Red Jumpsuit Apparatus live from the Bunker, Virginia Beach 6/14/25
This concert was going to be memorable for me because it was going to be my first concert outside of the Northeast and because I invited my nephew to come with me for our first show together and his second ever rock show. We got more than we bargained for! If you haven't seen my other social media posts, bear with me as I set the stage (no pun intended) and back up to the beginning.
I drove up to Virginia Beach from Elizabeth City, NC through torrential downpours to arrive at The Bunker brewpub and burger bar just before doors opened. We paid to park and walked about two blocks to be fourth in line. A bouncer kept us out in the rain, which had thankfully settled to a drizzle. I noticed the guitar player slip out at one point with an instrument case and walk up the street. Nobody said anything. Then he came back a few minutes later and I said "What's up, man?" He turned around and said something to the effect of "Hey, how's it goin?" It was later I would remember that his name was Randy Winter. The doors opened a couple minutes past the advertised 6:30 and the bouncer was only letting a few people in at a time. Once we got inside I learned that it was because they were checking tickets manually from a list and they had sold out! After a two beer wait on standby, we were able to buy two tickets and make our way into the concert hall. Ronnie, the lead singer, was doing meet and greets and asked anyone that did not yet get a picture to form an orderly line. Again we ended up about fourth in line and my nephew got a picture first and mentioned learning about their band from the soundtrack to the 2007 racing game MX vs. ATV Untamed. I mentioned to Ronnie that the last time I saw him was at a tiny club called the Stanhope House. He said he remembered playing there a few times, but that he didn't like that the stage was very low so he couldn't see the whole crowd.
It's worth noting that Ronnie recently made news from a social media post where he said Trump supporters shouldn't come to his shows. What he said when he took the stage was "EVERYONE is welcome here. I've made that pretty clear. But if you don't like it, or you think certain groups of people are better than other groups of people, there's the door" and pointed to the exit. He said if it was okay with us he was going to do a Q&A session before starting the regular set. I was not expecting this so I didn't have a question ready. Some people asked about the meanings of certain songs like "False Pretense" and "Cat and Mouse." He played part of "Cat and Mouse" acoustic. Then somebody asked about what he liked to listen to. He said he has varied tastes, but a lot of it is rock. Somebody shouted to cover a song. He joked that we wouldn't know some of his favorites, but then started to play "Outside" by Staind. He said he needed somebody with a phone to help him with the lyrics. My nephew's hand shot up immediately and he was called up on stage by Ronnie to hold up his phone with the lyrics! Ronnie then played the whole song acoustic. He said he would do another cover in the set and then answered a couple more questions before calling the rest of the band up to play. Notably absent (for me) was lead guitarist Josh Burke.
They then played a full band set for 60 minutes that included mostly songs from their most famous Don't You Fake It 2006 album including "In Fate's Hands; Don't You Fake It; False Pretense; Cat and Mouse; Your Guardian Angel; and Face Down" and a cover of Blink 182's "All the Small Things". The packed house was vibing along with every song. Some people were singing or dancing, but I'd say the majority were pretty chill. There was no crowd surfing or anything like that. After the set my nephew told Ronnie that he should join us for food at a restaurant a mile away. Then he disappeared backstage. We checked out the merch booth and then chatted with Randy while he packed his gear. My nephew talked to him about some local venues. He pointed at the speakers during a song and I recognized HIM was playing. He seemed impressed I knew them and we talked briefly about HIM and CKY, who I had seen recently. We asked if he was coming out to eat with us and he said "I don't know anything about that. I'll see if I can get Ronnie for you." Then we were shooed away by security. We waited out front for a bit by what looked to be their tour bus. I was starting to think that we would be abandoned when Ronnie came out and said "Ok, where's this chicken place?" My nephew explained it's called Chix on the Beach and they're known for seafood. Ronnie said he is deathly allergic and didn't want to risk it. He asked if there was a buffet or something in the area. We couldn't quickly come up with something to suit him so he told us to hit him up on Discord and the socials and we could possibly hang out the next time we see them. I was a little disappointed that we couldn't hang this night, but he had already been cool with us and we were starving by that point so we went to the place my nephew had his mind set on. Their food was very good and we drove home with full bellies and discussing what an awesome night we just had.
In my opinion, the entire RJA catalogue is pretty good so if you like emo and alternative rock you should dive deeper into their music. They previously released all their albums for free, but the links appear to be dead now. You can find them on most streaming services. See video of my nephew assisting on "Outside" here along with other videos and shorts on my YT channel.
