Bob visited MTV’s Campus Invasion Tour May 1. Bob traveled from his comfortable apartment to the Commons, where the invasionary forces of MTV were ready to take over, though Bob did not see any giant hammers or tanks.

So what did await Bob as he made his way to the Commons on this bright afternoon? Bob was confronted with what he thought was a giant MTV MOON BOUNCE! But alas, there was no bouncing to be had, just a giant balloon masquerading as a popular carnival ride. There were even people taking pictures of their friends in front of the logo.

Bob was disappointed that he could not bounce on MTV. This would be a big hit. Maybe next time, there should be a “Hop on MTV” ride along with “Boy band Whack-a-mole.” With the addition of games, MTV’s invasion could have been greatly improved.

After the initial disappointment Bob made his way to a PCDJ mixing station. This is where other people were using their mad mixing skills to make the music sing in their headphones, or at least that is what it looked like. Bob has no DJing skills. Bob will stick to writing.

Then Bob’s eyes were caught by the infamous Ozzy! Ozzy Osbourne was standing there, on a television, talking to a girl. This Ozzy was not real however, it was “Virtual Ozzy.” This Ozzy was not very polite, even insulting the girl on her shirt, saying “that is not Rock and Roll.” Bob thinks it would have been funny to “talk” to Ozzy while wearing an Ozzy shirt. Virtual Ozzy insults himself. Bob finds this amusing.

After watching many people talk to Ozzy and become more and more amused, Bob found free things. Bob likes free things. Bob now has an MTV Campus Invasion screensaver, a marker board on his door with his marker and is listening to his free CDs.

After the excitement of the free things wore off, (Bob is easily amused), Bob heard something he wishes to never be subjected to again… KARAOKE! Bob does not feel it necessary to go into depth about the social ills of public karaoke. He can only assume that somehow the evil forces of N.o.H.E.A.R. (Neo-organization to Hurt Everyone’s Aural Receivers) could be behind this evil plot. Bob will be looking into this, as soon as Batboy returns from the war in Afghanistan.

After fleeing from the karaoke station, Bob found I-pods. You know those little Apple Macintosh MP3 players. They were very pretty. Did anyone else notice how many Macs were present? Bob thinks that Apple ambushed MTV on its way into town and replaced all the PCs with Macs. This is good because the only station powered by PCs was broken.

At this juncture, Bob would like to remind all of his loyal readers that the Mac knows!

There were also multiple CD listening stations, where Bob could check out all the latest tunes. There were many people listening to things and dancing in various forms. Bob saw that many people were really getting into their music. Bob loves music, too.

After grabbing lunch at Vito’s with a friend, Bob headed over the Starsailor concert. Bob knew nothing of StarSailor but enjoyed the performance. There were about 100 people there, most went because they were curious, and it was free. Everyone likes free things. Starsailor played a good set in the parking lot that was “stage 2.” Bob really enjoyed their performance and the idea of a band playing free before the main show later that night.

After Bob went back to his apartment to retrieve his concert ticket, it was time for the show. Bob went and met up with his friends and stood in line for the show. Once inside, there was much time to kill, sets to find and waiting in anticipation.

It was well worth the wait. Injected was the first band out. They were truly amazing. Bob has never heard such excellent sound quality at a big rock concert. Injected tried to overcome the apathetic crowd and performed a very rocking set. They were getting very frustrated with all the seats on the floor. (Who sits at a rock show?) They tried many times to coax the crowd into moving. Their set was still amazing and much appreciated, even though the apathetic crowd was annoying.

After a break, Default came out. Default was good, not great, but good. They played a mellower rock than Injected, though they were still excellent. Default also had to contend with the crowd and the bassist made multiple attempts to get a rise from them. Flicking the crowd off and taunting them did little good. They just sat there.
Finally, Nickelback came and the legion of fans did as well. The venue quickly filled prior to them taking the stage. Nickelback played an amazing set. Filled with much dancing and singing! The crowd came to life (finally) and started moving and dancing.

All in all, MTV’s Invasionary forces left VCU fulfilled and pleased with the wealth of activities and music. MTV should return in the future and bring friends. Bob promotes the idea of more rock coming to Richmond.

Bob’s biweekly Q & A column can be found in the Commonwealth Times. Starting in August, the CT will be back in production and Bob will be as busy as ever, answering any questions that are asked of him.