After hearing the security bitch and moan about having to check coats in as soon as we enter the venue, I was extremely stoked to get my ticket and photopass and GTF in there. I see a fellow photographer at the front of the coat check, and he informs me that we must pay the 2.25 to have our shit hung up in a sketchy walk in closet. I can already hear There for Tomorrow storming the stage, and I’m thinking “shit, seriously? I have to wait in this long ass line just to have to walk back down it to get to the stage?” Yes, I’m that lazy. Don’t screw around with me and unnecessary distances to be made by foot. Upon paying up and having my heavy coat handled, I happily made my way into the concert hall. And then I thought, “great. I already missed a band for coat check.” As I made my way across the back end right before the barricade restrains the underagers from the legal, I remembered how excited I am to be turning 19. SERENITY AND SCREWDRIVERS NOW! Anyway, a security guard of great stature looks extremely fed up. “The Coat Check is NOT HERE! You guys are not even in the right line! Fuck, you might as well just join the crowd.” Following that bold statement, a rush of adoration YAYs fills the 10 metres in my immediate vicinity. I squeezed my way through avid fans, avid eaters, and avid statue-imitators. For Christ’s sake, you’re at a concert. Expect to be pushed around. Don’t mind a 5’4 girl who’s half your size trying to smoothly pass through, k? As a slew of girls cheer, chant, holler and make extremely sexual sounds as they await the next band’s jump to the stage, A Rocket to the Moon takes the platform. I quickly maneuver my way through the packed house to get to the photo pit, a place where your dreams are made or broken. Yea, I’m talking to you, bass player. Nobody’s ever going to get a good shot of you if you stay in that secluded corner with horrible lighting. The gravity defying fans cause the floor to shake as the band tears up the stage. They played crowd favourites “Annabelle” and “Dakota” and I can assure you, every member of that audience wishes either of those songs were named after them. Their reaction was enough evidence to prove that these boys have a pretty decent following. I think it’s safe to say that without such a strong and positive reaction from the fans, ARTTM would not have put on such a pleasing set. After break, Mayday Parade hit the stage, prompting the faithful to once again take action and go nuts. Derek Sanders piloted the band through tracks from the highly acclaimed A Lesson in Romantics and new songs from their most-recent album Anywhere But Here. Though a fan, I think it’s safe to say that my fellow part-takers enjoyed the old hits a little more than the new.
I might add, the last time I made it out to the Take Action Tour was in March 2008, with a completely different group mentality. Though all were there to have a good time, I wasn’t one of the goers prepared to be thrown into the mosh pit. In case you don’t know, the line-up was much more intimidating and brute. The Human Abstract, The Bled, From First to Last, August Burns Red. Need I say more? Yeah, people rushed the stage while Every Time I Die tore it up. The boy to girl ratio must have been 5:1, whereas tonight’s concert was just the opposite. The tour may be going into a separate direction, but it’s still got a solid following. The most important thing is that proceeds go to a good cause. Take Action, everyone. Don’t be passive. Be Active!

UPDATE:

The recently completed ninth annual Take Action Tour just wrapped up with one last triumphant hurrah in Dallas on March 2, 2010. The tour, whose mission is to create a better world, continues to inspire and make change in a proactive manner.

The Impact of the 2010 Take Action Tour:

• Over $60,000 raised to help further the mission of Patrick Pedraja and his organization Driving For Donors

• Over 30,000 fans in 31 cities proved that the world can be made a better place

• Tour reaches goal enlisting over 2010 fans to sign up for the National Marrow Registry!

• Nearly 8,000 copies of the Take Action Volume 9 compilation sold

Headlining band We The Kings, along with Mayday Parade, A Rocket To The Moon, There For Tomorrow, Stereo Skyline, and Call The Cops united an impressive amount of fans across the U.S. and Canada that cared about more than just attending a great show. The active and engaged audience stood up to make a difference by raising funds, awareness and actual life saving donor volunteers for Driving For Donors (an organization started by now 14-year-old Patrick Pedraja who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age 10) whose mission is to sign up people to the National Marrow Registry.

Take Action 2010 raised over $60,000 for Patrick Padraja’s mission through the unique model of donating 10% of each ticket sold to charity, along with other fundraising efforts including donating 5% of the suggested retail price of each Take Action Volume  9 compilation sold.

Hopeless/Sub City would like to thank all the bands and labels involved this year that brought the message directly to fans that each one of us can take action and make the world a better place.

Take Action looks forward to continue to support Patrick Pedraja and Driving For Donors’ mission of saving lives and everyone at Hopeless Records & Sub City Non Profit is grateful for the opportunity to organize this tour to benefit him and be involved in such a great cause in even a small way. Hopeless Records & Sub City Non Profit is hard at work on the next Take Action Tour and will be announcing the next benefiting charity soon. All The latest information can always be found at Takeactiontour.com.