless vocal and instrumental quality, deserving every compliment and bit of success they’ve received and have reached. Towards the end of the night, McKinnon surfed the crowd in his infamous hamster ball. Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing was packed with diehard fans of all ages. Self Help Fest in Philadelphia PA was undoubtedly a mass success.
Review by: Liana Marie
A Day to Remember
Bring Me The Horizon
Chiodos
Motionless in White
The Story So Far
The Wonder Years
