Hey Everyone,
Well, I went to the Vans Warped Tour again this year. And I must say it didn't disappoint. But, I always enjoy it. So this is my review of the show. I will do another review on all the swag I walked away from the show with in my next article.
Okay, So the first thing we did was find the huge list of bands and copy it down. I brought a pen and paper with me, so I was able to do this. Click on the pic to see an enlarged version.
Now, this wasn't the complete list, we got there about an hour late, so I didn't include the earlier bands, plus there was like 4 more stages, and I couldn't find a schedule for all of them.
The first band we watch was Avenged Sevenfold. They are pretty much a metal band. You can tell by all the fog in the picture. They also had a devil as a backdrop, but it didn't come out to good in the picture. The were pretty good. I'm not a huge metal fan, but they mix enough punk in their music to make it interesting to me.
Oh, before I actually get started let me tell you a story. Before I went to the show, I wanted to make sure I could bring a camera in the park with me. So, I called them up and asked them if I could bring one in. They said you could only bring in disposable cameras. So, I bought a disposable camera, and brought it in with me. Of course, when I got inside, there were tons of people with digital cameras. I could have totally brought my digital camera in. Oh well, that's why my pictures are kind of crappy. Sorry about that. So, you'll have to live with the grainy fuzziness in one article.
One of the things I thought odd, was how it seems like they added more sponsors to the festival and less extreme sports. I've been going to the warped tour since 1996. Every year they have skaters, bmxers, and a ton of ramps. Last year they even had some motocross. But, this year the only had one measly half pipe, it was only about 8 foot tall, usually it's about a 15 footer. Also, they only had skaters, no bmx?! My friend Geoff, who's totally into bmx, would have totally gone crazy if he found out his hero, bmx dude, Rick Thorne wasn't there. Oh well, I guess they're on a re-building year. It really seemed weird some of the sponsors they had at a punk rock festival. I had my friend, Laura, pose for me by the Hooters sign. She hates Hooters!
I mean, Hooters as a sponsor?!, Lazer Tag, and the big one that surprised me was MLB was there! Yep, that's right Major League Baseball was there. They had a huge setup. Since when does MLB and punk music go together? Unless you count Scott Radinsky. He was a pitcher for many teams and was in a good punk band. He was in Scared Straight, then Ten Foot Pole, now he's in Pulley, but I don't think he plays baseball anymore.
So, yeah, even though I didn't think MLB should be there, I like baseball. So, I decided to give one of their games a try. You get in a batting cage, and you try to hit a tiny target for a prize. They also had a pitching thing setup and they had a huge truck with all the MLB video games to play. This is the first year I can remember that Playstation wasn't there showing off their merch
So, while we were walking around we checked out some of the smaller bands at the smaller stages. This one, which I have no idea the name of the band, was a rap group. They were like Indians, wearing barely anything and they were jumping up and down. It was kind of awkward watching it. At least nothing popped out.
We decided to check out 'The Unseen' next. I thought they were probably my favorite band of the day. Although, we got to their set when they were halfway done, I really think these guys kick ass. They have a new album out on Hellcat.
Strange Band Alert! This band was called 'Valient Thorr' Apparently their story is that they came from the planet Venus, to rock the earth or something. I thought they were pretty awful, perhaps their better on cd. But I thought they looked like something out of the 70's, and sounded annoying. It was like metal mixed with crap.
So, next we went over to check out My Chemical Romance. To be honest, I've only heard like one song from this band, and I really wasn't that impressed. I thought they probably wouldn't be that good. I was wrong though. I thought they had some really good tunes. The crowd was really getting into it too. It was the biggest crowd for a band that I saw for the day. They must be a really popular band. I don't listen to the radio as much as I used to, to know what's popular or whatever. Anyway they were good. In the picture you can hardly see them, because we were back so far.
And guess what? On our way through the crowd after the Chem Romance set, we walked near the stage, they started throwing guitar picks and stuff. I caught a drumstick. Later during the day, someone asked me where I got the drumstick from, I told them My Chemical Romance. These kids were like, oh that is so cool, can I touch it. I thought that was kind of weird, so I told them I just had it up my ass. It didn't back them away, they just said 'Cool!'. So, Maybe I'll make some money off eBay from the stick.
We went to check out the Dropkick Murphy's next. I think they're pretty good, since most of their songs are about drinking. Although, I only songs from their first album. They did have a guy from the audience come up on stage and sing their song, Barroom Heroes. He did a great job. Dropkick thought he did well too, so he got to hang with them for the rest of the day.
Well, it was getting really hot out, and what better way to cool off than free cans of Monster Energy Drinks. They had a huge area fenced off, where they let about 30 or so people in at once. They got to enjoy a free can of Monster, they just had to finish the can in the fenced in area. It was great to get a cool drink, especially since it was about 95 degrees. I only went in there once, but there was nothing preventing a person from going in there all day.
Well, it was finally time for one of my favorite bands. I love No Use for a Name. I thought they played a great set. There were a couple songs I wish they would have played, like one of my favorites 'Any Number Can Play', and 'Pride'. I did manage to get a playlist after they played.
So, there's the setlist they played. Each band got to play for 30 minutes. On the Main Right & Left stages, they got to play for 40 minutes. One of the highlights of No Use, is when they played a cover of 'I turned into a Martian' by the Misfits.
So,
Well, the next band was 'The Transplants'. I don't know. I like the transplants. Their first album is really good. I didn't check out their new cd yet. All they did was play new stuff. I really wanted to hear some of their stuff from their first album. I left half way before their set was over not because they were bad, I just wanted to see The Matches. I think the Transplants are one of those bands that just might sound better on cd, than seeing them live. I did hear them play that song that they sold to the shampoo commercials, 'Diamonds and Guns'. Seriously, it's on a Garnier Shampoo commercial. Check out the shampoo's site, you can hear the transplants song playing on the site. Click here to see
Okay, the last band we saw for the day was 'The Matches'. I thought this band put on a great show. They really got into it too. The guitarist got into it so much that he tripped and fell a couple times. Maybe he was just drunk.
So, I decided, I might as well get in the pit once. So, I heard the Matches starting to play the song 'Sick Little Suicide', which is one of my favorite songs by them. So I got up there, expecting to mosh or whatever. But everyone was just doing the pogo, so I decided to join along.
Well, that's how the day went, and now it was coming to a close. I thought it was another great show all together. I hope next year they bring back the bmx guys. I hope you enjoyed my recap.
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- Greg
6-23-05
