After chilling at the Bahia Mar’s lobby while listening to some awesome, drunken karaoke performances, we headed out to Louie’s Backyard for the Cartel show. But unfortunately, we made it a tad bit late due to the lack of parking. (Leave it to us to miss the only band that starts on schedule. Every other act seems to be going on stage at least an hour later than scheduled.) We speculated that the large crowd called for an on-time performance. Luckily, we made it in time to hear the band play one of the best covers of Oasis’ “Wonderwall” I’ve heard. Louie’s was packed and I think it was due to an energetic band along with perfect Spring Break weather. Seriously, last night was probably the most beautiful weather we’ve had since the week’s beginning. Check out our Cartel photo gallery.

We decided to stop by Inkredible Tattoo and Piercing to see if any Spring Breakers had decided to commemorate their Spring Break romance with a tattoo. The place was buzzing with business as customers waited anxiously to get their new ink done. We met up with a woman named Sophia who was no stranger to tattoos. She flashed us what she called a “Blue Bird of Heaven” on her right shoulder and collarbone. The fresh ink was the most painful she had ever received and was still covered in Vaseline. We also followed Shane who was covering his left shoulder with a tribal tattoo.

A tattoo artist also dished about talking one Spring Breaker out of getting a girl’s name across his chest — a girl he had just met hours before. Another artist talked about a 7-hour tattoo session worth a whopping $1000. Video of Shane’s session, Sophia’s tattoos and tattoo artist confessions should be up in our videos section soon.

It seems like the splitting up of Texas week has affected the party at South Padre Island. Even the Sheraton’s security staff complained to us about the lack of college kids. Apparently, the popular hotel only had 60 percent occupancy as opposed to the “no vacancy” status from last year. Still, we made our way to the beach side to get a few snapshots of the Spring Breakers that were there. But the security dudes were right, there weren’t that many to be found. One group of gals, even stopped to ask us where everyone was. “Where’s the party at?” they griped. The almost empty beaches may be the result of a few thousand hangovers. After all, Spring Breakers need to rest up before heading out to tonight’s Cartel show at Louie’s Backyard and Tequila Frog’s Maxim Party.

Our search for Vanilla Ice continued and we decided to hit up Chaos to see if we could get a few photos of the rapper in party mode. As we made our way inside, we finally realized the reason for the long wait. The place was like a Girls Gone Wild DVD. Let’s just say yesterday’s bikini contest at Louie’s Backyard was a bottle of O’Doul’s and Chaos was a bottle of tequila. This clearly was where the party was at.

The DJ spun DJ Unk and Flo-Rida tunes and Spring Break gals worked it on the main balcony. The crowd below whipped out their camera phones to take home the titillating memories. Finally, after much anticipation, the MC introduced the man of the night. Vanilla took the stage and taunted the crowd as groupies tried to get a piece of the Ice. But, unfortunately, the impromptu performance we had hoped for did not come. Instead, we got Bobby Banhart, also known as, “the guy that dumped Tila Tequila.” That’s right, the reality show star partied it up on South Padre Island as well and we’ve got the photos to prove

The Inertia Pool Party at The Radisson was supposed to be a torturous event. Apparently, one of the Viva La Bam guys that is not Bam Margera was scheduled to make an appearance. But the Jackass was nowhere to be found — at least not while we were there. Nevertheless, Spring Breakers trickled into the pool area and Budweiser girls mingled and gave away free caps and nifty little pocket flashlights. (We found them useful when searching for batteries in our camera bags.) The DJ spun club hits as the crowd gathered in and around the pool with drinks in hand. But the party had just begun. Check out our Inertia Pool Party gallery.

