Live Review: Warped Tour 2010
Posted 08/02/2010 07:36AM by Stephen Harris as Show Review
I sent in my press request for the Warped Tour stop in Columbia, MD two weeks before the day of the show. As of the day before the show, I had yet to hear a reply, and I was not bummed in the least bit. A veteran of six Warped Tours, this year had the weakest lineup in recent memory, (especially after Polar Bear Club, The Flatliners, and The Swellers left the tour two days before the Columbia stop) and I wasn’t dying to go. When I got the press pass e-mail at 11:00 pm the night before the date (those publicists are either the busiest or the laziest people in the world), I didn’t hop around in joy or anything like that. My attitude was that I would go and try to have as good a time as possible.
There were only four or five bands that I was dying to see, so my initial plan was to walk around and see as many different bands as I could. When I arrived, some band called Breathe Carolina was kicking the day off. I had never heard of them, but they were named after my home state, so I decided to give them a chance. I had no idea what they sounded like, but they had a relatively large crowd, so I figured it would at least be mildly enjoyable. Instead of joy, I was presented with further evidence that Americans are getting increasingly dumber with each subsequent generation. I couldn’t take more than half of the first song. Kids were going nuts, but ten seconds or so was all I needed of two dudes “vocalizing” over a band pretending to play a pre-recorded track. Folks, if this is the future of music, do yourself a favor and pour some sulfuric acid in your ears. Your future children will turn out smarter because your spermies won’t be soiled by the awful taint of Breathe Carolina’s musical form of hot dumpster smell.
My plan to walk around and watch as many bands as possible was a bust. My soul felt destroyed. Where a lesser man might have gone and cried in the bathroom (and I was a lesser man), I just went and sat in the amphitheater to nap and wait for a band that wasn’t committing audio-rape to start playing.
But then it got worse.
Another band I’d never listened to called Artist Vs. Poet was about to kick off the day for another stage. I was trying my best to not pay attention, but as they came out, the putrid strains of Limp Bizkit’s “Rollin’” blared over the speakers. Now, I can understand an ironic appreciation of awful music that we loved as middle schoolers, but the band and the kids were getting into it. Really getting into it. By the time the chorus of that tune came around, there were hundreds of kids singing along without any hint of irony or hatred for Fred Durst’s crimes against humanity. When Artist Vs. Poet actually began to play, they claimed to be Limp Bizkit. The best I can figure is that it was something akin to demon possession, like in The Exorcist. I waited for the spinning heads and backward spider-walking, but was only met with limp radio pop-rock, again with a whiny singer moaning over a band pretending to play along with a back-up track. I slept through them and had nightmares of an army of diaper-less babies peeing all over my record collection, and then laughing at how I want to see bands that actually play their instruments.
Things began to look up after this. Rev. Payton’s Big Damn Band played next and cleansed my palate with some southern-fried country punk. I’ve never seen a band with a dedicated washboard player, but they made it work and gained some new fans. Their set was fun, and they are a band I would now go out of my way to see.
I’m not a huge fan of Andrew WK’s recorded output, but I know he puts on a killer live show. His band of professional wrestler-looking dudes and one hot hype-girl hit every cheesy, muscular riff perfectly, and Mr. WK whipped the crowd into a frenzy. They threw out free t-shirts, and everyone was having a good time. Luckily, they played my favorite song “She is Beautiful” early in their set, so I was able to see it and run off to see Four Year Strong, who were playing at the same time on a different stage.
Four Year Strong had a huge crowd, although surprisingly few people seemed to know any words to their songs. To me, this proves that they are a band with a huge buzz that will probably blow up soon, and I can’t think of many bands that deserve it more than they do. They pulled off every part of every song perfectly, even with the sun directly in their faces. For a band that started off with a very gimmicky sound, they are quickly showing themselves to be a band to watch that will carry punk into a new era.
I caught a quick two songs by Flatfoot 56 between bands, and their macho take on Dropkick Murphys was energetic, and it's hard to not love a band with a bagpipe and mandolin section. Their crowd deserved to be bigger than it was, but I had to scoot off quickly because Dillinger Escape Plan was playing soon, and I knew not to miss it. Always impressive, I don’t think DEP actually knows how to disappoint. Their live show was everything their technical and fierce music deserved. They ran, jumped, climbed, writhed and rocked all over the stage, and didn’t stop moving for their entire set. They played mostly newer stuff, but this reviewer almost lost his marbles when they played “43% Burnt”. It was pitch perfect in its insanity and ability to make people spazz out. Easily the must-see band of the tour.
