If you missed Chapter 1: Disappointment, the epic sage from my failed festival experience of 2022, click here to read that first.

Chapter 2: Redemption

But, if there is one thing Batman has taught me, the night is darkest just before dawn. If there were never dumb days, the not-dumb days wouldn’t be as sweet. A bad concert experience was certainly a spoil to my well-being those days in 2022, but could it offer the contrast for what is to come in 2024? 

It is going to be the perfect weekend

While I could ramble on about each band and the associating memories that come to mind, I know I am the only one here for that. Instead, here is a crash course blurb (with as little rambling as I could muster) of each set. 

Snapshot: By the numbers

• 11 bands in 12 hours
• Eight full sets, three half sets; Seven of the 11 bands played full iconic albums
• Four pasties (Insert emoji of your choice)
• One BYU hat, One Utah shirt, three Jazz hats
• Two nights at Circus Circus
• $40 for lunch: Three small tacos and carne asada fries
• $30 for dinner: A bowl of Macaroni and Cheese, a churro, and a $5 can of Coke

Cartel (12:25 pm)

Starting was my boy band, Cartel, fronted by Will Pugh, a minor man crush. We were in the thick of the crowd, a few rows from the barrier that separated us peasants from those with the VIP tickets. They played their album Chroma, which hits its 20-year-anniversary next year. Song by song, Chroma was the perfect start to our day as Heather and I both had a case of flashbacks to 2005 and what connected us to these guys in the first place. 

My favorite song was A. For context, Chroma has an awesome three-song series that starts with The Minstrel’s Prayer, a slow and steady rock ballad that emphasizes a rhythmic drum series that continues with the next songs. After prayer is Q, and then A concludes the album. A, I told Heather, is the original 10-minute version song, and 20 years later, they played every second of it. Those drums kept it steady, the guitar riffs and solos were perfect, and Pugh went in and out on the vocals like a Sunday gospel choir. It was awesome all around. 

I’ll give Cartel 4.5 stars out of 5. My very first concert was for Cartel, my first album crush was probably Chroma, and this was why I came to the festival in the first place. It was everything I wanted. 

We the Kings (1:15 pm)

Staying at the same stage, we were then in prime position for the next band, We The Kings. What was cool was that the setup was on a circular stage that moved. So, when one group performed, the crew could set up on the other half. When Cartel finished, they could just spin the circle and We The Kings could start within minutes. 

The lead singer of We The Kings did not look like the person who became famous for a love song about Romeo and Juliet as the dude had his red hair in a man bun while wearing a tank top to show his colorful sleeve of tattoos on both jacked arms. He had such good energy and was good at getting the crowd into the right vibe. They were playing their self-titled breakout album, but didn’t go in order since their first three songs are their three biggest songs period. 

Unfortunately, I only knew those first three Kings songs. Additionally, we knew we’d be in conflict as Dashboard Confessional would start performing on a different stage about halfway through the Kings set. We had to make a choice: stay for Check Yes Juliet or go to Dashboard, and decided on Chris Carrabba with Dash. We stayed for a little more than half of the We The Kings set. 

Leaving brought the first realization of just how big this festival was, and how good our location was for Cartel and Kings, as we swam through swarms of people to get out of the Ghost Stage area. I mean, thousands of people at 1 in the afternoon in the Las Vegas sun were packed for this performance. Overall, total attendance peaked at a shade under 70,000 for the day. 

I’ll give We The Kings 2 stars out of 5 but to no fault of their own. Only knowing the hits was my bad and having to leave early was a tough conflict. 

Dashboard Confessional (1:50 pm)

Starting, Carrabba preached to the choir: “Someone asked me why I was wearing black today and I responded, why would you wear something other than black? So what I’m saying is, I feel seen today.” 

Dashboard and company were on one of the two main stages, Purple, which was a few minutes from where we were. We left We The Kings at 1:45 and made it over in time for Dashboard to start at 1:50 PM. 

Chris Carrabba has always been a favorite of mine because of how truly talented he is. He puts so much emotion into his lyrics and singing and then meticulously sharpens every other detail to make songs perfect. The dude is a poet and a romantic and I love it. 