The V247 was lucky enough to get a chance to meet London band The Switches at Pelican West. After a few phone calls, we were able to secure an interview with the brit-pop band. We didn’t know much about them except for the fact that they were British and sounded a bit like Franz Ferdinand. So when we sat down for an on-camera interview, we were happy to discover that they were some of the funniest, laid-back, charming, British rockers we’ve ever come across. The band joked with us about their influences, their new album “Lay Down the Law” and their hero, David Bowie. Check out the interview for yourself. Afterwards, band members –Matt Bishop, the lead vocalist, bassist Thom Kirkpatrick, guitarist Ollie Thomas and drummer Steve Godfrey — took the stage in front of a small crowd. The group ripped through a set of their energetic pop-rock anthems. Check out our Switches photo gallery.

We headed to the Bahia Mar hoping to get some photos and a glimpse of rap legend Vanilla Ice, but by the time we got there, it was over. On our way to the performance area on Bahia Mar’s beachside, a drunken Vanilla groupie slurred a “Yo guys! Vanilla’s in our condo playin’ a guitar” at us and we knew we were too late. Our Vanilla Ice experienced turned into one that included being hustled by a drunken DJ who couldn’t seem to tell us more about Vanilla or his whereabouts. “The cops are trying to tear this place apart” he griped. But sadly, no Ice in sight. Rumor has it he’s headed to Club Chaos tonight. We’ll keep you updated on our Iceman quest. Stay tuned!

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Photo courtesy of www.Wikia.com

After the bikini contest was over, many fans moved on to the lower deck of Louie’s Backyard to catch pop-punk band All Time Low. The band took the stage to a small crowd of hardcore fans and stragglers. Front man Alex Gaskarth bragged about sleeping with Rihanna, her va-jay-jay and getting drunk — which was perfect stage banter for the crowd of drunken revelers. Performing most of their “So Right It’s Wrong” album as well as a cover of Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” the band went with the Spring Break party vibe and invited people for drinks at their hotel room. Not a bad show for a chilly Spring Break night. Check out a full review and photo gallery of the show.

Having never been to an actual bikini contest before, The V247 wasn’t really sure what to expect at Louie’s Backyard. So We headed up to the second-floor deck to capture the contestants in all of their bikini-clad glory. The show, which was slated to begin at 9:30 p.m., ended up being delayed about an hour due to a lack of contestants. But it wasn’t because of the lack of babes on the Island. I’m convinced the weather was to blame. Nevertheless, the DJ announced the contest would begin shortly and bikini fans and friends of contestants crowded the front of the small stage–most of them were made up of packs of sun-burnt dudes with beers surgically attached to their arms. With cameras in hand, the audience was treated to an array of greased up, perfectly tanned, impeccably toned beach bodies. The first place winner received $100, second place received $50 and third place got a measly $25. The winner goes into pool to qualify for National Pageant in Hawaii. The contest is scheduled to take place tonight, Thursday and Saturday night, so if you’re in town and have a craving for bikinis, stop by Louie’s Backyard on South Padre Island at around 9:30 p.m. Check out our gallery and video of the contest.

Today’s sunny and breezy weather brought out a bevy of Spring Breakers, which is a change of pace from yesterday’s empty beaches and gloomy skies. The Radisson served as party headquarters with a DJ playing the best in hip-hop. It seems like Soulja Boy and the Shop Boyz may be this year’s Spring Break anthems but it’s too early to tell. There were several posses that went crazy for Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” Our V247 crew spent most of the time taking snapshots of various party-goers out in the wild in their standard Spring Break uniforms - bikinis, shades and beer. I was a bit reluctant to walk out there with camera in hand thinking I’d get punched out by a drunken frat boy, but 99 percent of party posses didn’t seem to mind. In fact, they were willing to pose for as many photos possible. Check out our Spring Break gallery and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

As we made our way back to the office, the sidewalks were covered with bikini-clad and sometimes speedo-wearing college students. Some even decided to tan in the McDonald’s lawn area and many opted to go barefoot (Not a smart choice people! Unless, it’s all a ploy to get your drunken crush to carry you to your hotel.) Sandals are your best bet if you’re headed down here.

So far, it seems like Spring Break 2008 is under way. Tonight All Time Low is taking the stage at Louie’s Backyard at around 10ish. If you can make it, there’s bound to be much to see and much to do. We’ll hopefully be bringing you some photos and video of the show.