Warped Tour is a rite of summer for kids between the ages of 12-20 who like their guitars with three chords. This past Tuesday, when thousands of teens descended upon the Comcast Center in Mansfield to celebrate their favorite summer event, they did so in cooperation with New England's rite of the summer of '09: rain. Yet mother nature couldn't deter the fifty odd bands from performing on seven stages strewn about the wet grounds, making the 15 year old event a real test of endurance for people of all ages.
The successful and revered country-wide punk circus is an experience unlike any other concert today. Bands, fans, and merch folk all vie for the fleeting eye of today's youth, hoping to grab any eye or ear at a moments notice. There are the artists who are happy to expel their virtues to anyone willing to listen; the hopeful, star-eyed kids walking around with iPods and CD players hoping to grab some unsuspecting kid to play their self-produced record to; the street teamers with signs pointing to the Smartpunk or Ernie Ball stages; the volunteers asking people to sign one petition or another for any number of causes. Considering punk is a genre that is bent on individual choices, there were any number of voices desperately seeking a like-minded audience.
Encamped among the stages and teens carrying signs emblazoned with "hug me" were dozens and dozens of merchandise tents. Take a walk through these hastily constructed "booths" and one can get a greater sense of the ideals, trends, tensions, and conundrums that persevere on Warped than merely standing in front of a stage for nine hours. (Even the bands that skipped out on the Boston date - such as Flogging Molly - had their merch booth proudly in place.) There were tents for numerous punk labels hawking the big hits at low prices; band-owned tents with dozens of shirts for kids eager to dole out the mounds of cash; fashion-store tents that pitted the "traditional" punk theory of music in the form of black shirts against the bright neon colored designs of the scrunk/crunkcore fashionetta. Of course, there were the usual areas for political causes such as PETA and Greenpeace, an unused half-pipe for skaters, and an orange colored truck blasting music for the anti-smoking group, the Truth. Warped may be akin to a Bedouin mini-mall, but at least everyone gets their own retail space.
Of course, music is the central focus of Warped Tour, and one of the best parts of the event is the ability to discover a completely new act (though the weather certainly was a deterrent for bands featured on stages not covered by the Comcast Center's overhang.) Though it impossible to catch every single band that performs on Warped in a single day, Bostonist did manage to catch a few acts that made this year's tour stand out. Though stuck with a rather shamefully-early set time, P.O.S. gave what was the best set of the day. After quickly abandoning the stage for a little perch next to the guardrail, the Minneapolis rapper spat rhymes with such ferocity that steam rose off his head, all the while asking concert goers to do the most punk thing of all: think for themselves. Near the end of the day, U.K. hardcore punk act Gallows delivered a crushing set that emphasized the "rock" ideal of punk rock. While preaching against the participation of scrunk acts like brokeNCYDE and Millionaires in a punk tour, Gallows' frontman made sure everyone understood the nature of "true" punk by leaving the stage to perform an impassioned set from the center of the mosh pit.
Speaking of scrunk, Huntington Beach trio Millionaires gave a performance that gave more depth to the word "annoying," a term Millionaires' Danielle Artaud correctly used to describe one song. All arguments against non-traditionally punk musics and their presence on Warped Tour aside, Millionaires were pretty terrible. Their set was filled with so many four-lettered words that it rendered any curse word completely useless; not only were their songs tasteless and poorly conceived, but the idea that the all-female band asked their mostly-female, mostly tween audience to "take their shirts off" seemed more than a little trashy. Whatever one's thoughts on the band are, it's still a testament to Warped co-founder and CEO Kevin Lyman's ideals to bring some of the most sought-after alternative acts of any genre that youth of today crave.
In celebration of Warped's 15th anniversary, Bostonist presents 15-word reviews of nearly every band he saw on Tuesday. If Bostonist saw any band perform for one second or a half hour and took note, it's all recapped in a matter of words below:
P.O.S.: A heartfelt and captivating performance that left the gimmicks and punk preaching at the door.
A Skylit Drive: These guys so want to be Coheed & Cambria that they fail at it. Miserably.
Less Than Jake: Closed with "All My Best Friends Are Metalheads." That's all Bostonist needed for nostalgia sake.
Attack Attack!: Half a dozen dudes headbanging in unison. Olympic medal, maybe. Musically, nothing to write about.
Underoath: In comparison to the extremes of screamo this year, these guys seemed kind of quaint.
Breathe Carolina: Who knew a Miley Cyrus cover punctuated with screams could lead to a Warped spot?
Streetlight Manifesto: The most entertaining ska bands bring a solid horn section and some self-deprecating humor.
Dear And The Headlights: Those teens escaping the rain were introduced to a solid americana-infused indie-emo performance.
Westbound Train: The local two-tone group provided a pleasant breather from the fast-paced punk bands.
Dance Gavin Dance: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. Why do people listen to this?
Millionaires: A memorable performance, in the I-can't-take-my-eyes-off-this-train-wreak way.
Jeffree Star: Marilyn Manson did the whole androgynous, dark pop thing to a greater degree and affect.
TAT: The kind of band most Warped lifers can love, right down to their three-chords.
Down With Webster: A pleasant afternoon surprise with hooky guitar licks, lots of rappers, and fist-pumping tunes.
Bad Religion: This dad punk act is a staple. Love or hate them, they gave their all.
Gallows: Punk to their dark core, these guys re-injected hardcore with a needed boost of passion.
Tali Schiller contributed to this post.
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