Hands Down, Stolen, Vindicated, and Saints and Sailors were my favorite songs played. I don’t know how he can sing and perform those songs regularly without having his voice die. It’s like Carrie Underwood – you can’t just go word for word with the singing because you can’t match their talent. 

I’ll give Dashboard Confessional 3 stars out of 5. While extremely solid, they weren’t a performance by any means as it was just a sing-along from the back row type show. Heather’s ranking for Dashboard would be lower as she didn’t know as many songs. Hindsight also made her wonder if we made the right call. 

Cobra Starship (3:30 pm)

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Initially, we planned to watch The State Champs (2:35 pm), but we honestly needed a break after the first three. It was time for lunch and a bathroom break, which also gave us a nice cushion to sit back for a minute before getting crazy again. Cobra Starship was on our list for 3:30 PM, so I found them back on the Purple Stage while Heather continued to lay low for a bit longer. 

I’m so glad I went. And I’m so sad she didn’t. 

Saturday, a popular pick on Reddit for the best show, or most fun show, went to Cobra so that’s why I felt the extra push to make it happen. They started with a big Airline production, showing a video of the two dudes flying a fake plane and giving a PSA to duct tape kids (which, OK). They then realize they need to be in Vegas for their show, so they ‘parachute’ out of the plane, and then the video stops as they appear on the stage. With backup vocals in flight attendant gear, the two dudes were pilots and they crushed the opening song to Hot Mess.  

When We Were Young was advertised as these bands playing a specific album. While this happened for the majority, a few went against the grain and just played their hits. After a few bangers, Cobra Starship dudes did another bit about needing to adhere to WWWY policy and play their iconic album, Viva La Cobra, so they brought out the purple hoodies and rocked The City Is At War and Guilty Pleasure. 

It was time for another bit, this time as another video. They said something about an Uncle Gary from Reno wanting to say something to the crowd, who then appears on video as an Elvis impersonator. He rambles about whatever, singing Hollaback Boy, and was just an awkward lol. Then, the band comes back on stage afterward in another outfit change like Bowling League bros, and sings Kiss My Sass with Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy (which was so entertaining). 

Gosh, they were just so fun. With my favorite dudes of all time tipping off at 4:10, I knew I had to cut their set short by a few and was legit bummed to do so. I’ll give them 4 stars out of 5. 

The Maine (4:00 pm)

The disappointment only lasted while I shuffled to the Allianz Stage because I was on my way to see The Maine play the Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop album that was released the summer I graduated high school. 

I met up with Heather and we navigated our way to the front by the barricade, as close as we could get, as John O’Callaghan burst onto the stage asking the crowd to “Make some noise if you give a shit!” followed by a simple, “Let’s have fun some, yeah?” 

I sang and screamed every single word, probably quite literally every single word, as I bounced and bopped and danced like a rubber tube. They played their album in order, kicking off with Everything I Ask For and ending with We’ll All Be, a song they said they’ve only performed live five total times in the last 20 years. 

One of my favorite things from The Maine is they urge everyone and anyone to move their body, no matter how awkward. Let’s get weird, they say, and start moving their arms and legs like that inflatable balloon guy outside of used car dealerships. I’m 35 now. But I take every invitation literally, becoming a sweaty mess. 

After the set was over, the guy next to me commented on my singing abilities, probably biting his tongue on the dancing observations. They were hard to hear, but you knew every word so that helped, he said. They were better singers, he added, by just a little bit. I’m still not sure if he was being passive-aggressive or not.

It was my guys and they don’t deserve anything less than 5 out of 5 for making me sweaty. 

The Starting Line (4:40 pm)

As we left The Maine, we turned a corner to The Starting Line performing their 2002 album Say It Like You Mean It. We hit them just in time for The Best of Me and found some grass to the side to listen to the rest of the album and recover. If you read By the Numbers from above, this is also where we saw the four pasties. 

It was perfect to sit and still be so close to the show for Cheek To Cheek and Hello Houston.  The Starting Line has been underrated in my life, but I am never disappointed when I listen to the album. It’s just solid. 

I’ll give the experience two stars out of five because we went to the bathroom, stood in a merch line, sat for songs… and kept looking at those pasties. 

