Back in Pennsylvania, another festival happened that was primarily metal & hardcore. At the time I bought my ticket, Alliance Fest seemed promising then it got ridiculous! A one day festival with 3 stages and 60+ bands? I had to see how this would go off…
As the week of the festival came it was apparent there were some issues & things may not quite be what they appeared at first. Lots of bands dropped off with various explanations for why…for many it was an issue of financial compensation. Those final days leading up to the festival left the question would it even happen?
I don't know all the details of what went wrong at Alliance Fest. It's probably best to read the official statement from Alliance Fest itself than for me to try to rehash what I heard.
My friends in Corpus Christi were still planning to come out to Alliance Fest as the week came to a close and had some mercy sent to my house. The package arrived on the morning of the festival…it was a gloomy day but Elphie & I got ourselves up and going…semi awake.
We arrived at what should have been an hour or so after the festival was scheduled to start and nothing was happening. I delivered the package to Corpus Christi which was not quite the tshirt designed they had hoped for. After hanging around a bit we decided to go fetch some food and upon returning Corpus Christi was playing so we caught the end of their set. I filmed clips of 22 bands on this day. A few more than that played. Despite the issues, about half the bands still showed up including a few I really hoped to see such as Those Who Fear, Becoming The Archetype, Letters To The Exiles, Once Nothing, & Inhale Exhale.
Unfortunately not all those who were disgruntled with the festival issues stayed away and brought along a negative attitude. One (Hundredth) took it way too far and tried to destroy the sound production equipment in a classless & childish fit of anger I guess trying to get back at the promoter (though it was a bit misaimed since the production company had nothing to do with these issues). Most bands counteracted this negativity…2 in particular, Convictions & Ace Augustine, really made great statements of positive vibes.
For me, this festival did have its share of issues & lacked the organization necessary to be successful. People could wander into the grounds without paying & there was a lack of security & stage hands. There were way too many bands to fit the time allowed on two stages (one stage production pulled out last minute as well) without overlap. One band played one stage then the next band would play on the other stage…really it was probably the only way it could work due to the place where this festival took place. It happened in a park in a small town outside of Pittsburgh. The bigger named bands toward the end had their sets cut short. Despite all that & the negativity of some bands, it did go fairly well and was enjoyable overall.
Linked below is the playlist of the bands I filmed at this festival: Corpus Christi, My Ransomed Soul, Phinehas, Blissed, Good Luck Varsity, Those Who Fear, Arcane Haven, Fit For A King, Blood Of The Martyrs, Ark Of The Covenant, Hundredth, Triple Stitch, Becoming The Archetype, Letter To The Exiles, The Protest, Ace Augustine, Convictions, Once Nothing, The Great Commission, Inhale Exhale, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, & Demon Hunter.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLh9ZwEF2QQpNhmU_erm9OFUrhyrLBPh4p
(there are technical issues with some of these clips - Demon Hunter & Red Jumpsuit Apparatus were the most affected. I'm not sure about a solution for this. Some clips would not properly upload from the camera to the Mac for editing and some parts were lost.)
Filmed using a JVC HDD Everio. Edited using Final Cut Pro on a Mac Mini.
Filmed & edited by Joel A. Swanson
