REVIEW: Warped Tour @ Charlotte, NC; 2008-07-14
My face is red. I’m dirty. I had a lot of fun…
I woke up this morning and decided to head to the local Warped Tour after debating it with myself over the past week. The first thing I noticed once I went outside to get in my car was that, well, it was hot outside. I sprayed myself down with sunblock and got in my car to drive to the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. I knew I was getting near when the interstate traffic slowed to a crawl and, at times, a complete stop. At one point I noticed a hawk circling the traffic from above. It was as if it were waiting for a scene kid to die of anticipation. Or, more likely, heat exhaustion. I finally pulled into the parking lot and made my way to the front gates. After spending about an hour in line to purchase tickets, I decided that I would bite the bullet and pay Ticketmaster their absurd fees in order to avoid the hassle next year. Tickets were pricier than I had expected, totaling at $37 each.
I spent the first bit of my time at the festival simply walking around the area, taking in everything. I caught the end of Gym Class Heroes’ set as they performed their hit song “Take a Long at My Girlfriend”. Eventually, it became time for Reel Big Fish (Reel Big Fish.com | MySpace) to take the stage so I hurried back to the main stages and found a good spot in the crowd: not too close, for fear of being trampled, but close enough to where I could enjoy myself. The band soon took the stage. I’ve been a fan of Reel Big Fish for years, but had yet to see them live. Naturally, I was happy when the moment finally came despite it being only a 30 minute set. The band played a number of songs from their new album as well as a few classics including a multi-genre reinterpretation of “S.R.” from their classic Turn the Radio Off.They also griped that at the previous shows in Florida the bands were barred from using profanity on stage. I later heard a couple other bands complaining about the same thing.Download “S.R.” now! (Right-click, save as)
After their set was complete I found my way to the complimentary water station and refilled my water bottle and then headed over to the stage where HorrorPops (HorrorPops.com | MySpace) were scheduled to play. Like Reel Big Fish, I have been an avid listener of HorrorPops for years but had never made it to a live event of theirs. I stayed back for their set, opting for a third row seat in the amphitheater, close enough to see but far enough to not get punched by the moshers who, by the way, were particularly brutal during the HorrorPops set. The trio put on a very lively set, Patricia armed with her giant stand-up bass. They definitely played to the audience, demanding not just the often heard “RAAAAAAAAAH!” in response to their show but a deep and forceful “HELL YEAH!” At one point Patricia and Kim Nekroman switched guitar and bass duties. That was pretty awesome.
After that set had completed I wandered around the area for a while, again just taking in various portions of different bands’ shows all while developing a noticeable “farmer’s tan”. During this point I got the opportunity to attend an impromptu signing at the HorrorPops merch tent. They were all really cool people to meet. After procrastinating for a while I found the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands stage where mc chris (mc chris.com | MySpace) was scheduled to play and hung out until he finally took the stage. After a lengthy intro to his set he played a few songs including two tracks from his latest release mc chris is dead and a few of his older tracks remixed by the Snobots. Unfortunately, he was pressed to fit in the thirty minute set time limit so he had to skip “reese”. Because of where the stage was, a lot of dirt was kicked up by the jumping crowd enjoying the show. Inhaling dirt is no fun, I had to sit down after the set just to breath for a few minutes. After I caught my breath I made my way over to mc chris’ merch booth where he was having a signing. As always, he was a very cool guy.Download “omc (snobots remix)” now! (Right-click, save as)
Next I made my way over to catch the ska, or “dirty reggae”, band called The Aggrolites (Aggro-Reggae.com | MySpace). Clad in matching blue outfits the band made their way out and performed a few tracks, very energetically I might add. The organist, Roger Rivas, seemed particularly into the music in my opinion. He was the most fun to watch on stage. The show featured a guest appearance by Angelo Moore from the classic band Fishbone. Angelo played a great solo on his saxophone and took over theremin duties for a song or two toward the end of the set. Any band that uses a theremin in their music has my respect.
After The Aggrolites finished up their set, I stood up and got closer to the stage as the crowd dispersed. A band called The Higher (The Higher.com | MySpace) from Las Vegas played on the adjacent stage while I waited for Oreskaband (Oreskaband.com [Japanese] | MySpace). I had never heard of The Higher before the show, but they did impress me. They handled the stage well and did an interesting cover of *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye”. After they finished, Oreskaband took the stage and proceeded to give the best performance of the night, in my opinion.The band is composed of six Japanese girls by the names of Ikasu, Leader, Moriko, Saki, Tae-san, and Tomi. The band’s sound is similar to that of a super fun explosion of happy. You know, in ska form. It’s difficult to properly describe, really. The super energetic show eventually ended after the thirty minute set time had passed. After reluctantly accepting that encores aren’t performed at Warped Tour, I made my way over to Oreskaband’s merch tent and spent my last $11: $10 for a CD and a $1 tip. Good thing they invented credit cards or I may not have gotten home. After walking around for a while more, I decided to go ahead and call it a night…
Download “Yeah! Ska Dance” now! (Right-click, save as)
Overall, it was a surprisingly fun and successful day. Warped Tour is actually a fun time if you block out all of the “screamo” bands and drink a lot of water! Oh, and bring sunblock… lots and lots of sunblock.
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