Author Archives: serikslobodskoy

During the height of my participation in the “Long Island Punk Scene” (1999-2003, RIP), I would occasionally venture out of the VFW halls, local community centers, and dive bars which hosted much of the music I ever needed to see live, and made it to Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan to see the “mainstream” bands that wouldn’t just find their way into a local show. I saw some amazing shows at Roseland in my teens – Something Corporate, New Found Glory, Yellowcard, Finch, No Use for a Name, Sum41, The Starting Line, and The Ataris – all of whom were in their prime when I saw them. I was young, and I felt like I was part of something larger than myself. We all rebelled against our parents because that was all we knew. We sang along to songs about staying young. We created a sense of community outside of the community. We conformed against the conformed. We were a portrait of youth, if you will…

Now I am twenty-three. My days as a 15-year-old are long gone. My triumphant return to Roseland came last Tuesday night in the form of a band that epitomizes youth: Third Eye Blind. I was a little hesitant as to how much fun I could possibly have at a place I seemed to have left behind me years ago, with a band that seemed to have disappeared along with my reckless teenage self.

And can you really blame me?

Things were pretty different at Roseland this time around. I came straight from work on the east side instead of coming from high school on the North Shore of Long Island. I came by myself by route of subway instead of getting dropped off by my parents by route of their Camry. I was wearing a Brooks Brothers dress shirt and Rockport shoes instead of a Pac Sun t-shirt and Vans kicks. I went to a bar for drinks and appetizers beforehand instead of hitting up the Roy Rogers down the block. Everything was different. Absolutely everything.

And the best part?

None of that mattered once I got inside. Not one bit. Continue reading →