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AP Tour 2009 comes to a close in Cleveland

The 2009 AP Tour came to a close last night in AP’s hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, and in keeping with the tradition of AP Tours past, the finale was epically grand. Surprise guest appearances, pranks and otherwise general chaos was the norm for every set of the night. Let’s see if we can recap some of what went down:



During A ROCKET TO THE MOON‘s opening set, the Maine vocalist John O’Callaghan lent some metalcore vocals to "Just Another One" and later nearly everyone on the tour came onstage and laid down around the band during a song, and in the case of Family Force 5 drummer, Jacob Olds: over the bass drum.



When HIT THE LIGHTS were announced, astute fans quickly realized that it wasn’t HTL at all, but instead, imposters made up of members of Kennedy Brock (of the Maine) on vocals, Derek Mount (of FF5) on guitar and assorted members and crew for 3OH!3 and Hit The Lights. After one surprisingly impressive number, the real Hit The Lights took the stage. During their final song, "Drop The Girl," drummer Nate Van Dame’s cymbal stands were raised to their tallest height and were repeatedly knocked over by band members and repeatedly replaced by pretty hilarious FF5 frontman Solomon Olds.



When THE MAINE took the stage, drummer Pat Kirch was surprised to find out that his entire drum set was covered in baby powder that exploded into the air (and all over him) with every hit. His ride and crash cymbals were also taped, rendering them silent. Later, O’Callaghan decided to climb from the stage onto the ledge of AP’s opera box where he sang their cover of Akon’s "I Wanna Love You." And just before their final song, "Everything I Ask For," O’Callaghan announced he would end the set with a stage dive, but was instead duct taped to A Rocket To The Moon bassist, Eric Halvorsen. After the video screen descended over the stage after the song, O’Callaghan ripped off his shirt and dove into the crowd anyway.



Hit The Lights guitarist, Omar Zehery, played bass during FAMILY FORCE 5‘s "Dance Or Die" and AP Tour manager (and ex-Braid, ex-Hey Mercedes drummer) Damon Atkinson played the kit during "Supersonic." Later, several members from other bands, including Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte from 3OH!3, were dressed in matching FF5-esque outfits and performed an elaborate, choreographed dance.



3OH!3‘s closing set doubled as the closing of the tour, and they were frequently joined onstage by a dashing Solomon Olds, and then the entire tour–especially for the encore of "Don’t Trust Me," which turned into a mass of humanity with A Rocket To The Moon’s Loren Brinton on a second drumset and more than a few exposed posteriors adorned with "33" written in Sharpie (one 3 per cheek).


It’s nearly impossible to describe all of the insanity, but luckily our fearless AP Tour videographer Brandon Sloter will be showing it all to you in the last episode of AP TOUR: ALT ACCESS later this week. If you haven’t seen all of the other episodes, now’s the time to catch up.



This year’s tour was unquestionably a massive success, leading to sold-out shows at nearly every date. AP wants to thank you, along with all the bands and crew, who made it a difficult tour to top.




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