Motion City Soundtrack (5:35 pm)

The Ghost State was the place to be for a good chunk of change as The Starting Line transitioned to Motion City Soundtrack and then would also be the stage for our next two shows. Since we’d be there for a while, we decided to stay on the grass for this show as well. 

And just like before, it was perfect to be sitting and being outside and listening to music and the sun began setting and it was just so peaceful, yet peaceful doesn’t feel like the right word when you’re listening to punk rock music at a festival with hordes and hordes of emo kids with chain wallets or mohawked purple hair. 

“Nostalgia can be a good thing,” lead singer Justin Pierre said, “When it’s used correctly.” After mentioning how beautiful it was to be at a festival built on nostalgia and seeing favorite bands they played with or collaborated with, Pierre said the real satisfaction was connecting with people who have loved them for over 20 years. This established sub-community has drifted in and out of connection but to reunite provided such an iconic shared belief and experience, an idea that resonated on my end as a fan as well. 

Commit This To Memory was played song by song and I knew all the transitions and first lines from one to the next. It was a staple in my rotation, especially whenever I was with my best friend Marques. Everything is Alright and L.G. FUAD, Better Open the Door, and Hold Me Down were notable. 

I recently saw Motion City and I knew the vibe they’d bring. I feel like Pierre is a talented lyricist and a thoughtful person, so I love the perspective he brings to life through his music. Heather and I looked at the lyrics together and analyzed them like the English nerds we are, in awe of clever lines, extended metaphors and crazy poignant imagery related to mental health, depression, social anxiety, and addiction. I’ll go with 3.5 stars for Motion City. 

New Found Glory (7:25 pm)

We got ourselves ready to go hard the rest of the night, starting with New Found Glory. They were part of the Motion City concert I went to at Saltair (at the Salt Flats) last year, so I knew they would bring a high-energy act to the show. Playing Sticks and Stones, there was no question. These guys are the OGs of pop-punk and have songs that are staples of the time and the genre, just like Blink 182 or Green Day. 

Heather had this recurring comment throughout the day about which band members looked old, looked fit, looked punk rock, dressed emo, or just looked like normal dudes. While NFG certainly looked like Dads, lead singer Jordan Pundik looked like he owned the local CrossFit with tight jeans, a t-shirt, and his tattooed biceps. Just like We The Kings, he looked good while also looking like a guy not to mess with.

Understatement, My Friends Over You, Something I Call Personality, and Head On Collision went hard as the old guys rocked and rolled. About halfway through the set, they mentioned that they had guys filling in on stage, one being for guitarist Chad Gilbert who was in another battle with cancer after a rare adrenal gland tumor was found on his spine pinching nerves. For a moment, they asked everyone to just rock out and cheer in Gilbert’s honor, giving him good energy and sending love. It was a sweet, memorable tribute. 

Very much like Kings, I appreciated all the talent and energy NFG brought to their show. Sticks and Stones was an album from 2002 when I was in 7th grade. I had limited access to the full album for some reason – probably downloaded it wrong on Limewire – and I stuck to those songs over all the years. To hear the album in 2024 played from start to finish, I was stumped with songs I did not recognize and that felt weird. They were a group I wished played a compilation of their hits over the last 20+ years and not just stay isolated to one early album. Therefore, two stars out of five. 

Boys Like Girls (8:20 pm)

All-American Rejects was supposed to be this slot, but were (allegedly) triggered when the stage times were released and they weren’t on the biggest stage or longest time slot. They dropped with a week to go and Boys Like Girls was called to fill in. After just finishing a headlining tour across the country, this would be their third concert in Vegas within the last 365 days but they were amped for it. The Instagram caption was poetically perfect. 

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To intentionally add salt to injury, the stage music started with Dirty Little Secret, an All-American staple, as the other guys came on stage. Wearing black leather, with thick mustaches and five o’clock shadows, the boys looked good. Every minute on stage, they looked cool and too cool, but so cool that you wanted to be part of their crowd. Not that it has to be related, but throughout the set, they were passing around cigarettes and joints, looking like a motorcycle gang in the darkened alley. Remember reading or watching The Outsiders? These were the Greasers onstage, ready to rumble with any Socs for a black eye accessory. 

