I becoming a huge nerd in which I get really excited to check out my recommended YouTube videos based on crap that I’ve watched.  This video up there came up today and I saw right away that it was from Skate and Surf Festival and I had a bit of an inside party.

Skate and Surf Festival was held in Asbury Park, NJ in mid April.  For three years my friends and I trekked down from Long Island to see our favorite bands for a weekend of absolute crazyness!  I can say without a doubt the weekends I spent at Skate and Surf Festival were probably the best of my life so far.

It was before the “scene” got all crappy and to it’s current state (please refer to this years Bamboozle lineup).  You made a million friends whereever you went in the venue and outside and in the hotels and at rest stops.  It was too fun. The poor Berkeley Hotel during those weekends (HA I was just reminded you can watch Brand New’s Jude Law and Semester Abroad video to get a hint of a taste of the things that went on there.  That video was taped at the 2002 S&S).  They must have dreaded that all year.  Creepiest nice hotel in the entire world.

I can’t even begin to go into all the random inside jokes and bonds and epic singalongs (or the not safe for interwebz) from these trips or even sit down and make a list of all the bands I was exposed to and the like.  I would like to someday.

I went from 2002-2004 to what was known as Skate and Surf Festival.  In 2005 they stopped it and all of a sudden Bamboozle was the new Skate and Surf - but it wasn’t.  They kept it at Asbury Park Convention Center for 2005 but in 2006 and on they moved it to Giants Stadium.

I actually was talked in to going last year and it was painful.  Absolutely painful.  Bands that used auto-tune, backing tracks and relyed on their style and hair product rather than actually making half decent music (I’m talking to you 3OH3).  It wasn’t a total waste however.  My partner in crime and I had a classy White Castle like adventure around East Rutherford looking for good eats, I got to meet some cool people (Jessica!) and I did get to see my favorite band ever - No Doubt.

Anywhosit.  If you’ve made it through my blah blahing you are awesome.  The video up there is from 2003 and Brand New played last on the second (first?) night.  I can almost feel how epic the vibe was in there that night just watching it.  What a venue to see a show in (I keep hearing conflicting stories about how it’s not there anymore?  True/false?).  It was this MASSIVE room but you always felt like you had the best spot.  This was one of those shows where you really feel apart of something.  Oh god yeah that’s nerdy - but true.

There’s also a video of BN playing from that show “Ok I Believe You…” and when he sings “The kind of song that makes people glad to be where they are with whoever they’re there with..” I remember looking at Lauren, Robyn and Liz and being like “Yeppp.”