| A day at WARPED TOUR 2009... |
| Written by Sarah Mudgway |
| Sunday, 13 September 2009 13:14 |
 3OH!3 August 19th, 2009. At 5:30AM my alarm went off, however I was already awake. This was the day I had been anxiously waiting for since December 2008... and a 3.5 hour drive from Los Angeles to Fresno, California was all that was stopping me from musical bliss. This was the morning of Warped Tour 2009... and I was the happiest, sleep-deprived girl on the planet. Fast forward to 10:30AM. Pulling into the Save Mart Center, my anticipation was at an all time high. How would the schedule work out? Will any bands I want to see clash? How long will the line be? Is it really going to hit over 35 degrees? At least I didn’t have to worry about rain. While waiting in the ever increasing line, I met two members of a Florida-based band; In Passing, who were following the tour on their own accord, showcasing 20 seconds of their latest single to anyone who was willing to listen. Surprisingly, they weren’t all that bad but unfortunately for them, the clip wasn’t convincing enough for me to part with $10 for their EP before I even got inside the venue. They were lovely boys though, check out their music HERE - I expect I haven’t heard or seen the last of them. The longest twenty minutes of my life later, and sure enough 11:00AM strikes and the gates open up. I can’t help but feel sorry for security who had the unfortunate task of checking tickets and bags of the over-excited and pushy fans… knowing all too well that this rush of kids, will be nothing compared to the stream of crowd-surfers the same security will be catching from the A Day To Remember pit, later on.  One major difference between Warped Tour and NZ festivals like Big Day Out, is that the timetable is only decided on the morning of each show, so there is no way for fans to pre-plan their day... or know if their two favourite bands will end up clashing with one another. Luckily for me, the Warped gods had looked upon my wish list favourably, and I was able to catch the majority of bands I wanted to see.  AIDEN
Canadian post-hardcore act Silverstein were first up on the mainstage and due to the line of people moving very slowly into the venue, we managed to reach the stage just as the band walked onstage; joined by a relatively small crowd. Having released their album 'Shipwreck in the Sand' earlier this year, the band played a set-list laden with tracks from the album, such as 'Vices' and title track 'Shipwreck in the Sand'. However, older fans were treated to classic songs such as 'Smile In Your Sleep' – which the band dedicated to fellow Warped Tour band Bayside.  MEG AND DIA
As Silverstein exited the stage, we took shelter under a merch tent and did a proper scan of the schedule. One great thing about Warped Tour is the diversity of artists which appear on the tour. Even my sceptical “all these emo bands sound the same” friend managed to find musical refuge courtesy of Meg & Dia; who played to a small yet enthusiastic audience, belting out tracks such as 'Inside My Head' and 'Monsters'. Unfortunately I had to leave my friends with the musical sisters to make my own way over to Long Island, N.Y. foursome; Bayside. Launching straight into a fan-friendly non-stop 30 minute set which featured tracks off all of their albums, I truly commend any band who are able to rock out on-stage in 35+ degree heat. Best songs from their set were 'Boy', 'Devotion and Desire', 'Existing in a Crisis' and 'Duality'.  BAYSIDE
Underoath were up next on the main stage... and as they made their way out on-stage, one thing became frighteningly obvious – Spencer Chamberlain hasn’t washed his hair in months. Gone are the 'It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Door' music video days of a clean-haired and relatively clean-cut Spencer & Co. - the ripped jeans, ripped shirt and dreaded hair was a perfect metaphor for their onstage performance; fast, hard, loud and edgy.  UNDEROATH
One band who isn’t hard or edgy... but unfortunately were loud; were The White Tie Affair. Earlier in the tour, Anthony Raneri from Bayside had used his twitter account to speak out against TWTA and their use of auto-tune. I wandered past and witnessed the lead-singer ripping off his shirt to the screams of an appreciative, yet very underage audience of girls. Needless to say, I wasn’t tempted to stay... so I walked on by, towards Canadian favourites Alexisonfire.  ALEXISONFIRE
