alley katz in richmond virginia, this picture is during baroness on best friends day 6.
Original posting by Jess Keller.
-SB
Cool Photos!!
August 20, 2007
Refer to our previous post here to get the info on what Best Friends Day is…
So get prepared for a series of random and half prepared posts as I find pictures online or friends email me pictures. The one above is one of the group photos from Hadad’s on Saturday.
Day one was the show at Skatelab. I was in Jacksonville playing a show at The Pit with EYC and Landlord. But I found from flickr photos from that show here. I’ll forever be amazed that this place opens its doors to hundreds of punk kids on rollerskates, kegs, and hardcore bands for evening on insanity.
Friday was the Scavenger hunt. This photo was taken from this myspace profile.
Haven’t found any pictures from Saturday’s show yet with Rager, Ultra Dolphins and Baroness. We left Jacksonville just it time to get to Richmond for this show.
Saturday was the infamous Hadads. Here is a video of Nate from Snack Truck / Ultra Dolphins playing at Hadads. The following pictures from Hadads were culled from this flickr account.
Dance Machines
Bikes
The Other Bikes
Intense Slides
Trampolines
That night, the show was cancelled for some mysterious reason. Things stilled pulled through and Environmental Youth Crunch, Pink Razors, and Dropdead playing in a Richmond basement. Word travelled fast and the basement, backyard and street were full of people. After all was said and done the basement was sadly ruined. The drop ceiling w/ ceiling tiles was completely obliterated, and the floor had caved in. “
-SB
“Holy smokes, this was the funnest weekend I’ve had in a long time. 30 miles of bike riding, 5 hours of skating, and I got to see my bros, Savage Brewtality from Gainesville, Florida. I hadn’t seen Jake or Keeth in years, and had never seen their band play live. They’re awesome! The Brew is a thrash band whose songs cover such gripping subject matter as: burritos, Chris Farley, boners, and village slaying barbarians…I truely love this band. Plus, I got to skate while they played!
It was at this awesome place called the Bike Lot. It’s more or less a warehouse for a non-profit bike repair called Recycles here in Richmond. They built all these quarter pipes, boxes, and rails; and people rode BMX bikes and skated all day. Check out some photos from the day at my friend’s Flickr page.
I guess I should clarify that Best Friends Day is an annual event that lasts the entire weekend, full of shows, parties, scavenger hunts, biking, skating, and general good times. Other highlights of the weekend included Municipal Waste and Annihalation Time show, riding bikes to Hadad’s Family Fun Park and Palacade, and bad beers with good friends. I can’t wait until Best Friend’s Day 6!
-SB
By Daniel Crenshaw, Photos by Harpal Sodhi
From August 17th to the 20th, Best Friend’s Day collides on Richmond. It is four days of fun with friends, booze with buds and lightly-organized mayhem.
There might be more order than is let on, but Best Friend’s Day is rooted in the chaos of letting kids do what they want. The event is flush with bands, bikes, boards, contests and various forms of liquifaction.
Guitar Heroes last month was a precursor to Best Friend’s Day. About seventy Richmond kids convened at Mojo’s for a competition of dueling plastic guitars. In front of a big screen TV the crowd jeered and cheered as contestants wailed on the controller buttons.
It’s at these events where the spirit of Best Friend’s Day begins. It’s an aesthetic that expands on the common experiences of Richmond youth: the chrome and chequered mornings of Third and Forth Street, dank beer halls like The Village, the outdoors, the sun and summer break.
There isn’t a style or faction that dominates Best Friend’s Day. You find kids covered in tattoos and piercings standing beside kids in collared tees and spiked hair. It’s the same people you meet on the streets, at rock shows and in local supermarkets and coffee houses. Best Friend’s Day is our alternative to the dominant corporate culture of advertisement and suburbia.
Day One, Thursday, instigates the long weekend at Skateland on 5212 Hull Street. The bands will be Kylesa, I Object, Environmental Youth Crunch, Hex Machine, The Keyons
Day Two begins at Chop Suey Books from 1 to 5 pm with a scavenger hunt around the city. The day concludes with a rock show at Alley Katz. Municipal Waste, DJ Assault (aka DJ Funk), Annihilation Time, Caustic Christ and Ultra Dolphins convene. Cost is six bucks.
Day Three is the big event, all day at Hadad’s Lake, south down I-95 and at 1140 Mill Road. Bring your own food and drink, eight bucks. The night’s show is at the Nanci Raygun with Hit/Play’s Pink Razors, Brain Worms, Minuteman Cover Band (by Crimson Spectre), Triple Twins and Jokers of the Scene. There’s also supposed to be dance party going on. Sign up at Hadad’s to get in on the action.
The last day is on Sunday the 21st. It’s a ramp kill at 512 E. 8th St. with a free concert. Bring your bike and food to grill. Bands include Annihilation Time, The Ergs!, Savage Brewtality, Whiskey and Company. For a grand finale, Richmond Lucha will put a wrestling show.
