| California Dreaming - VANS WARPED TOUR 2009 |
| Written by Sarah Mudgway |
| Monday, 27 July 2009 21:03 |
 While New Zealand slows down for our cold, wet and windy winter... it’s easy to forget that the Northern Hemisphere is lounging around in tropical, summer heat. With summer; comes sun, sand, BBQ's... and of course! MUSIC FESTIVALS. 2009 marks the 15th year of the ultimate in summer festivals in the U.S. of A, the Vans Warped Tour. Founded by Kevin Lyman (who still oversees the running of the tour, including which bands are offered a spot on the tour), the tour fuses together the worlds of alternative music and extreme sports and has become a staple of the summer for hundreds of thousands of music-lovers. Known for having the best of punk/ska/alternative acts as well as an eclectic mix of other genres, alumni of the Warped Tour include Pennywise, New Found Glory, Blink-182, Deftones, Katy Perry and Eminem. The lineup for 2009 is one of the most diverse and talented yet, with staple bands of the tour such as Bad Religion and Less Than Jake sharing the stage with the likes of 3OH!3, Aiden, The Maine, Meg and Dia and Versaemerge... and Coup De Main will be there to capture all the action in Fresno, California, this August.  With a lineup featuring over 70 artists, the hardest part of the day is picking who to see. Unlike festivals here, the timetable for the day is not released until you show up to the venue... so clashes and schedule changes are almost inevitable. My staple pre-Warped routine of looking up bands I hadn’t heard of, and re-discovering bands I once loved, has been in full swing for a few months and here are my personal picks for VWT09: THRICE  Thrice have been in high rotation on my stereo for years and have a back-catalogue which ranges from post-hardcore, to acoustic, to Radiohead-esque beats. With the American digital release of their new album 'Beggars' taking place on August 11th, (originally due in October, but due to an unfortunate leak the digital release date has been adjusted)... their new sound which has been sampled on Warped Tour to date, has been receiving rave reviews from both fans and critics alike. ALL TIME LOW  Once a Blink-182 covers band, now MTV-darlings/scene crush of a large proportion of teenage girls; All Time Low, are fast becoming a force to be reckoned with. Voted “Band of the Year” in 2008 by Alternative Press readers, their pop-punk hooks, catchy lyrics, Blink-182-esque toilet humour and forever perfect hair, teamed with the recent release of their third studio album 'Nothing Personal', leads me to believe that we will be hearing a lot more about All Time Low in the near future. SILVERSTEIN  It isn’t uncommon to hear fans claim that Silverstein have kept the post-hardcore/screamo genre alive. The Canadian five-piece released their fourth studio album 'Shipwreck in the Sand' earlier this year, and I am so ready to hear those tracks live. Their energy coupled with the stellar reviews I received from those lucky enough to catch them at Soundwave earlier this year, puts them high on my priority list of bands to watch. BAYSIDE  Long Island, NY quintet Bayside have suffered through a lot over their nine years of existence. However with a forever loyal fanbase and the release of six solid full length albums, the band are as strong as ever, playing the entirety of this years tour. Their critically acclaimed release of 2008 - 'Shudder' – showcases the bands ability to write catchy songs with a punk-rock foundation. Vocalist and guitarist Anthony Raneri, recently used his Twitter account to vent his frustrations at certain bands on the tour using auto-tune and backing tracks, stating: “People can think [Bayside] is as bad as they want, but at least every sound that comes out of the pa, we're making ourselves.” Other notable mentions playing this years tour include Alexisonfire, Streetlight Manifesto, Lights, Saosin and Gallows. Keep checking CDM for updates, photos and all the happenings coming straight from the tour itself later this August!  |
