Warped Tour

[cough man]

Well there has been a lot of talk on here about it so I decided it deserves its' own thread.

I went to the one this last Saturday in Chicago. I have never been to another one so I can't really compare, but I can honestly say I wasn't disappointed. The bands I saw were Billy Talent, Rufio, Yellowcard, Coheed & Cambria, Alkaline Trio, Rise Against, Haste The Day, New Found Glory, Avenged Sevenfold, My Chemical Romance, and of course Anti-Falg and NOFX.
NOFX was probably the biggest disappointment of the day. I expected them to go crazy on the stage, but they were just really boring and not funny at all. Alakline Trio was the shittiest band of the day, musically, but they mostly have been that way since Mourning View.
On the flipside I went to Chicago specifically to see My Chemical Romance, and by no means was I disappointed. They fucking rocked. Best preformance of the day? Billy Talent hands down. I know it sounds pretty lame, but they blew me away. I really didnt expect Benjamin Kowalewicz (the lead singer) to get into it as much as he did. When he was screaming about the girl who cheated on him I was almost scared of him.
I also caught a little bit of FATA, Underminded, Flogging Molly, and a couple other bands, and what I saw/heard I liked.
Overall opinion despite overpriced beverages (3.50 for water damnit! 4.50 for a Gatorade! What the fuck is that?) it was amazing. Would I go again? Hell yeah!

[ July 26, 2004, 02:29 AM: Message edited by: cough man ]

[StabMaster Arson]

$7 for a beer... $11 for a yard of frozen margarita

[StabMaster Arson]

I've also got to chime in here about Atmosphere.

It seems that I am the only person on the board who caught them... hell, they were the main reason I went. This incarnation of Atmosphere was Slug with Crescent Moon... Slug is the only constant in the group. They were tight as hell, got the crowd involved, and had more energy than any other group I saw that day. If you ever get the chance to see them, do it.

Lordz of Brooklyn were there too. I was disappointed when we first got there because there was no mention of them on the huge inflatable schedule with all the bands on it. Upon walking around a little, we came across their booth where none other than Kaves, their lead, sitting there pimping his own merch... you gotta respect that. Unfortunately, they played at the Ernie Ball stage (the smallest, shittiest one) and they were opposite Alkaline Trio so their crowd was pretty small. They still put on a helluva show... even taking time to hand out a few Warped Tour brand beers here and there. After they were done, Kaves and ADM both hung out and shot the shit with us a little. Kaves remembered us from the booth earlier and gave us a paw full of stickers and their latest CD for $5. Good times.

Other notable acts were:

Lars and the Bastards- even though Lars has changed a lot, they still rock out with their cocks out... best pit of the day too, probably because it was early.

Flogging Molly- you always know what you're in for when you see them, always good.

the Vandals- even though they're old now, they still keep up with the best of them and sound just as good as they always did.

Bad Religion- I've seen them at least 5 times. They're one of my favorite bands, but they're really nothing special live. They come out and play, don't expect too much more out of them or you'll be disappointed. You still have to pay homage to true originators in their field.

NOFX- another band I've seen many times. Worst performance I've seen by them, but it's still NOFX. They're like sex, even when it's bad, it's still pretty good.

I missed Tiger Army which really pissed me off, did anyone else catch them? I'd like to hear how that was.

[BarryJive]

one act that wasnt reviewed was the bouncing souls who, in my opinion, put on the most energetic show out of all the bands i saw. the only band that came close that day was the vandals and thats just because warren fitzgerald is fucking nuts. bad religion is one of my favorite bands but their show is fucking BORING. anti flag rocked it, especially when tim from rise against came out and sang die for your government with them (i went to the indy show). NOFX rocked the indy show despite fat mike being on steroids for a seriously fucked up neck, the highlight for me was the electric version of scavenger type they played, that was super awesome. as far as beverage prices go i just sought out water fountains and when those lines weree super long i drank out of the bathroom sink. their are always water bottles being tossed around, grab one and fill it up. I was able to meet Lars (who looked really weird with no 'hawk and a full beard), Tiger Army, the vandals, and part of the bouncing souls (the pete and greg), so out of the 8 warped tours ive been to, this was easily my favorite.

[StabMaster Arson]

The best Warped Tour I've ever been to was in '97.

Social Distortion with Chuck Biscuits on drums
the Descendents
Pennywise
Sick of it All
the Alkoholiks
Less Thank Jake
the Mighty Mighty Bosstones
Suicide Machines
Lagwagon
Sugar Ray on the shitty stage where they belong
Limp Bizkit, this was the first I had hear them and the reason I started hating them

Back then, it seemed like everyone was just walking around. There were no huge lines or crowds to deal with to meet someone. I remember chatting with Dicky Barret of the Bosstones about how it looked like rain and he really didn't want to have to play in the rain. I saw Mark McGrath getting hassled by security when he tried to go into the backstage area before they played. I talked to Mike Ness and mentioned something about the mechanic's shirt he was wearing... we ended up waxing philosophical about the merits of keeping the old nailhead in his buick instead of swapping for a newer motor. One of my friends got onstage for the Alkoholiks beer chugging contest... AND WON! As much as it's been said and I hate to believe it, the glory days of Warped Tour have past and we're left with a pale comparison of what it used to be.

[BarryJive]

hmm i see your point...i remember even back in 00 i was able to have a conversation with davey havok in the middle of a common area without everyone running up and being stupid. we tlaked about his neat umbrella and kick ass tattoos. it was awesome. one of the nicests guys ever.

[Niger Angelus]

I saw:
Anti-Flag
Coheed and Cambria
Taking Back Sunday
Billy Talent
Sugarcult
From Autumn to Ashes
Yellowcard
Haste the Day
Story of the Year.
I went to the Indy show as well. As for as highlights go, From Autumn to Ashes, Haste the DAy, Yellowcard, and Story of the Year played good sets. The FATA and Haste the Day pits were the best, even though HTD was on a tiny ass stage.
Lowlights, wathcing part of Bad Religion's set which just sucked. Missing UnderOath play an awesome set that I could only hear about, and missing The Beautiful Mistake and Matchbook Romance. There was also the overpriced everything and the smoldering heat that made my nutsack fuse itself to my leg. But all in all it was badass and I was happy to see some hardcore bands on the bill. It helps to get away from all the punk which starts to sound all the same near the end of the day.

[ July 27, 2004, 12:08 AM: Message edited by: Niger Angelus ]