Best Friend’s Day is about getting together with your friends, meeting new people and having some idiosyncratic fun. It might be the last event on this planet where people can have an anarchic good time outside of corporate control. Loosen up and breathe life. Show up for at least one day. You owe to it yourself.
You can check out Best Friend’s Day at www.myspace.com/bestfriendsday
August 19, 2008
This was my first time taking part in Richmond’s annual Best Friends Day, and lucky for me I got to document it for you fine people.
BFD is about hanging with your friends and having as much fun as possible. Taking pictures is also fun, but since the main event of BFD takes place at Hadad’s Lake, I thought I needed a waterproof option. I didn’t want to be stuck out of the water; I also didn’t want to worry about losing my camera to the party gods of Best Friends Day or the lake it’s self. I also felt the lo-fi quality of the images from a disposable camera would help capture the overall vibe of the day… which seemed to be anything goes. So since I suck at writing and am somewhat okay at taking pictures, here are the images in all their sun-filled drunken glory.
Found at Altsound.com News
What began as a day of a bunch of scenesters drinking beer and cooking vegan burgers at a man-made lake in Richmond, VA has now become a weekend of more scenesters drinking beer, cooking vegan burgers and getting some great bands to play in between.
Best Friends Day 5 runs today through Sunday, August 20 at various venues throughout Richmond. This year’s lineup features Pink Razors, Municipal Waste, Ultra Dolphins, Caustic Christ, The Ergs and many more. The event is highlighted by a punk-rock bbq held at Hadad’s Lake, where members of the punk community from all over the country come to ride track bikes and discuss belt buckles.
For ticket and set time info, check out the official MySpace page here.”
-SB
by Timothy Towslee, Photos by Michelle Dosson
BFD4!
When half of the east coast’s punk rock population had their plans for the weekend of August 19th through 21st changed with the cancellation of Hell Fest, the other half were in Richmond for the fourth annual Best Friends Day. For those unfamiliar, Best Friends Day started out four years ago as a somewhat organized mass chiller at Hadad’s Lake for Richmond’s punk community. Since then, it has grown into a gathering of punk kids, young and old, from all over the country, right here in our backyards.
This years BFD was the best yet. In its fourth year, the BFD was extended to a four-day extravaganza which included batting cages, mini golf, go-karts, swimming, a scavenger hunt, a cookout, a giant blob, a crapload of beer, and musical acts galore.
On Thursday, BFD included an awkward mix of punk rock and golf. Actually, the mini-golf, batting cages, and go-karts are pretty punk rock, but the fact that punk bands played under a tent thirty yards from a bunch of yuppies practicing their back swings might have taken the punk rock crown. The night was filled with some of the best suburban recreational activities soaked with ample amounts of cheap beer, music from The South, Environmental Youth Crunch, and Minor Treat (an impromptu Minor Threat cover band), and some of the best yuppie golfer heckling I have ever heard from Tony Scratch and Ward from Chop Suey.
Friday kicked off with the city-wide, team scavenger hunt, which required among other things sightings of Gene Cox, Virginia Lottery Scratchers, and traffic cones. The winners, The Superheroes, were announced at probably the craziest Municipal Waste show since their video shoot. Openers included Asshole Parade, Philly’s R.A.M.B.O., and 80’s punk legends Verbal Abuse. The show would have been better if it were Verbal Assault, but it was amazing nonetheless.
Highlights included a baby beer bong, Sparkles the farting unicorn beer bong, and boogie boards like you wouldn’t believe.
On Saturday, fun was had by all, all day long at Hadad’s Lake in the east end. There was a massive cookout, swimming, swinging, and drinking. Afterward, Philly’s Ultra Dolphins, Brooklyn’s No Omega, Philly dance punks Amateur Party, and Richmond’s newest punk rock heroes, The Pink Razors hosted a dance party at Nanci Raygun. It was intended to be an official dance off, but I think everyone was too drunk.
On Sunday, I think everyone played basketball and rode bikes. Or, they spent the day recovering. I went to New Jersey to see Lifetime.
All in all, I think this was the best Best Friends Day yet. It was great to see a lot of ex- and future-Richmonders pay visits to our fine city. This thing is only going to get bigger and more exciting. I can’t wait for BFD5.
Maybe next year Dillinger Four will actually play.
Tony, get on that! I love this town.
“Friday, August 15 Best Friends Day 7 Show at Alley Katz This is one-stop shopping for the best punk rock in Richmond. Best Friend’s Day has been described thus, “The event is highlighted by a punk-rock BBQ held at Hadad’s Lake, where members of the punk community from all over the country come to ride track bikes and discuss belt buckles.” The power and the glory, amen. Some of the bands playing: Municipal Waste, Brainworms, Ultra Dolphins, Paint it Black and many more. This is an all ages show. Tickets are $10. Doors open at 6 p.m.”
-SB
