Camping Out On Campus

It's an unusually sunny day in downtown San Jose today. Few clouds linger in the sky, but dozens of high school and college students wait in line for tonight's concert at San Jose State's Event Center, which is hosting a show from the ever-popular band Fall Out Boy alongside up-and-coming Plain White Ts, and the pop-inducing Cute Is What We Aim For.

Many fans live in the Bay Area, but there were a handful of college students who drove from out of town. Nicole, 21, drove from Stockton with her friend. They informed their professors in advance that they would be missing class, and drove the two hours. Prepared for a long day's wait, they brought a foldout love seat, blankets galore, and tons of food and drinks.

Two other students from Fresno left at 3:00 a.m. and arrived in downtown San Jose at 7:30 a.m. "There was only the group in front of us and the group behind us," said Nicole while gesturing to her left and right, "when we arrived this morning." They, like Nicole, were also prepared for the long day. Having also informed their professors ("They weren't happy we missed class," said one of the girls with a slight giggle), they brought sleeping bags and books to read.

One parent brought a folding chair and waited in line for his twelve-year-old daughter while she attended school.

Gabby, 35, left Antioch with her daughters at 11:00 a.m. and are waiting in excitement to see Gym Class Heroes together. Having already seen and met the band, the three women are anticipating a great show from their favorite band.

Overall, the turnout was decent at 1:00 am this afternoon, where people of all ages gathered to appreciate the musical onslaught that approaches later tonight. Whether parent or student, hundreds of people enjoy and support the Event Center's concert tonight, and will be sure to have the time of their lives.

Magazine Choice

I don’t read magazines anymore, but one that I would not mind picking up is Guitar World. I love music, and not only does this magazine focus on different guitar brands and their different aspects, but also music and which guitars certain artists from various bands prefer to use and why. In every issue they have six songs in the back of the magazine that are transcribed into notes and tabs (an easier form of music notes) so that people who enjoy those popular songs can play them if they have a guitar. They also take one guitar and break its parts apart to show you its capabilities.

The audience to which this magazine is geared towards is one that appreciates guitars, loves music (specifically the rock and metal genre). The writing style is more laid back than other magazines (such as Time and Newsweek) because their target audience is more casual. The music/artist reviews are more fun, but the writers do go into specifics and really get down to the nitty-gritty details of each band, why their album is or isn’t good, and why they are or aren’t successful. The interviews focus more on the artist’s inspiration and what drives them to create new songs.

To get a feel for the type of audience GW aims to please without having to purchase an copy, they have a website online:

Broadcast video

Enjoy :)