Oh God, going to a 2008 Warped date that didn't include the Gaslight Anthem or the Bouncing Souls? Crucify me if you must, but I have nothing better to do.
I started my day with metalcore/metal in the forms of All That Remains and Every Time I Die. The drummer of ATR stole the show, even though most of the crowd was air guitaring and saying things like "Fucking insane! I can't believe it!" It didn't help that the singer tried to make you do this odd finger-waving move to represent a solo when someone was soloing. Weak, dude. ETID, on the other hand, was fun and their set moved at a brisk pace. Playing fan favorites like "Floater" and "We'rewolf," the singer had a good swagger and the best in-between song banter of the day.
The Bronx strolled onto Main Stage Left at 2:00 and played an energetic set for a sparse crowd. Maybe they're bigger on the West Coast? Either way, singer Matt Caughthran is a blast to watch. He has a southern drawl, even though he's from California (he says he "just likes to talk real slow"). He also does an adorable slight head bop during instrumental breaks that seems fitting if he was in a country band. I would have loved to watch the whole set but I left two songs early to make sure I made it to the other end of the venue for another band who's older than your average Warped act, the Street Dogs.
I was debating on just copy/pasting the Punknews Street Dogs meme ("One of the consistently great bands out there right now...") since so much has been written about them in relatively little time and frankly I've written a few show reviews where they opened and I'm running out of new adjectives...but I feel they deserve a real review. The first thing I noticed during their first song, "Mean Fist," is that they now have a mic chord wrangler for Mike when he jumps into the crowd. Sweet! No tangles! But Mike wasn't doing all the work; he got the crowd to make a circle pit around the sound booth for "In Defense of Dorchester," something a band does every year but is always an event to watch/participate in. They also played a stellar cover of Black Flag's seminal "Rise Above," but the song got a subpar reception in comparison to the rest of the set. Warped Tour, eh?
Set list:
- Mean Fist
- Not Without a Purpose
- Two Angry Kids
- Tobe's Got a Drinking Problem
- In Defense of Dorchester
- Rise Above (Black Flag cover)
- Fatty
Set list:
- Intro / As Long as We Can
- Rules
- My Own Country
- Minor Threat (Minor Threat cover, dur)
- My Own Way
- Fuck Authority
- Pennywise
- Society (crowd pick)
- Bro Hymn Tribute
Uh oh, Mc Chris and Against Me! playing at the same time? I ditched Tiger Army last year to see MC Chris but he was not the victor in â08. Coming out with drinks they started with "New Wave," and there was a collective feeling that we should be dancing but we weren't. We settled for fists in the air, but the dancing commenced at the start of "Stop!" "White People for Peace" was played next, and you may think starting with three New Wave songs is ominous, but they went straight into a Three-Team-Reinventing-Axl-Rose-Cream-Dream: "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong," "Walking Is Still Honest" and "Baby, I'm an Anarchist!" "Pints" noticeably tore the proverbial house down more than any other song, and they chugged through 10 songs with their usual expert and intense playing that have garnered them so much press as a premier live band. The only down-note to the proceedings was "Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart," which brought the crowd to a stand-still and wasn't a welcomed change of pace for a punk show -- it was just slow and vapid. From what I've seen, Tom Gabel still doesn't talk to the crowd since New Wave came out, and comically enough after "Borne" he stepped up to the mic with no music playing. I was thinking there may be a "thanks for coming out," but no, he went to sing the first lines of "Sink, Florida, Sink." Much better, in my opinion. Oh, and as much as many orgers would like you to believe, the crowd wasn't made up of jocks and 13-year-old girls.
Set list:
- New Wave
- Stop!
- White People for Peace
- Pints of Guinness Make You Strong
- Walking Is Still Honest
- Baby, I'm an Anarchist!
- Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart
- Sink, Florida, Sink
- Don't Lose Touch
- Thrash Unreal
Set list:
- Put Yo Hood Up Intro / This Very Moment
- Work in Progress
- We Do It All for the Money, Obviously!
- Goonies Never Say Die
- Don't Let This Win Over You
- Echoes
- The Fallen
- To Be Continued
- Dead Men Tell No Tales
- Mutiny!
Set list:
- The War
- Everything's Magic
- It Hurts
- Secret Crowds
- My First Punk Song (Box Car Racer cover)
- The Adventure