These guys stole the show for me. Aside from My Chemical Romance (coming later), they were the highlight of the festival. Yes, my boys, The Maine, were so good but I expected that out of them. For BLG, it was a complete surprise to see how completely epic they were and how hard they rocked. 

Midway through the set, the band went back to their debut album from 2006 to play their lead single, The Great Escape. Frontman Martin Johnson was telling everybody to get their phones out and to get ready and then it seemed like the band was just rushing into it and they hurried and played the first verse and chorus and then they just stopped. Johnson yelled, “Did you get it; did you get your videos?” Then, he grew passionate and said something along the lines of “Now, let’s do this right. Put the phones away. In 2006, you didn’t have a video recording phone. You didn’t mosh with your digital cameras. Let’s just go wild like you did when you were young without all the technology and distractions.” Right then, the band restruck The Great Escape chords and began to play the song again, but now with everyone all in and all engaged. 

The way he said it, the way the crowd unanimously accepted, the way everyone just euphorically reacted, I mean, it was a moment. I’ll peg it as the signature moment of the festival. 

All told, easy 5 out of 5 stars. 

Fall Out Boy (9:00 pm)

With Boys Like Girls as the perfect opening act, the night was now beginning with the big boys on the big stages. Fall Out Boy went first, but were a clear headliner with a fireworks show at the start of the set, randomly during big bangers, and as a grand finale to finish it off. Patrick Stump was in command of the stage from the get-go and famous bassist Pete Wentz had his flamethrower attached to his guitar for full flame effect. 

I’ve recently written extensively on Fall Out Boy, especially about their iconic Take This To Your Grave debut album, after seeing them a year or so ago at Usana in Salt Lake. Just like last time, the highlight this time around was when Stump went solo to play the piano. He talked with the crowd about how cool the festival was for the band, being able to reconnect with bands they toured with or grew up idolizing. After some sentimental sentiments, he played So Much (For) Stardust, one of my new favorites from their album of the same name released last year. I love the heartfelt feeling of highs and lows, a duality that exists in their new logo and new direction. As one review wrote, “So Much (For) Stardust” can be read as an expression of defeat, giving up on one’s dreams. But the title can also be read as ‘So Much Stardust,’ a perspective that is awestruck by the beauty still out there in life.”

Perhaps inspired by Taylor Swift’s surprise song bit on her Eras Tour, Fall Out Boy tried something similar with Wentz asking questions to a Magic 8 ball to figure out their next song that would be special, something they did during their headlining tour as well. On night one of WWWY, they had Wiz Khalifa pop out as a guest to perform See You Again together. Many wondered what the surprise for night two could be, and both additions were such a hit. 

First, the Magic 8 Ball revealed G.I.N.A.S.F.S., a bonus song on their Infinity on High album that I absolutely adore, but the backstory could be even better than the lyrics itself. Let’s go for a tangent. 

If you are a fan of the lore, you might know that in 2005 Wentz started hanging out a lot with My Chemical Romance band member Mikey Way. Besides hanging out, Wentz would write on a blog – a tumblr if I remember right – about the activities they did together and then add lines about being in love. While both are married and have kids now, pictures of the two back in the day created all sorts of fan fiction, but a lot legitimized the relationship to be more than a bromance when the two bands converged on a world tour together. There is so much more – read here if you like the tea – like wearing similar iconic jackets, innuendos about the bass guitar, and all the juicy details Wentz would gush over. Soon, the flame blew out and Wentz penned the lines on the blog, “best friends, ex-friends – better off as lovers, not the other way around” which typifies the Infinity on High album and was the writing on the coffin about the dudes. Those lines became immortalized in song; that song, Bang the Doldrums, was clearly about Way and then the secret song with initials had the lyrics to describe a complicated romanticship as well. So, back to When We Were Young, the first secret song is rumored to stand for “Gay Is Not A Synonym For Shitty.”  End of tangent. 