By this stage, the heat was at a ridiculous high of 40 degrees. Four. Zero. How the guys who were hardcore dancing up a storm during 'Accidents' didn’t pass out from heat exhaustion amazes me... true dedication? Or perhaps, slight insanity. I’ll let you choose. Following the release of their latest album 'Old Crows/Young Cardinals', Alexisonfire performed their first single 'Young Cardinals', as well as 'No Rest' with ease; like they had been playing these songs for years. A lot of people were sceptical of the slight change in style in their latest release, with the usual hardcore screams from George being toned down. However, I can confirm that George is still the screamer he’s always been... and any band which can pull off three-part harmonies, one of which being a scream, should be respected.  ALEXISONFIRE  ALEXISONFIRE
Thrice were my personal favourite and most anticipated band of the day. As the opening chords of 'Of Dust and Nations' rang out through the speakers, I couldn’t have been any more excited. Moving straight into 'The Weight' off of their latest release 'Beggars', Dustin Kensrue & Co. were flawless in their performance, despite it being their first show back on tour after a six week break. Lead guitarist Teppei Taranashi played his way through 'Deadbolt' and 'The Artist and the Ambulance' with ease; the crowd reacting positively to the first live performance of 'At The Last', as well as their cover of The Beatles classic 'Helter Skelter'.  THRICE  THRICE  THRICE
While I as most excited for Thrice, it was blatantly obvious that 80% of the crowd there, were amped for A Day To Remember. Opening to the first track 'Downfall Of Us All' off their latest release 'Homesick', the Hurley stage security was over-ridden with a constant flow of crowd surfers whilst trying to keep control of a huge circle pit. Moving straight into the friendship anthem 'Fast Forward to 2012' and then the sing-a-long 'Monument', A Day To Remembers’ quick rise to fame within the Warped scene has been matched with an equal amount of on-stage confidence which resulted in an intense, yet enjoyable set. A DAY TO REMEMBER
NOFX and Less Than Jake; the two veteran bands of the tour, both played solid sets to a crowd split in half between older fans reciting every word... and younger kids wondering what these 40+ year olds were doing rocking out on stage. The ability of both bands to make fun of themselves - “why are there so many people watching us? Oh, 3OH!3 are on next… that makes sense” – as well as effortlessly playing tracks written before half the audience could walk, sung the song of bands who have found their niche and achieved legitimate longevity, breaking beyond the barrier of their respective scenes popularity and subsequent “deaths”... remaining relevant in a world where a trends fashion, at times seems more important than the passion of music.  3OH!3
As previously mentioned, one of the best parts of the tour is the diversity in line up. Sure, there had been negative words thrown about between some bands throughout the festival, but when mainstream darlings 3OH!3 took to the stage with the bassist from NOFX joining them for a few songs; it was refreshing to see these pre-conceptions and barriers between genres fall to the wayside of good times and good music. 3OH!3’s crowd rivalled that of A Day To Remember, not only in size but in intensity. The sun was setting in the dusty California sky, with Nate and Sean danced around on the mainstage like it was what they were born to do. Dancing up a storm to almost the entirety of their breakthrough album 'Want', Nate and Sean impressed me with their energy, passion and overall joy to be on stage doing what they love. When the first few notes of 'Don’t Trust Me' rang through the speakers, I don’t think the sing-a-longs could have been any louder.  3OH!3  ALL TIME LOW
Scene-darlings All Time Low closed out the festival, to a comparatively small, yet over-excited crowd. Lead singer Alex Gaskarth and guitarist Jack Barakat were both great front-men, interacting with the crowd with witty banter, immature jokes and even a “who sounds most like Kermit the frog” competition. The immature jokes and toilet humour however, were in no way a reflection of their live performance. Gaskarth’s voice was impeccable, with harmonies from both Barakat and bassist Zack Merrick matching their live recordings. Playing songs such as 'Weightless', 'Jasey Rae', 'Lost in Stereo' and 'Dear Maria, Count Me In', the pop-punk fun vibes were the perfect way to end a long, hot day at the Warped Tour. ALL TIME LOW  ALL TIME LOW
Walking out the gates after 10 straight hours of the best music the scene has to offer, it's mind blowing to think of all the musical talent that was roaming around the venue that day. In the words of blink-182; “I couldn’t wait for the summer, and the Warped Tour…” – it’s time to start planning my trip to Warped 2010. |
