So Long Warped Tour
In the vast bleakness that is a Canadian winter, any reminder of summer is a welcome distraction from the blowing snow and brown slush. So every year when the first bands start to sign up for Kevin Lymans annual cross country summer camp known as The Vans Warped Tour, the reminders of bright summer days, and cramming twelve hours of music into one day are enough to sprout wood.
This year was no different. The original list of bands was a veritable who’s who of my ipod’s top played list. So needless to say as I scrolled through the list the wood in my pants quickly turned to a wet spot. Too gross?
Thrice, Underoath, The Ataris, Chiodos, Senses Fail and P.O.S., were just a few of the bands I was totally stoked about seeing. The issue became, that, as usual, the Toronto line-up ends up looking nothing like the list of bands announced, as no Ataris and no Thrice made it north of the border.
Add to that the fact that the glory days of Warped Tour in Toronto ended the day that Molson Park was sold for condo land and the tour stop became a parking lot out by the airport. Gone was the ability to relax in the grass under a tree when you had a few minutes with no bands playing. Gone were the dirt warriors. The often shirtless pit monkeys, their faces wrapped in bandana’s and caked in the dirt that made up the ground that became the pit in front of each of the six stages.
I guess I’m saying that charm of warped tour has faded, and been replaced by a gaggle of neon clad suburban crunk bands, sing-rapping over shitty electro beats and the occasional riff.
I’ll admit right out, that due to work, I didn’t make it this year, and to tell you the truth I wasn’t that sad about it. It didn’t make me look bad fondly on a few things like the ghost of Warped Tour past.
The real benefit of Warped Tour is finding new music. It’s true that most years you could fill your days with established bands, but venturing outside of that could throw open the doors on a band you otherwise would never have known you loved. For me the best example of that is The Matches. With time to kill between Protest the Hero and Thrice, I wondered over to the Hurley stage and saw a young band, the lead singer’s hair going in all different directs, in a pair of short pants, and angle wings, stomping around the stage in giant boots. Two songs in and I’ve been a fan ever since.
There was the year that, Ill Scarlet pulled their infamous stunt and played the line up outside of the venue, until Kevin Lyman eventually let them inside.
There were innumerable sets by Funeral For A Friend, Thrice, Killswitch Engage, Protest the Hero, Atreyu and others that were heard but not seen due to the giant cloud of dirt blocking the stage, as the pit went off.
There were the giant circle pits, and patriotic moments where Billy Talent seemingly out drew every other band on the tour, despite the fact they suck.
Looking back now, it’s hard to tell whether it’s because I’ve changed or because Warped Tour changed, but it’s obvious that we’ve grown apart, and we will never have what we once did. I guess I should just give it up, admit that I’m old and shell out a couple hundred bucks the next time Coldplay runs through town………fuck that. I’ll never be old enough to like the whiney, British, piano driven sap that Chris Martin and his butt buddies churn out. But all the same, I’ve outgrown Warped Tour, and it’s a sad, sad thing to realize.
The Matches – Papercut Skin
Protest The Hero – Turn Soonest To The Sea
Thrice – Deadbolt
Tags: Aaron Long, Chiodos, concert, feature, Ill Scarlett, Kevin Lyman, killswitch engage, P.O.S., Protest The Hero, Senses Fail, The Ataris, The Matches, Thrice, Underoath, Warped Tour
Dude, not sure you can review Warped Tour without talking about punk legends like Bad Religion and NOFX. How were they?