THE WORD ON WARPED TOUR
So uhhh….I went to Warped Tour, you guys. I know, you’re all “WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?” Well, truth be told, I was totally down with going this year. There are quite a few bands I actually like on it. But when the ol’ ball and chain just so happens to work for Warped Tour, you *definitely* go…..you definitely go THREE TIMES. Yes, everyone, I sweated off half my body weight at the Hartford, Long Island, and Oceanport dates. I managed to take quite a bit in: whether that be the bands, the skanky 15 year old girls or the piles upon piles of neon t-shirts, Warped certainly has a lot to offer.
I was fortunate enough to catch a bunch of behind-the-scenes action, and all band/groupie gossip aside, I gotta say that this tour is a fucking hustle. I was worn out after three days of Warped chaos, but the people who work/perform at this do it almost every day for about two months. Where they get the energy, I will never know, but I give them all the credit and respect in the world.
Anyway, let’s get to the good stuff. I saw a lot of bands. Some of which y’all probably like, and some of which y’all probably love to hate. But mostly ones y’all just….hate. Whatever. Here’s the lowdown on the heavier acts on the bill:
—Andrew W.K.: I watched about half of his set one day, and it wasn’t nearly as exciting as I remembered it being the one time I saw him back in 2005. That may have been because it was way too hot to party. At least for me. He had some chick dancing on stage with him and I was sort of just confused. I had walked past him in the backstage area a while before he went on. He was dressed all in black and I heard him say to his buddy something along the lines of “I’m so emotional.” I’m not sure what the context of this comment was, but it was a definite WTF moment.
—Attack Attack!: Ohhhh Attack Attack!, we meet at last. So much time and energy has been spent on bashing this crabcore wonder in the metal sphere, that I completely forgot that they actually *do* have fans. Lots of them. Kids dig this shit. Their shirts were EVERYWHERE. I saw them play one song, and it wasn’t nearly as frightening as I had imagined. They’re just….there. I’ll let the kiddies have fun with their power squatting. At the Long Island date, this fell into my lap:
Thanks, Rise Records…?
—Bring Me the Horizon: Ok, straight up….not a fan of this at all. I watched them for about 5 minutes. I don’t get it. I saw a lot of gross looking groupies hanging around their backstage area. I was also a little put off when I saw that they use the “black metal barbie” on one of their shirts:
—Confide: This is that band that basically screams over The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights.” I managed to avoid them all 3 days. But I saw their shirts EVERYWHERE. Sigh.
—The Dillinger Escape Plan: Dillinger have long been one of my favorite bands, and one of my favorite live bands on top of that. They’re definitely the odd men out on this tour, but I’m happy to report that the band is consistently BRINGING IT every single day. I watched them two of the three days, and even in 90 degree heat, there are still moments when they give me the chills. I love all the stage antics. Whether it’s their inability to stay on the stage, kicking amps every which way, or jumping on monitors with signs on them that clearly read that there is a $100 fine for doing so, Dillinger are showin’ the little guys how it’s done:
It also doesn’t hurt that they’re pretty rad dudes. They do a signing every day in ‘The Expendables’ movie tent and it’s really cute seeing people flip the fuck out when they meet them. Also, props to the Long Island crowd for starting a “DO IT LIVE” chant.
—Emmure: Here’s another band that the metal community likes to make fun of all the time, but they had a humoooongous crowd. And I gotta say….I’m still not a fan of their music, but Emmure put on quite a show. Even if I mean that in a I-was-laughing-at-them sort of way, I was pretty entertained. For some reason, their singer (as hot as it was that day) was wearing a hooded windbreaker. But he still managed to be 20946x more energetic than any stupid boring elitist death metal band is in air conditioning. I can legit give Emmure some credit. They are really earning their money out there on the road.
—Every Time I Die:I’m way pissed that I kept missing these guys. I saw them play about one song one of the days and was happy to see they are owning it up on the main stage. Hot Damn is still one of my favorite albums.
—Eyes Set to Kill: Another band I avoided. There’s girls in the band (SISTERZOMG), so I guess that means I’m “supposed” to like them, or something. I’m sure the younger scene-type chicks are into it.
—Four Year Strong: I hear so many great things about these guys, but I seriously have never listened to them, nor did I get a chance to watch them. Oh well.
—Parkway Drive: I feel like this is the “kewl new band” that everyone’s into bashing these days. I caught a few minutes of their set and there wasn’t much to rag on, really. I’ll just rate them as a simple “no thanks.”
—Suicide Silence: Ya know, I’m not really a fan of the music, but they definitely gathered one of the biggest crowds I saw the entire time I was at Warped. They’re also pretty nice people. Good for them. Make that money, honey.
—Whitechapel: Not into it. Didn’t watch them. But I have to admit I chuckled when I saw they were selling a shirt that had their name over the White Castle logo. Cute.
But of course, most of Warped Tour’s lineup isn’t really all that heavy at all. Here’s some of the best of the rest:
—Alkaline Trio: I still have love for these guys. I haven’t been much into their newer albums, but I was happy to hear them play a bunch of older stuff during their set. They currently have a shirt that says Skiba (their singer’s last name) written in the Danzig logo style. Also, Dan (the bass player) is hot. Don’t hate, y’all.
—The All-American Rejects: I know, right? I was all REALLY…THESE GUYS? But they actually put on one of the best sets of the day. Their singer appears to be out of his damn mind. I heard he’s been offering kisses for girls for some amount on money that goes towards charity. It’s kinda cool, but also just….gross. It’s weird looking at a band like this. They used to be on TRL, for pete’s sake. They were HUGE. Now, there’s not an outlet like that for them anymore. It’s kinda sad. But at least they’re still rockin’.
—Fight Fair: I made sure to watch a few minutes of this band because I know how much Sgt D from Stuff You Will Hate loves them. Pretty fun stuff. Not hatin’ at all, actually.
—Hey Monday: I have the biggest weakness in the world for girly pop punk. This is the only band I watched all three days. I wuv them.
I’m preparing a post on them for Stuff You Will Hate, actually. So keep a look-out for that.
—Motion City Soundtrack: I still have a lot of love for this band. Their first album is awesome, and they always have a good live show.
—Sum 41: Yup, these guys are still a band. This is another group that used to be huge, but now they’re playing one of the smaller stages at Warped Tour. But they are super hyper when they play. At least they’re owning it.
—The Summer Set: I missed them, but I wanted to watch these guys for two reasons: 1) chick drummer, and 2) The singer is dating someone from the Disney Channel. YAY!
—Tomorrows Bad Seeds: Not typically my thing, but they play some decent beach-y kind of music. Mad chill, yo.
—VersaEmerge: This is another girly band I’ve been getting into lately. They’re a lot more atmospheric and brooding than some of the other ones, though. Their singer has a tattoo of a band aid on her knee. Weird…
—We the Kings: I didn’t watch them, but I know they know Demi Lovato. Yup…that’s all I got.
Ok, well….that was my half-assed Warped Tour review. I had a lot of fun, despite the fact that most of you wouldn’t be caught dead at this. At the end of the day, it’s nice to see kids getting into music, whether good or bad. Also, it wouldn’t have hurt if it wasn’t so hot. Probably my only real complaint.
Check out the remaining dates on the Warped website.
-Elise
