Still need help for 8/15 in Northampton with FSP outreach

[Lloyd Danforth]

OK gang...I'm back to just me. HELP!!!!

[GCG199]

I will go if you need me, I don't have a way to get there though on my own. If Joel is able to go, I should be able to go with him. Let me know what is going on!

[Dave Ridley]

well guys i did my best...drove 90 minutes to get to Northampton then 60 minutes in gridlocked traffic to try and get to exit 20...by that time it was practically time for me to turn around and head to work so I had to give up.  Sorry...close but not close enough.

[Lloyd Danforth]

Thank you Dave for trying and thank you Lauren for calling me and offering to come up from New London and help.
Joel, Greg Geraci and myself got there early and had no trouble setting up. Sumner and the other Van's people were very helpful.
We were in the non- profit tent with Planned Parenthood, and a group trying to get Wallmart to carry contreceptives and another group concerned with violence against women.  Apparently, if you want a large crowd visiting your table, you want to hand out condoms.
We were next to a very loud band.  All of the bands were loud.
We had quite a few interesting conversations although it was difficult because of the music.
I haven't done the count yet, but, quite a few people filled out the T-shirt slips and a contact sheet we had.  We passed out a LOT of stickers!
In retrospect, Dyeing my hair purple, probably, would have been a good idea. We shouldn't do another concert like this unless our table is 'personed' with younger, hipper, volunteers.  Straight looking guys like Greg and myself( I tried to smile!) probably kept some people from approaching our table.
It rained quite a bit the night before and there was a LOT of mud, but, it did not stop people from coming to the concert/event.  The scale of this event was just incredable!
The image is of Greg 'personing' our table.
Lloyd

[KBCraig]

The image is of Greg 'personing' our table.

You're just trying to make me kick the PC out of someone, aren't you?

[Lloyd Danforth]

 

Had any of our lovely FSP ladies been there, would  the term 'manning' have seemed right.
I'm sure there is a gender free word for this, but, I can't come up with one.

[Fluff and Stuff]

Had any of our lovely FSP ladies been there, would? the term 'manning' have seemed right.
I'm sure there is a gender free word for this, but, I can't come up with one.

OMG, he tucked in his shirt at a concert 

[KBCraig]

Had any of our lovely FSP ladies been there, would  the term 'manning' have seemed right.
I'm sure there is a gender free word for this, but, I can't come up with one.

How about "staffing"? Or is that too phallic? 

"Person" makes me cringe. If something calls for a gender-neutral term, then think of something! Police officer. Firefighter. Mail carrier. No, the PC forces don't want a neutral term, they want one that screams, "we're not saying 'Man'!"

Thanks for getting my blood going, Lloyd.

Kevin

[Lloyd Danforth]

Had any of our lovely FSP ladies been there, would? the term 'manning' have seemed right.
I'm sure there is a gender free word for this, but, I can't come up with one.

OMG, he tucked in his shirt at a concert?

Thats not me.  But, I had my shirt tucked in too!  See what I mean about scaring the kids?

[Lloyd Danforth]

'Staffing'  is good, though a little formal. Just Phallic enough!

[GCG199]

Had any of our lovely FSP ladies been there, would  the term 'manning' have seemed right.
I'm sure there is a gender free word for this, but, I can't come up with one.

OMG, he tucked in his shirt at a concert 

I always tuck my shirts in, thank you very much! ...When I go to the Gigantour concert on the 20th, I will tuck in my large Sabian cymbals logo t-shirt too!

[Lloyd Danforth]

REVIEWS
`Warped' Thrives: Good Music, Low Price

August 17, 2005

By SHERYL HUNTER, SPECIAL TO THE COURANT
Massive traffic jams and fields of ankle-deep mud did little to dull the enthusiasm of an estimated 20,000 kids who packed the Three County Fairgrounds in Northampton, Mass., Monday to enjoy the traveling punk-rock circus known as the Vans Warped Tour.

Unlike other touring festivals of the past decade (such as Lollapalooza) that ultimately fizzled out because of low ticket sales, Warped, which is in its 11th year, grows stronger.

The Northampton show, which was the tour's only New England stop, marked the final date of the festival's successful 2005 season.

With a ticket price of roughly $30, much of Warped's success lies in delivering the most bang for the buck.

Monday's daylong show featured 80 bands (including MTV favorites My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy) performing on nine stages, along with a slew of exhibits and vendors celebrating all aspects of youth culture.

Concertgoers had four or five acts to choose from at any given moment, but the thick mud, brought on by heavy rain Sunday night, combined with the swelling crowd to make it difficult to navigate from stage to stage.

Inside the venue wasn't the only place where it was tough to get around. Many concertgoers missed the early sets by bands such as MxPx as traffic was backed up 10 miles in both directions on I-91.

Traffic jams on the highway and in town remained throughout the day and led to the closing of three northbound exits.

The smaller side stages offered the most varied music of the event. Everything from screamo to Christian rock to bands fronted exclusively by females (the Shira Girl stage) could be sampled during the day.

Local bands got their moment in the sun on the Ernie Ball stage.

The reggae- and hip-hop-infused sounds of the Fear Nuttin Band out of Springfield were a hit on the same stage as was the energetic ska-flavored music of Monty's Fan Club from Providence.

The two main stages featured plenty of loud and aggressive music by the likes of the metal-core outfit Atreyu and Celtic-punkers the Dropkick Murphys, who had many in the crowd moshing away and gleefully rolling in the mud.

Other high points included post-Emo rockers Hawthorne Heights and the Offspring, who delivered old hits, such as "Self Esteem," that were popular when most of Warped's under-20 crowd was still watching Sesame Street.

Warped takes pride in featuring bands that are on the verge of breaking big, and given the crowd response to Fall Out Boy (yet another Emo-influenced band), this group is destined to be huge.

Combining smart lyrics with a highly accessible pop-punk sound, the Chicago quartet was easily the most popular act of the day.

The crowd loudly joined with the band in singing along to their anthemic hit single "Sugar, We're Going Down," and nobody seemed particularly bothered when geographically challenged lead singer Patrick Stump constantly referred to Northampton as Boston.

Chart-topper My Chemical Romance was the other big draw of the day.

The New Jersey rockers closed the show with material from their successful album "Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge."

[KBCraig]

Sounds just like Lloyd's kinda music. 

[Lloyd Danforth]

I don't have anything more recent than about 1975!

[KBCraig]

My kids are sometimes amazed that I listen to some pretty cool and current music. And every now and then I get to needle them just a little bit.

The big back-to-school wear this year is anything with the AC/DC logo (hats and tees are big). I challenged our teens to name just one song by the band, and they couldn't. 

Kevin