SCENE REPORT: VIRGINIA BEACH
RECAP OF THE VIRGINIA BEACH STOP ON THE EIY SPRING (INTO ACTION) TOUR
I don’t really know where to start in recapping this show. I guess I’ll begin by saying that Earn It Yourself, the Vans Warped Tour, and most human beings do not advocate violence, gangs, racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. And certainly, in our world, playing music and going to shows is not about heckling other bands or starting fights.
The EIY philosophy specifically promotes the idea of artists supporting each other, working together for the good of local independent music, and creating art that is valuable to the world.
Based on the actions of two of the bands and their fans and the consequent events at this show, we have decided to take them out of the running for the Warped Tour spot in Virginia Beach, leaving us with only two bands to choose from:
Dear December, a progressive death metal band from VA Beach…
…and Synesthesia, a hard rock / heavy metal band from VA Beach.
Both bands were genuinely nice, honest, hardworking, and had a lot of good things to say during the meet-up. We were stoked to hear that Dear December is actively playing house shows in Chesapeake. Musically, both bands were relatively equal, and we enjoyed both bands’ performances. Based solely on attendance at the show, we’ve decided to offer the EIY spot on the Kevin Says Stage at the Virginia Beach Warped Tour to Synesthesia. We hope they’ll bring even more of their fans out to support them at the show!
As for the meet-up before the show, we were able to have a good conversation with the small group that was in attendance, and we hope that we can work with these individuals on tapping in to the true DIY/EIY community in Virginia Beach.
This event was an eye-opener for me. I tend to be overly-optimistic and naive about people, assuming that everyone wants to do good and be good. I also have a utopian view of the music world, believing that everyone who gets into music is doing it for the love of art, and that we all have a common thread, and can find common ground no matter what musical world we come from. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
Love,
Sarah & EIY
3 Responses to “SCENE REPORT: VIRGINIA BEACH”
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that bums me out so much to hear that my city can’t come together long enough to have fun and enjoy some music. :/
Wow, what a bummer to hear that people acted that way. Though I was not at the meetup and show, I think you made the right decision in taking those two bands out of the running.
i have to apologize for the way the show turned out. i had noting to do with the fight that started, but it was pretty upsetting to watch. i’ve never been to a rap show (the fight was started by two rap groups), but i go to metal shows all the time and i’ve never seen anything like that happen before. this show was not even remotely similar to any show i’ve ever been to, and it made me mad that this happened for THIS of all shows. i hope you don’t think that was what our local scene is normally like, because it’s really not at all. i was disappointed to hear that my band, Dear December lost due to attendance considering all our fans are younger and can’t make it to many shows on a weeknight. especially because there was a huge show the night before at the same venue which is why there was such a small crowd. but i’m not gonna be a poor sport about it. Synesthsia is a nice group of guys, they worked just as hard as we did to put on a good show. we both enjoyed watching eachother play and we plan on doing a show together very soon. i wish them good luck on warped tour, i’ll be sure to watch their set when i go