So when Mark Dimzon, Frederick Balce, Markel Alvarez, Christian Legazpi, Grieko Geronimo and Alex Johnstone hit the campus of UBC, we all knew the group would eventually seperate to conform to our own tastes.
Im totally glad we did. I was so happy that I didnt settle for some other band because my friends were going.
Peer Pressure for the loss.
Anyways, onto
My Day At Warped
Every Avenue:Granted I should have appreciated this band beforehand, yes, people have sent me their stuff before, but I gave it a listen and pushed it aside.
Seeing them live however changed my view on them significantly.
Not enough to make me go back and listen to them alot more, but enough to make me rethink their spot to the music scene.
The Maine:This was the first dilemma we faced it was either The Maine or Less Than Jake.
I went with The Maine because i wasnt into the Punk/Ska scene as much as I was into The Maine, whos music I had already given considerable listen to.
It was the right choice. I loved seeing The Maine live. Whether it was the way Garrett Nickelson did his bass slides, John O'Callaghan asking the crowd to be practically making out during "Into Your Arms", having the crowd pass a can of Herpes around, or just playing something like Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me". Theyre a captivating band that anyone into this music scene should not miss.
A Day To Remember:Who says hardcore is depressing? Thinking of a band that's been described as "Hardcore Pop" I know it was weird to think of them like that, but when someone added the Pop part I saw it. They are a rare breed of Hardcore that liked being catchy and melodic all at once. It's not totally screaming either. So doubters can breathe. Their intro was a different kind of awesome. Ive never seen a band go from Epic Orchestral intro to their best single. "The Downfall Of Us All". The only thing more epic than downfall being played was the crowd reaction when "I'm Made Of Wax Larry, What Are You Made Of?" was unleashed on the crowd.
Forever The Sickest Kids:Maybe its the crowd, maybe its the vibes we had that day, either way, these 6 guys from Dallas, Texas definitely know how to get a crowd going. There were more surfers than the coasts of Malibu, including one particular surfer who managed to get herself dropped on her way up. (Seriously, how do you fuck up crowdsurfing?) Anyways, Other than a great moment of hilarity during "Believe Me, I'm Lying", FTSK was one of those bands where i was totally getting into it, even though the crowd had been very tight and we couldnt get very good views. "Hey Brittany" and "She's A Lady", all songs that seemed to keep the crowd going.
We The Kings:Hate them if you will, Warped is changing to a pop/punk scene, Even though bands like Bad Religion and Gallows were still there to keep the old school punk scene alive. (I understand distaste of 3oh!3 and Millionaires and BrokenCYDE though, even I wonder how that happened.) Of course, you have to give We The Kings credit though, they not only played their top songs and hits, (one album, not much choice) they still threw in a NEW song which they had been writing. If that doesn't sell you on them, You HAVE to respect them for giving homage to one of the ancestors of the Pop Punk scene, Jimmy Eat World. I'm sure we all thought Travis Clark was a bit loopy when he asked the whole crowd to perform a "Reverse Wave" like hockey game stuff, except from the back of the crowd up to the stage. Needless to say, the first one was weak, yet preluded to the song about to be played. The crowd repeated the Wave once more, and when that human wave hit the stage, we were ecstatic to hear We The Kings covering Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle". Truly something to appreciate.
NOFX:We didnt necessarily see them perform, n'or did we really pay attention, but they deserve a mention. As we were taking a break, we could hear them performing on the Vans Main Stage. But one song did catch our ears: A catcy horn based tune, which stopped every 20 seconds or so. I know you're like "Hey wth Mark youre retarded, a song that stops isnt very fun." But when they fill those spaces with a set of very racy and honestly, somewhat hilarious jokes, you can't help but appreciate the humor they bring to the tour.
"i.e. Why did Hitler commit suicide?
Because he got the gas bill."- Arming The Proletariat With Potato Guns
A Skylit Drive:
Well, We didnt necessarily see them on purpose, rather enough, waiting for Cash Cash to begin performing. I will say it wasnt a highlight but worth a mention because of their male singer's unusually high voice, and yes, this hardcore band has usual hardcore screaming. Honestly, its nothing too amazing to be looking them up for. They do have weird fans though.
Cash Cash:
These guys hit very high on the energy scale, even though the crowd was very miniscule (seriously? everyone went to see 3oh!3?) They know how to keep a crowd entertained and energetic, even before theyre introduced. Needless to say, I want a Vocoder for my Keyboard, and a Keytar that lets me recreate Van Halen's "Jump" synth riff, or even 3oh!3's "Dont Trust Me". Following up on their name and what their fans would expect, they opened up with they self titled "Cash Cash". Jean Paul Makhlouf knows how to jump for a crowd. he jumps up and down flawlessly like a bouncy ball thrown in a narrow hall. The other crazy highlight, "There's a Party In Vancouver", All night long. They also played a cover of "Every Time We Touch" which sadly, I missed because Alex recommended we take a drop by...3OH!3:
Yes, I did drop by 3oh!3 for a song or two. And honestly, I dont even fuckin remember the first song. btw, It sucked. I arrived at warped assuming 3OH!3 was gonna suck, appearently they sucked live before. But hearing them play Starstrukk, my opinion was changed, Theyre pretty good at what they do. Seeing a real drummer actually play the song instead of these electronic soundsamples acutally made the song sound crazy intense. We left after that though, to catch up with what we missed at Cash Cash.
InnerPartySystem:
Fuck yes. I dont care who did or didn't see them, this is the only electronic music that should have been allowed to hit the warped stages. They are 4 piece. The singer is absolutely insane and totally into it. No talk here, just music and music. Who the fuck knows what that box in the middle of the stage did, it was cool. So was that crazy X-Y Controller for the sweep. Even the guitarist was messin with the sounds and stuff. Whatever you do though, watch out for flying singer water/spit, while you jump up and down to an InnerPartySystem remix of Fedde La Grande's "Put Your Hands Up For Detroit". Even the anticipated "Don't Stop" was a great tune to jump to.
So what have we achieved? Probably, Nothing.
- We realize Johnstone is just a bit crazy about nipples and cant really be held up by a crowd.
- We realize Grieko is someone you dont bring to Starbucks.
- We realize Even if your favorite band is a noshow, you can still amazingly enjoy a festival like this.
But it was an amazing experience to see with the people i can connect with musically.
Alex Gaskarth Said it right:
"Warped is a day for listening to music. It's not a time to touch vagina. You don't wanna mingle with that."- Alex Gaskarth
