It was a perfect day for the beach, and it was US Surf Open. Huntington Beach was filled with beautiful people, good vibes, talented athletes and great music. The sand was piled with different exhibits that fitted the taste of everyone. Converse provided a place to shade yourself from the sun, and made it easy to still have fun. The Converse room was adorned with couches, foosball tables and a billiards table too, both free to play of course. There was even a full sized retail store where you could buy clothes, accessories and shoes! All around the pier companies like Hurley, Converse, and Nike were giving out free shoe laces, and hats, too bad there was none left by the time I got there. It was also a great place to help out the world. Tents were creatively set up to prove their conviction to help Africa with its unsafe and fatal water. Stunning facts still reel in my mind, like how 1.5 million people die a year from drinking toxic water, because there is no other water available, and with one $20 water purifier, it could filter drinkable water for a year. It made me realize how simple a solution to such a huge problem can be put into action by a little bit of help from everyone. All around, the US Surf Open had accomplished a good blend of fun, activities and global awareness.

Unfortunately, my friends and I were about a minute too late to all the BMX and Skateboarding competitions, but we did get to catch a few people messing around on the ramps. After walking on the beach, watching some surfers ride a few waves and cooling off with a nice snow cone the first band on the stage was about to start: Iration.

Iration's fans are pretty committed, I mean trying to crowd surf to a reggae band, when half the people are stoned, is quite difficult. Half of the people who decided to get dropped - I mean crowd surf, failed miserably after going just a foot, but their efforts were valiant. They kicked their set off with "Walk Of Shame," "Time Bomb," and "Falling," with most of the crowd singing along, but to me, a lot of their music sounded the same. They ended "Cookie Jar," and so many people left after their forgettable performance, that I was able to settle right in front and was comfortably leaning my elbows on the barricades.

The crowd was more intimate for Bedouin Soundclash, where mostly long time fans yelled for their favorites to be played and with a shy smile the lead singer, Jay Malinowski responded to the crowd. The passion he held for every song and for the cheers from the fans was evident from ear to ear as he smiled through every song. Although I screamed after every song for them to play "Rude Boy Don't Cry," they didn't, boo. But they did grace the audience with classics like "Gyasi Went Home," "Shadow Of a Man" and "Living In Jungles." The most memorable part of their performance was the sweet rendition of "Stand By Me," where Jay got the whole crowd singing and after the first verse it changed into "Ghost Someday." They ended with "Nothing To Say," with the crowd singing along even after the set was over. All in all it was a fantastic day, with an awesome show put on by Bedouin Soundclash. The only thing I missed out on was a major wipe out by one of the skaters or BMXers, why do they have to be so damn good?

• Click to open gallery! Click to open gallery!
• Click to open gallery! Click to open gallery!
• Click to open gallery! Click to open gallery!
• Click to open gallery! Click to open gallery!
• Click to open gallery! Click to open gallery!
• Click to open gallery! Click to open gallery!
• Click to open gallery! Click to open gallery!
• Click to open gallery! Click to open gallery!
•