Warped Tour Preview

Vans Warped Tour
First Midwest Ampitheatre
Sunday, July 30, 2006

Next month’s Lollapalooza features an amazing (overwhelming?) 130 bands in three days. The Vans Warped Tour says big fucking deal.

Warped Tour doesn’t have that many acts, but it can claim a hefty 80 (not counting the local stage), all crammed into one stinkin’ day! Not to mention a Warped ticket costs you $30. Compare that to $65 one-day ticket or $150 three-day pass to Lolla. Of course, you could also compare the talent on each roster, which would probably supply plenty of reason for the price discrepancy.

Fuck it, though. Surely you can sift through the dense crowd of pop punk and same-old-same-old screamo and find something worthy of 30 bucks. Obvious attractions will be local punk heroes Rise Against, touring in support of their second Geffen release, The Sufferer & The Witness. Warped mainstays NOFX and Less Than Jake will be around as will Warped newbies/rock vets Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and Helmet. If you’re looking for known names outside the biggest acts, Victory Records has five bands, including The Junior Varsity and Silverstein, on the bill. Australian rockers The Living End, who released their first three records on Reprise but signed with Adeline/East West for State Of Emergency, are also playing as are glossy radio rockers The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Hip-hop heads might dig the Gym Class Heroes, a live hip-hop band whose recently released As Cruel As School Children was co-produced by Fall Out Boy Patrick Stump. Toronto’s Billy Talent might be the most ferocious punk of the day, and Massachusetts’ Damone might be the purest rock band outside of Joan Jett. Dig Damone? Try Britt Black, a similar-sounding female-fronted rock outfit.

— Trevor Fisher

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly