Y100 Feztival

Have you ever attended the Y100 Feztival?  Have you even heard of such madness?  If you were not an instrument-loving hipster living in the east coast ten to twenty years ago, then all of this may bring a new jingle to your ears. 

My very first exposure to live music was on Wednesday, June 28, 2000.  I was fifteen years old with shiny braces that had yet to be soaked with alcohol.  At first, the sight of 7,000 rambunctious people intimidated me, however, I kept reminding myself how nine of my favorite bands were all going to perform on only one stage.  After all, this was the Y100 Feztival that all the older kids were raving about.  I never knew how much my love and appreciation for music would intensify when I put on the Fez hat that they were handing out at the door.

The Y100 Feztival was brought to Philadelphian and New Jersey music lovers by the alternative rock radio station Y100, or 100.3 FM.  It was the only local concert you could see numerous bands perform without camping out for a whole weekend.  These concerts were always hosted at, what used to be called, the E-Center in Camden, NJ.  The most unique and intriguing element about this venue is their “lawn area.”  Typically, concerts are held in huge, arena-like rooms with assigned seating.  The E-Center has this too of course, but the best and cheapest seats were located on the general admission lawn.  Groups of friends would march in with their blankets and claim their area for the show.  Instead of interrupting all your seated neighbors every time you had to use the restroom or refill your drink, you simply got up without disturbing anyone in the ample space and did your business.  There are not many places nowadays where you can light up a cigarette in your seat without missing a single guitar note. 

For an estimated $15, I had a golden ticket to see 3 Doors Down, Eve 6, Good Charlotte, Lit, Stroke 9, No Doubt, Third Eye Blind, the Violent Femmes, and even Scott Weiland with the Stone Temple Pilots, and I did not have to run from stage to stage to see everyone.  Unfortunately, Y100 only existed from the nineties until 2005.  There were only eight annual Feztivals available from 1997 to 2004.  I still cannot decide if I miss the radio station or the concerts more.  The day I learned my number one preset on my car radio was no longer blaring rock music, I hit the volume off quicker than I do now when I hear Justin Beiber.  The heartbreak of no more summer Feztivals can still be felt after all these years. 

Although there will never be another Y100 Feztival, or even something remotely comparable, there is still time to check out the venue.  The E-Center, or the Blockbuster Sony Music Entertainment Centre, opened in 1995.  In the middle of the Y100 days, the venue name was changed to the Tweeter Center in 2001.  In 2007, the Susquehanna Bank Center took over the name and left their signature on most of my concert ticket stubs.  I just learned today that it was recently purchased for about double the amount of last night’s Powerball Lottery, and it is now known as the BB&T Pavilion. 

No matter what name my Google search labels this venue as, I will always remember the stunning tunes that pierced my ears there, and I will always cherish my Fez hat.