When the gates opened Wednesday morning for the Vans Warped Tour 2011, it was overcast and relatively cool outside -- a far cry from last year's show. The threat of impending thunderstorms didn't stem the tide of teenagers. Lines wound through the parking lot, stretching almost all the way to the Renaissance Festival front gates.
Big D and the Kids Table rocked things off first for me. They didn't have their backup singers, the Dollies, with them, and they stuck to a set of fast and furious ska-punk from their new album, For the Damned the Dumb and the Delirious. Songs like "Modern American Gypsy" and "Walls" had a small crowd of young men skanking like the humidity wasn't working its way into misery indices. David McWane's enthusiasm was infectious -- it was nigh-impossible not to feel a sense of unmitigated joy while watching the band.
My chief complaint about "alternative" tours is that they're pretty much whitewashed sausage fests, so it was a fantastic thing that there was a guy standing on the walkway promoting the Bad Rabbits with the line, "Come watch white people dance awkwardly!" I'd listened to one of the band's songs online, and they sounded like Prince. The combination of those facts made it a given that I would make my way to the Skullcandy stage to see Bad Rabbits. They were definitely something different for Warped, and they knocked out a killer set that brought to mind every band I listened to in middle school.
Included in the band's sound were elements of Tony Toni Tone, Bell Biv Devoe, Prince, and even a little old-school Teddy Pendergrass soul, plus a few dances nicked from Morris Day and the Time. At its heart, this is a funk band intent on making you shake your rump. Kids didn't get down as much as I'd have hoped, but every person who walked by stopped and fell down the Bad Rabbits' hole, growing the audience to a respectable level by the set's end.
The transition from funk to Asking Alexandria's melodic hardcore was startling. Its low-end neat rattled the glasses off my face, and the audience bounced up and down to its pummeling chords like they were hooked to a metronome. The roar when the band took the stage was nearly as loud as the performance itself.MC Lars and Weerd Science knocked it out of the fucking park. Listening to Weerd Science's rhymes on "Your Filthy Fucking A & R Department" stunned me. He's faster than hell, crisp, and clear. Fairly stellar shit, and combined with the fact that MC Lars is way looser and flows better live, it made for some great moments of counterpoint. Based on what I heard, Lars' Lars Attacks! is going to be a knockout.
Street Dogs frontman Mike McColgan spent the majority of the streetpunk band's set in front of the stage. He was either in the audience, on the adjoining stage, or standing on the barricade. The repeated exultation for unity even managed to get some of the audience seated in the back up on their feet. Unfortunately, the clouds parted during the set, and what had been a muggy afternoon quickly turned sweltering.
The heat did bring about a fortuitous sight, however. Standing in front of the Skullcandy stage, catching a bit of shade, I had the good fortune to see Unwritten Law's Scott Russo performing with Grieves and Budo.
From there, I made my way over to see Set Your Goals, a band recommended to me many times. Their twin frontman setup was reminiscent of lots of screamo bands, but the group instead rocked out something that fell in between youth crew straightedge hardcore and '90s pop-punk. It straddled the line well -- its catchy, moshy blend perked me up considerably.It's funny: when I first saw California punk-pop quartet Unwritten Law, it was almost exactly 15 years ago, in the exact same spot on the Sandstone stage. They had more people then, but this go-around, they played with just as much energy, albeit with a world-weary approach. They reached back to their self-titled for "Teenage Suicide," as well as a couple of Elva cuts like "Up All Night" and "Blame It On Me," but never managed to dip into Oz Factor. Alas -- I would've liked to have heard something a little punkier and less alt-rock.
I tried to make it through 'til the Aggrolites, but watching I Set My Friends On Fire cajole underage girls to show "a little areola" in between songs that rip off the Locust and HORSE the Band, I sweated out the last of my patience and energy.
All in all, the weather for Warped this year was pretty good, but bands
worth braving an entire day on the blacktop for were few and far
between. The crowd, slim compared to last year, confirmed that despite
far better weather, the draw was more slight.
Overheard (addressed to me as I sat): "Hello, old people."
Notebook dump: "It's okay to trash the fashion when it's this hot. Shorts and t-shirts are still metal."
Strange realization: I saw three bands from Boston. Weird.
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Pepper was the best band at this show and you dont even mention them? Shame on you sir....
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