Vans Warped Tour Still Rocks

The Flats at Arrow Hall

Mississauga, ON

on

Bianca Marcus (CHARTattack)

07/13/2009 2:39pm

The Vans Warped Tour has a certain ethos no other festival has been able to reproduce.

The music is only one part of the appeal of this traveling circus — the rest, as longtime attendees can attest, is a combination of nostalgia, anticipation and perspiration. Warped has become legendary for its history of breaking countless new bands and for the dogged commitment of its founder, Kevin Lyman — feast or famine, Warped continues.

Warped Tour was originally built around punk and ska acts like Pennywise and NOFX, but its lineup has grown to become much more diverse. The tour has taken a bad rap since branching out to include performers like Jeffree Star and 3OH!3, but people, it's been 15 years. A festival's gotta evolve.

Much of the stigma surrounding Warped as a "hardcore" punk tour has dissolved, and today you'll see more peace signs and heart hands than anarchy symbols in the audiences.

That's not to say the bands are tame. London, England's TAT were one of the first bands up, and had no trouble sating the appetite of those who like it rough.

Frontwoman Tatiana DeMaria channeled Joan Jett circa The Runaways, taking total control of the stage with her gritty vocals while bassist Nick Kent and drummer Jake Reed mirrored her energy. The initially unsure audience moved closer while the band played a set of vintage-sounding punk rock — standout cuts for me were "I Don't Want To Love You" and "Road To Paradise."

At a break between songs, DeMaria declared "I'm so wet right now!" (I think an accurate response from the crowd would be, "Ditto!") She later declared Warped Tour "by far the best tour the world has ever come up with."

While at Warped, it makes sense to plan one's concerts in alternating degrees of heavy. There's a reason the tour only happens once a year, and in order to take in a satisfying amount of screamo and hardcore without becoming (too) deaf, it's smartest to pace oneself...but why not take full advantage of the annual eardrum attack?

I opted to see Underoath and Silverstein one after the other.

The pride and joy of Tooth And Nail Records, Underoath consistently deliver. They appeared sans drummer Aaron Gillespie (The Almost), who had fallen ill. Tanner Wayne of Scary Kids Scaring Kids filled in.

Lead vocalist Spencer Chamberlain was dripping with sweat as he teetered at the edge of the stage. "It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door" had the crowd jumping, all hands in the air. "Anomaly," one of Underoath's older tunes, went out to all the fans who had seen them on Warped before.

Silverstein came out strong, vocalist Shane Told and bassist Billy Hamilton alternating between singing and screaming while drummer Paul Koehler pounded it.

Told handed out dedications to all of the band’s Warped Tour friends — "Smashed Into Pieces" went out to The Devil Wears Prada, "Smile In Your Sleep" to Chiodos, and "My Heroine" to A Day To Remember. The Burlington, Ont. band gave listeners a sample of their recently released fourth album A Shipwreck In The Sand with "The Arsonist" — the heaviest song on the album, according to Told. It's been three years since Silverstein have played Warped, and judging by the size of their audience, theirs was a welcome return.

Shad was stellar, as always. There's something about his free flow and easy smile that puts the crowd at ease, and reminds me how great hip-hop can be when it's done artfully.

Shad picked up the guitar to play "Rock To It," an oldie from his debut album When This Is Over, then took mic in hand for the retro-inspired "Compromise." But the highlight of the set was "The Old Prince Still Lives At Home," and Shad milked it. While he grinned and rapped about his money-saving tactics, I couldn't help but picture the video for the song — Shad's clever twist on the Fresh Prince title theme.

Having heard great things about Black Tide, I went in with high expectations... and was blown away. These guys are a mini-Metallica, and about the same age as the members of Metallica themselves when they released their first album. Their virtuoso guitar solos and impressive stage presence gave me hope for metal today as a genre. The crowd joined in on the "whoa-oh"s of "Warriors Of Time" — an epic rock-metal anthem.

I'm on the fence about NOFX. Sure, they rep the real punk that Warped began with, and fans loved them, but I could have done without the racist digs at Jews and Mexicans (despite the fact that the band members represent the groups they targeted).

Lead singer/bassist Mike "Fat Mike" Burkett and guitarist/trumpet player Aaron "El Hefe" Abeyta spent as much time bantering as they did playing, and went on to make jabs at lesbians, Barack Obama and the Queen. But for the fist-pumping, crowdsurfing loyals, the band's more than mildly politically incorrect jokes are just part of their charm — a brazen Fat Mike assured everyone "don't worry, it's not offensive."

Musically, the California four-piece were bang on — partway through the set Fat Mike declared, "We've played three songs with no mistakes! The first time we've done that on this tour!"

They played a number of obscure favourites like "Arming The Proletariat With Potato Guns," from their second 7 Inch Of The Month Club record that features El Hefe on trumpet, and "I Am A Huge Fan Of Bad Religion," a B-side from their third 7 Inch Of The Month.

Much has changed about Warped in the 15 years since the inaugural festival. What has remained, however, is deeper and perhaps more important than arguments of genre.

For many — myself included — the tour's unique ability to simultaneously satisfy longings for past youth and community while maintaining a fresh approach to music compels souls to make the yearly pilgrimage to the megaconcert again and again. Pack up, roll out and be safe, Warped — I'll be seeing you next summer.