Crys-tales of New York: Almost Famous at Mayhem

Team Revolver!

This September will mark my 3-year anniversary at Future US working on Guitar World and Revolver. There have been some pretty good perks working on these music titles, such as free CDs, Guitar Hero in the conference room, and late hours of arrival to work (love that I get to sleep in). For me, one the the coolest things is to see and sometimes meet musicians in the office like Lenny Kravitz, Dave Mustaine, Buckethead, Down, Charo, and (my favorite run-in) Rev Theory. On Wednesday, I experienced the biggest perk of all time at the Mayhem Festival in Uniondale, NY.
The Mayhem Festival has over 30 show dates featuring a line up of 13 different bands playing on 3 different stages and this year Revolver is a sponsor. So when I was asked if I wanted to join the staff outing to go to the NY show, I was immediately IN! We took off around 2 pm (my boss in California was very willing to let me leave to join in this fun, which I was very grateful of) in our rented van and hit the road. We checked in and headed over to the Revolver Tent to see our marketing guru Mario who's been on the tour for over a month now. Next we took advantage of our ALL ACCESS PASS and watched the Walls Of Jericho show from back stage. Before they took the stage we met their lead singer Candace and I remember thinking to myself "she's sweet" and then moments later she gets on the stage and wails on the mic like a badass! I'm talking the metal stereotypical "raahhh" screaming - it was impressive and their fans get so in to it! Afterward we took a look at the tour bus which was pretty decent, minus the coffin like bunks they have to sleep in. We went to the main stage to watch the Mastodon show (again from backstage) and then back outside to watch Machine Head.
The heat and beer finally started to get to us, so we headed down to the VIP area to the catered (and delicious) food for the bands and promoters. This whole time I was having a bit of a Wayne's World moment as we flashed our All Access Passes to get into these locations and get by the security. Recharged, we went back to the main stage for the headlining shows Disturbed and Slipknot. For those not familiar with the later band, it consists of 9 guys (from Iowa) who play all of their shows with these crazy masks. They put on quite a show and have a huge fan following. We were in the back hall of the stadium on our way out for the show when Slipknot made their way to the stage with their bodyguards. Silence fell upon all of us as backed up to the hallway wall and watched these 9 (and some of them huge) masked dudes walk by...it was intense! We moved to seats on the right side of the stage to literally watch the Mayhem. Even though most of these metal bands are not on my regular playlist, I have to say that I enjoyed ever show. Afterwards we went to the after-party BBQ with the bands to eat and drink some more. A special shout out to Mike from Walls of Jericho, my new best friend. Overall I had such a blast and the greatest concert experience of all time! I hope you enjoy some of the pictures from the show! Rock on!