The second Magic 8 Ball song brought out the special guest, Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes, to play a rock version of Cupid’s Chokehold the rap group released in 2005. There’s not much of a tangent here, but it was super cool to see Stump, Wentz, and McCoy play together. Wentz and McCoy were ‘cool,’ and gave each other handshakes and the half-hugs while Stump was just a geeky dad giving big frontal hugs, clearly full of glee for the reunion with an old friend. Stump is such a nerd, but it’s an identity he embraces and perpetuates. 

I’ll just copy and paste from above: all told, easy 5 out of 5 stars. 

My Chemical Romance (10:40 pm)

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After standing up and dancing hard for nearly three straight hours, Heather had to take a seat where we stood before My Chemical Romance kicked off. A gaggle of others around us noticed and took inspiration to join her. With a festival geared towards those who are no longer young, the feet were achy and a respite was needed. 

It was short-lived, of course, because the show of all the shows was up. Playing the full, song-by-song Black Parade album was the chance of a lifetime. I had been excited for nearly two years for this performance. We stayed at Circus Circus which was just a block away from the festival grounds. As I went to bed the night before, we could hear the sets and songs from our room and I stayed awake to the faint sound of MCR playing day one. I just couldn’t wait. 

The show started with a steady pulse of a heartbeat monitor slowly increasing in pace as white lights flashed every few beats, providing the ambiance of the death-ridden album. Band members came onstage the simple set – black and white, lots of fog, ominous silhouettes, hospital overtones – with Gerard Way inviting all to “the tragic affair” in the title track of The End that sets the stage for track two, Dead!, to bang. Immediately from the first beats, The Black Parade is an album that moves like a story, with tracks that ebb and flow to tell of a patient navigating the end of their life and their final resolution in death. 

The band hardly spoke during the songs, just going from one to the next as if playing on your headphones or the CD player song by song. I knew every second, from transition to lag to spoken to drum to verse or backup vocal and to have it played that way was incomparable to any other concert experience I’ve had. Singing alongside 70,000 in a sea of black to the title track, Welcome to the Black Parade, that’s up there on my list of core experiences. 

With about half the album to go, Heather did try to find a place to sit (and nearly got swallowed in the sea on her return) and I bonded with a couple in front of me. After going hard to House of Wolves, the girl gave me a fist bump of respect for being emo enough to her liking. Her dude just laughed at us and then kept telling me to scream every word louder and louder. This friendship, whether in mocking or not, of two strangers glued together by a band who wore skeleton-white makeup with black eyeliner – there’s nothing like it. 

A few songs later, Disenchanted and Famous Last Words, I remember just closing my eyes and telling myself to soak in the moment. I was so tired and I’m so old and I’m so out of shape and my voice was gone and I was hungry and it was such a long day, but two years of build-up had led to that very moment of deep joy and satisfaction, completely at a climax with these two songs culminating together live. These songs, my favorite songs, have so much meaning together with Disenchanted acting as the edge of the sword that is dispirited, depressed, and dissatisfied with the “life long wait for a hospital stay.” There’s hardly any motivation left to keep living, a pain many have felt battling mental health, myself included. Until the next breath comes in, or in this case, the next beat, and the finale track follows with Famous Last Words pledging allegiance to keep trying, keep living. Whether in despair, in depression, in isolation, or in loneliness, it’s the other edge of the sword to just fight forward. Many think the album concludes with the patient giving in to death and moving on in that regard. My vibe is different and luckily supported by the band. In an interview with The New York Times, lead singer Gerard Way said, “At first I thought the patient died (at the end), but the more I think about it, the more I think he’s not dead. Maybe this is all in his head. Maybe he can fight. Now I think he has a choice to live.”

With eyes closed, this burning anthem of mine for two decades was now pounding into the bloodstream of something to just cling to; to internalize and revere. With music and lyrics and a festival like WWWY that prompts such strong emotions of will, there is no choice but to have a renewed sense of life and obligation to live, just like the patient. 

C’mon. 5 out of 5, no question. 

And just like that, it was the perfect experience to provide a perfect weekend. Well, I did order food at Popeyes after walking back to the hotel but they were so behind on orders and understaffed and a machine probably broke that I stood waiting for the food for 30 minutes and then decided to just go to bed instead. I guess it couldn’t be perfect, perfect but it sure was pretty darn close.