The 14th Annual Vans Warped Tour
Date: July 2, 2008
Venue: Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
Better Than: The Utopia Mountain Music Festival (when I was 16)
By DANNY ALEXANDER
Click to view the first of two slideshows.
My 16-year-old daughter and I attended this year's Warped Tour together, just as we did two years ago. Last time, I was clearly needed for a chauffeur; this time it was an honor. I couldn't stay until evening, but my daughter had other ways to get home.
Click to view the second of two slideshows.
First, my perspective: this year's Warped Tour seemed stronger than the previous tour. Last time, the event seemed very white, male-dominated and so oriented toward punk purism I found myself wondering how so little could have changed since 1979.
More after the jump.
This year, perhaps because of expected headliners like Katy Perry and Gym Class Heroes (both of which hit the stage after my daughter and her friends fled the event in the midst of a hail storm), the crowd seemed comprised of many more young women as well as more of a mix of races.
The bands reflected this diversity. On one of seven small stages in the parking lot (all more popular than whatever was happening on the mainstage), things started off with the Tijuana Rock en Espanol band Delux being followed by the rap and roll of Good Guys in Black. Just across from those bands, a pink gorilla danced with Audio Spaghetti. Meanwhile, the Academy Is had fans doing they're "best 80s dance moves" near the end of their set before St. Louis's Story of the Year had fans jumping and clapping along to "Until the Day I Die." This was a climactic moment for thousands of young fans who knew every word, and still not even half past noon.
But the true climax of the day came as the crowds incrementally swelled between two stages where a set by the smart and earnest punk band Against Me! had fans roaring along to the irony-laden protest song "White People for Peace." Then, ska heroes Reel Big Fish matched such contradictions with "Sell Out," snatches of "Enter Sandman" and a closing cover of A-ha's "Take On Me." Paramore brought things to a head with its gutsy and dynamic lead singer, Hayley Williams, belting out triumphant fan favorites like "That's What You Get."
As I was leaving my daughter in the care of her friends—Lauren, Bryan and Miguel— Miguel was hyped, saying, "This is the best day of my life! Reel Big Fish is my favorite band, and I just talked to Aaron [Barrett, the band's lead singer and its founding member]." That underscored the difference in Warped and the festivals of my youth. Almost everything at
Warped revolves around the music and the fans as an integral part of that music. This, of course, makes the racial scuffle that centered on Gym Class Heroes the night before that much more disappointing but expected. Nothing gets better without risking conflict. I left the show feeling great about the event, and my daughter agreed this one was better than the last one.
Personal Bias: I respect my daughter's taste.
Random Detail: Aaron Barrett could be seen backstage singing along with Against Me!
By the way: Playing in 10 different bands at once, Pomeroy's Tyson Leslie may just be the hardest working man in show business.
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