Warped Tour

AUGUST '08

Harder Beat Magazine Online

Warped Tour
If it ain’t fixed, don’t break it

By Shane Epting

Gym Class Heroes
Photo: Shane Epting

Paramore
Photo: Randy Bookout

Story Of The Year
Photo: Randy Bookout

Stick To Your Guns
Photo: Randy Bookout

America’s favorite pseudo-punk-rock traveling circus rolled through town, again, like a minivan full of coked-up soccer moms—and these soccer moms put out. Most everyone had a good time, despite the unforgiving Texas sun. Sure, there was sweat, rage and price gouging, but there was more rock than all of East Dallas. And contrary to the words of Lenny Kravitz, rock and roll isn’t dead. It’s not even on life support — hell, it’s breeding like cucarachas. Warped Tour is the best opportunity to see rock’s newest editions — even the ones that should have been aborted.

With over 47 million bands, finding the ones you came to see is a bigger struggle than bare-knuckle boxing with bikers. Hell, with traffic backed up in every direction, getting there was harder than finding Waldo on acid.
Once you were there, however, everything was all good. A few of the best acts included Gym Class Heroes, Katy Perry, Paramore and old-school Ska favorites Reel Big Fish.

Gym Class Heroes were working a double shift by cranking out two separate sets. The first one (on a main stage) gave concertgoers a 30-minute fix of hip hop-flavored rock that was topped off with crowd favorite, “Cupid’s Chokehold.” A few hours later, GCH welcomed fans into the myspace tent for an intimate and unplugged show. Lead singer, Travis McCoy showed the small crowd his softer side with an intimate talk concerning his struggles with addiction. He gave a preview of the band’s new album due out this September, which should rock ten percent more than As Cruel As School Children.

The boys from Missouri, Story of the Year, cranked out plenty of fan favorites, old and new. These dudes are known for their ability to quickly change the tempo, and they managed to keep the energy level higher than Tommy Chong on 4/20. If you’ve never had a chance to see ‘em live—try again next year.

Tennessee alt-rock troubadours, Paramore gave an intense 30-minute set to a packed-ass crowd that mainly came to hear their hit “Misery Business.” Hayley Williams, the female-fronting vocal force, did not skip on enthusiasm, and the audience wanted a set longer than an episode of Family Guy. Shit, they could have cranked out a set as long as an episode of MTV’s The Real World, damn it.

Warped always seems to have at least one good Ska band each time around. This year, old-school Ska-punks, Reel Big Fish filled that role well. Pumping out fan favorites from across their checked career, RBF didn’t disappoint. Front-man Aaron Barrett not only knows how to crank out the hits but also knows how to sport an awesome pair of hipster sideburns. Their crowd wasn’t as big as some other bands’, but the sound and the style was equally as intense. The Warped Tour proves, once again, that some music festivals are a paradox — they are the best and worst of shows.

This type of conflict details the nature of Warped—you can see a lot of your most adored acts in the same place, but the sets are only 30 minutes long and you sweat your ass off. This was Warped Tour’s 14th birthday. The signs of adolescence were evident like bad acne: out-of-control hormones, rebellion and teenage angst. Although many in attendance were born the same year as the tour first launched, it’s possible that they, too, will one day bring their kids. With any luck, Reel Big Fish will still crank out hits on the Kevin Says Stage.
Rock indeed.

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