But once again, I had to leave their set a little early because I wanted to catch what I could of Set Your Goals. After releasing one of the best albums of last year, I had mixed hopes for their live show, which I knew was kind of sloppy from prior experience. Fortunately, they’ve tightened up from previous tours, and the band showed their mastery of getting crowds into it. Their sound was huge, and everyone was having a great time. But the theme for the day, which was all-my-favorite-bands-playing-at-the-same-time started up again, and I had to leave the Set Your Goals set early to catch a few songs from Every Time I Die. With a massive crowd, a massive-er sound and enough fury and swagger to curb-stomp a bear, the band combined with the heat was completely devastating in the best way. “Ebolorama” drove me insane and made me lose my voice. Another must-see band.
But once again, I had to leave their set early because my most anticipated band of the day, Fake Problems, was playing at the same time on the other side of the venue grounds. Their crowd was tiny, and while they played with fervor and fun, I got the impression that they didn’t really want to be there. I felt bad for them. For being one of the most talented, honest, and creative bands on the tour, they didn’t seem to have many fans to show for it. I sincerely hope they make some new fans on this tour because the kids deserve better than most of the bands that played on that day.
After having to rush between five or six three song sets, I was completely wiped out. For the first time ever, I left Warped Tour early. I got home around 4:30 in the afternoon, took a cold shower and ate some ice cream, both of which were probably more enjoyable than whatever crunk-screamo-meets-Maroon 5 band that was inevitably playing in three different versions on as many different stages.
To me, Warped Tour is like auteur Woody Allen’s description of sex: even when it’s bad, it's still pretty darn good. For all my old man whining and complaining about how the next big thing is new, scary and soulless, I had a decent time. Kevin Lyman always manages to get a few good bands, and there is no better place to people watch and feel better about my general lack of fashion sense. But the bottom line is: would I go again with the same exact lineup? To be completely honest - only if it was free.
Comments
Atascadero, CA
i caught three different dates last Summer on Warped Tour, and was pretty stoked for each day finally being able to catch people I had missed before, either due to them not playing the early date I saw, or jumping on near the end when i went back. regardless, I avoided this year completely and feel like I missed nothing. I would love to see Four Year Strong, but that's about it.. definitely not worth it at all.
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Minnesota
This is the first year I won't be going in, like, a decade. Just didn't feel there were many bands worth seeing and didn't want to go through the hassle to see 'em, especially when there weren't any I NEEDED to see.
This year's Warped Tour is just uber-lame.
Find me EVERYWHERE:
Wisconsin
my review:watch parkway drive, dep, i can make a mess, four year, and etid.sum 41 and set your goals can stop making music, because they're terrible live.
Wollongong, New South Wales
i thought this year was better than a couple years back line-up wise. Everytime i die, parkkway drive, dillinger, four year strong...all of them are pretty fucking sick on their own.
Spokane, WA
Call me crazy, but I thought this years Warped was really good. There was a lot less crappy pop radio bands than in previous years I thought. These were some highlights for me. Parkway Drive, Alesana, Emarosa, Confide, Haste the Day, Ace Enders, Our Last Night, Whitechapel, DEP
This year was especially sick because I was able to bring my 3 year old with me, and he was stoked and had a blast. Warped Tour has been the highlight of my summer for the last 9 years and once again was a great time
Spokane, Washington
you can never go wrong with warped tour in my area, because it's at the best outdoor venue in the states. this was my first time at warped in three years, simply because i had free tickets, but in the end i would have paid to see parkway by themselves. they had the crowd going ape shit, and sounded amazing! haste the day, the word alive, alkaline trio, whitechapel, DEP, and ETID all put on great sets. awrestledabearonce are officially the worst live band ever, and the lead singer chick is annoying as shit!
current listenings:
Of Virtue - "Heartsounds"
Capsule - "No Ghost"
Century - "Red Giant"
James Vincent McMorrow - "Early In The Morning"
Blind Pilot - "We Are The Tide"
Iowa