 Happy B-Day Kevin!
What has seven stages with over seventy bands from noon till ten? The 15th Anniversary of the Vans Warped Tour at the Gorge Amphitheater.
At Warped you walk in to a huge blow up that reads what time the bands will be playing and at what stage. It's the a la cart take on seeing a punk rock show. Outside of the bands the Warped Tour is a huge Punk Rock Flea Market, where "tips are sexy!"
By far the DIY of bands trying to make it on a tour, promoting and selling merch. Covering any thing and everything they could with flyer's that read the time and stage they were playing at. Even printing stickers to physically put on kids, so they don't forget to catch their favorite band. Like the kid said who sold me my $2 paper map of the stages and who was playing "...without me you would miss your favorite band." I am sure almost every kid had a different experience and saw different bands; in a short and sweet sense here was my take on the 15th Anniversary of the Vans Warped Tour.
We managed to cover six out of the seven stages and saw roughly 21 bands. My feet were a little sore by the end of the day. Number one thing I noticed out of bands was how the scream-o scene has grown a lot. I would think Underoath and The Devil Wears Prada had a lot to do with that. I have respect that these bands can have six or seven kids in them and not only sound good but can move around on stage without giving each other black eyes. I love that The Devil Wears Prada has wonderful simultaneous head banging.
 Brokencyde was how we started our day, it was a cool rapper and a screamer that was dancy yet hard core. I dugg it, it was like a rougher 3OH!3. I loved how again and Again from Seattle managed to throw in a Hammertime breakdown during their own song. Never seen that before.
I learned that Glimpse had a rough past with the ladies from their song "Why can't we be what we used to be." I liked the harmonies in the chorus, yep punk can have harmonies. Silverstein threw me off with a fun cover of "Go Your Own Way," by Fleetwood Mac. Mike Herrera from MXPX, was a blast to see in his side project known as Tumbledown with rockabilly tunes and a bitchin' cover of Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again." It was funny when we first walked up to the stage Matt asked "is MXPX playing?" Tumbledown also made us sing along to a fun song about mini tat's ... on his anus. You had to be there.
Eyes Set to Kill was the first band we saw that had chicks. They pulled in a big crowd at the Ernie Ball Stage. I liked that they had both male and female vocals. Black Tide was the first band that sounded a bit more metal. They told the crowd they normally played the same songs but treated us with a new song while encouraging them to "move the fuck in, it's one more song," to mosh that is.
Underoath has some crazy Christian kids as Matt said, the mosh pit was kind of intense. Wild, I tell ya. Averice from Australia was a simple three piece with a lot of energy. I loved how their front man yelled "who says punks over? not me!" Forever the Sickest Kids was the first pop punk band I had seen all day, hip hip horaayyy!! I loved it. Their about pointing their pointer finger in the air, when the crowd did so they commented about how everyone's deodorant smelt nice. I dug how Forever the Sickest Kids mentioned how they came to Warped for fun but now their honored to be able to play on it.
 "We're forever the sickest religion." Alright now it was time for a classic, Bad Religion. Bad Religion was the first band to make note that the Gorge is three fucking hours away from Seattle and that we are in George, WA. Bad Religion covered the hits and was a blast to see, Fat Mike even joined in for a moment. They have been through Warped all along and 15 years before it even started so it was cool to see 13 year old kids rocking out.
Fall of Troy was set out to "make some fucking history," and ripp the crowd apart at the Ernie Ball Stage. It was great to see a Seattle band have that much of a pull. Chiodos is another one of the bands like Underoath and The Devil Wears Prada. They managed to sound good and have fun with seven kids on stage. They were like an electronic metal scream-o explosion that got the kids movin. The guitar player in the yellow shorts, um they were too short.
 I knew of Escape the Fate but didn't know how popular they were, 85% of the kids were yelling the lyrics at the top of their lungs. They packed the Hurley stage it was a lot of fun to be surrounded by that many kids that were that big of fans. Madina Lake was rocking the coolest Moulin Rouge sign but it said Madina Lake, duh. Thought it was cool that they had the crowd introduce themselves to the band. I liked all of the balloons and confetti, they were having a great time and wanted to make sure the audience was too. Their bass player managed to climb over most of the amps and cover all of the stage. Very entertaining with a great vibe.
