UTG PHOTOS: Skate & Surf Day One (5/18/13)

May 28th, 2013

Corbin Alvae

Under The Gun sent photographer, Corbin Alvae, to New Jersey for Skate & Surf Festival at Six Flags Great Adventure.

Skate And Surf Festival: DAY ONE. Where to start?! First off, before I get into my Day One coverage, here’s a quick little story:

When I decided that I was interested in covering the festival, which was about 2 months prior to the actual date, I was beyond excited to travel to New Jersey, for one reason: WARM WEATHER. Michigan weather is on and off and for me — that usually never goes too well, and frankly, it grinds my gears, so going to NJ was just what I needed. A couple weeks before I had to leave, I checked the weather, said it was going to be clear and warm. Awesome! Week before, same thing. Looking great! Day before, RAIN. Sweet, right? Overall though it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be; rained here and there, but I survived.

Now…DAY ONE! What a line-up! I kicked things off on the main stage with Florida hip-hop artist, Jake Miller. Let me tell you, what a performance! As young as he is, Jake definitely has a performance that anyone of any age should check out. After that, I ran over to the Ford Fusion stage for Illinois metal band, Sworn In. I’ve never seen these guys before, but they brought the hype for sure, especially with it being early in the day. After that I went back over to the main stage for Hip-Hop artist, Hopsin. DJ Hoppa was spinning the tracks while Hopsin was climbing on fans. Real interactive artist with his fans — really enjoyed watching him. After that, I went back over to the Ford Fusion stage for Michigan natives, For The Fallen Dreams. Now, when I heard that Chad Ruhlig was back on vocals, immediately I was stoked to see these guys at the festival. FTFD never disappoints fans with their performance and they sure as hell didn’t disappoint me. Right after that, I was back at the main stage for Canadian artist, LIGHTS. I really can’t even explain how much I enjoy her performance. Each time I’ve seen her has been perfect. Kind of sucked that her set had to be cut short, but as she quoted on Twitter, “Keyboards in rain is a recipe for disaster.” which is true, can’t risk getting electrocuted! After that, took a little break to scope out Six Flags and relax my legs, because standing on them for hours on end and going stage to stage tends to get a little painful. After that I went back over to the Ford Fusion stage for California metal band, Of Mice & Men. Now, when I was there during sound check, things seemed right, but the one most important thing that all bands need during a performance is… a mic. Technical difficulties with the mic forced OM&M to play instrumental instead. What made this performance though was the fact that the whole crowd sang with Austin and the rest of the band during this acoustic set. I thought that was super cool! Now to the main event…back to the main stage for the one and only, Fall Out Boy. I grew up listening to them when I was in middle school and always was a huge fan. Funny story actually while I was shooting them: Obviously beach balls are always a huge hit during music festivals. During FOB’s set, a beach ball went on stage right in Pete’s area. Now, I don’t know if he miscalculated or just wasn’t paying attention to the direction where he wanted the ball to go, but when I went to go and capture a photo of him…well, if you thought correctly, Pete accidentally kicked the ball to the side of my head. Kind of funny, Pete apologized for it and went on with the set. Overall, Fall Out Boy absolutely nailed it! Killer performance and definitely something not to miss.

Skate And Surf Day One, minus the rain, was a success in my books.
For all your enjoyment, here are some photos of what I captured of each artist from day one. Stay tuned for my coverage of Day Two!

JAKE MILLER