Still the line up didn't suffer too much and honestly I was surprised how many bands were there I actually wanted to see. Underoath, Chiodos, Bad Religion, Less the Jake, and so many more. Not a lot of huge names, but lots of little bands that it was kinda cool to see without having to worry about missing other bands at the same time. Even discovered a band called The Architects who turned out to be pretty good as well...one thing that I really love about Warped tour, discovering bands like that.
So i started with The Devil Wears Prada inside, one of the many hardcore bands that have dropped into the scene these days. And honestly I was not impressed, they just felt very derivative. Nothing about them really jumped out to me and I felt like I had heard better from other bands. I will give them another chance when I listen to their CD, but my initial impression was that musically they did nothing to set themselves apart from their contemporaries.
I then headed out to the SkullCandy stage to catch the last of a set by The Architects who actually kinda blew me away. They had a very old school punk feel to them that was very reminiscent of when the movement began. Simply guitar chords, a small blistering solo, and strong lyrics about the government and society. I ended up buying their whole catalogue since it was only $30 bucks for all 4 cds. I may review those or just give a second impression on the band after listening to their work.
After that it was back to the main stage to watch Underoath, a hardcore/screamo band that has been getting quite the following. Once again i felt myself really getting into this band, even with their religious background. They definitely had the crowd pumped and were on top of their game as far as the set goes. I really enjoyed them and ended up buying their newest album "Lost in the Sound of Separation".
I quickly hurried outside to the Hurley.com stage to watch Big D and the Kids Table play. Despite being in the rain and mud the crowd was really responding to the band, having a large skanking pit in the middle of a mud. The band definitely knew how to have fun and I still maintain that ska music puts on some of the best shows and brings out a pretty friendly crowd. on a side not the lead singer also looks like Kurt Cobain which was funny, I kept thinking of him as Ska Cobain!
Once again it was back inside as I wanted to check out Chiodos who I had been meaning to see for some time. Let me honestly say they had the second best set of the show, managing a huge crowd that was really into what was going on. The lead singer has a pretty distinctive voice that is always a plus for me, definitely a huge range that I enjoy. The music has a composed feel to it, making them stand out from a lot of metal bands out there. Plus they had more crowd surfers then any other band, even got a wall of death going during one of their songs. Absolutely one of the highlights of the show, i really enjoyed them.
After some downtime since there was a lull where there was no bands I wanted to see, I came back inside for the Bouncing Souls. Now here is a band who has been on the punk scene for quite sometime and they haven't lost any of their talent. The set was dedicated to John Hughes who had died recently and they played a lot of their older stuff. I've always liked watching them on stage, they always seem to have pretty good showmanship.
Then it was outside to go see Black Tide who I had seen before and had really enjoyed. Unfortunately this proved to be the worst set of the show as they had a replacement lead singer who just didn't cut it. One of the great things about Black Tide is that they have a great 80's metal sound with the high vocals and heavy lead guitar. But the lead singer couldn't handle the notes and just ruined it for the band. Without the entire aesthetic they were just another metal band and I left before their set was finished.
Not gonna lie, things get a little hazy here but I do remember eventually seeing Less than Jake, which is another great live band. It's just one of those bands that seems to always have fun when they play and that energy transfers to the crowd. They know how to banter with a crowd, talking just enough to be interesting but not so much that they sacrifice time for their music. I really enjoyed their set.
More downtime then I saw NoFx, who also puts on a hell of a show. Though this year they seemed a little out of it, just didn't hit as hard as it used to. I don't know if it's because they are getting old or they were still feeling whatever made them take a two week hiatus. Either way they were good, but not as good as past years.
There were a few other bands but honestly they aren't really worth mentioning because the best set of the night happened to be the last one of the night. Bad Religion is still one of my favorite live bands to see, they are simply amazing. From showmanship to how together they were with their set. It's one of the few bands that sound just as good as they do on cd, which lets you know it's them and not machines that make that band great. I honestly would have paid the $40 just to see them, they are that good.
And that was Warped tour in a nut shell more or less...there is so much more to say but honestly this article would never end if I did that. While not as good as some years I still say 09 was a success and wasn't disappointed that I went. I hope next year the weather gets it together and we have the true Warped Tour experience, but in any case another year down and another tour under my belt!
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