Less Than Jake, was a blast like always. They came on stage to the Star Wars theme song and played into it. Had water guns to play around with and their friends Streetlight Manifesto on stage. They managed to pick apart the crowd both good and bad, poked fun, and made sure kids were up on their feet dancing and having fun. Their witty as fuck and full of piss and vinegar - I think that's punk to a tee. They also wanted to let you know that their game to bang your mom.
The Rev Peyton's Big Damn Band was cool, what I caught. Everybody was clapping and dancing even when they were just walking by. Biggest sing along all day on the Kevin Says Stage.
All Time Low must of been in love, they said the Gorge was their favorite place to play because it's so pretty and they thought the crowd was sexy. I dug their pop punk fun with a hint of electronic music. It wasn't a low but more of a high, had a good time.
 My main goal for the day was to see NOFX, I have never seen them before. I put my notebook away and was there to have fun. When they took the stage I was like oh shit Hefe grew his hair out. Nope it was Bayside playing the first song because NOFX was given 35 minutes to play but well only wanted to play for 30. I managed to sing along to almost every song including "Fuck the Kids" which was dedicated to the crowd because most kids at Warped Tour were under 25... I am! NOFX mixed it up by playing a new song that consisted of a fun little bit with jokes like why wasn't Jesus born in Mexico? Couldn't find three wise men or a virgin there. What does a German Boy get for Christmas? An easy bake oven and a GI Jew. Last but not least What does a Mexican boy get for Christmas? My bike! Pretty sure the NOFX set was everything I wanted it to be and I can't wait to see them again.
Underoath almost tied with 3OH!3 for the biggest crowd of the day. I have never seen so many kids do sign language at the Warped Tour. The crowd was crazy! There was puke, kids falling, and so much booty droppin. I loved their Denver Bronco's drum kit, and badass attitude. They were moving 100 miles per hour and it was a fun way to end the night. I think they were the only band we saw all day that is actually played on the radio. They're huge right now and it was cool to see them at this point in their career. I also loved that El Hefe played a song with them... for three taquitos.
The main stage is spilt and I learned that if a band is playing that you don't like you just give them the finger or the 3OH!3 hand sign. It was cool to see what bands also made kids run down the hill to get to the floor, Bad Religion was one of them.
The popular music has changed from last year and that only makes me excited to see what Warped will be like next year. I hope we still get great bands like Bad Religion and NOFX, maybe some Pennywise or ICE T.
Kevin Lyman is a brilliant guy who gives kids a day festival to enjoy and a lot of opportunities to be a part of it. There is no other concert promoter like him. Warped 15 was a good year, we had fun and I got to see one of my favorite bands for the first time - can't ask for much more.
Andrea@checkitoutmusic.com
Trucker's Take
The Warped Tour turned 15 this year. It's older than some of its core audience but hey, I'm a cranky old bastard who listens to public radio and likes to do yard work.
 The date of the event was not lost on me either. Forty years earlier, stinky hippies were slogging through the mud at a little show called “Woodstock ".Today sweaty punks are whipping the piss out of each other in the pit. From Three Days of Peace & Love to Bad Religion... Amazing!
I grew up in the late 70's & early 80's. When I first heard punk I was stunned; kids were pissed off. The "Love" generation had turned into the "Me" generation and all bets were off. Now 40 years later: The Warped Tour.
The vendor booths stretched out like a punk rock county fair. There were enough tongue studs and lip rings to build a chain link fence, and enough tattoo ink to fill the Columbia River . Trendy kids looking trendy.
A good deal of the music was a little "screamo" for my tastes, but to quote Brokencyde, "I'm Not A Fan, But The Kids Like It". Old school Warped Tour vets Bad Religion, NOFX, Less Than Jake all turned in stellar sets. It was good to see that old dudes can still kick the shit outta punk rock music.
I did get turned on to a new band, “The Reverend Payton's Big Damn Band". Stripped down git-tar, washboard and five gallon bucket drums that grabbed you by the balls and shook you like a snake handler at a faith healing!
In this economy the Warped Tour is still pretty affordable and you still get a pretty good bang for your buck.
Check out all the photos from the show here!
TruckerDave@checkitoutmusic.com |
