MUSIC: A quick recap of the Warped Tour
Saturday's Warped Tour show at Nassau Colesium couldn't have happened on a better day. Admittedly, the ride out there is a chore, unless you have a car (we did not -- $60 in train/cab fare ensued). But the festival, which usually happens under no-pun-intended extreme conditions, came on a day when the temperature hovered in the low 80s and humidity was non-existant.
Oh, and the bands were good, too. After a couple of off-years, Warped seemed to find a nice balance of old, new and odd.
Some quick thoughts:
Best song that ripped off a better, classic song: The Bronx, an ugly, quasi-hardcore band, gave a brutal performance, with singer Matt Caughtharn spending half his time crowd-surfing. And that new track they played was great...especially since they nicked the guitar riff from Ministry's "Stigmata."
Most likely to think they were stuck in 1996: Beat Union, a ska group that sounded remarkably like every other third-wave ska group that came out last decade.
Worst stage directions: Why is there a Hurley stage AND a Hurley.com stage? The confusion between the two meant we missed an apparently grand performance from screamo newcomers Dr. Manhattan (yes, named after the Watchmen character)
Best idea, part one: The guys selling schedules for two dollars. Hey, it only took 14 years for the tour to figure out that people want to know 1) who's playing 2) when they're playing and 3) where.
Best idea, part two: Having an enclosed beer area (with full bar and no-line bathrooms) for the over-21 crowd. Suck it, teen punks!
Best new hand motion: Gym Class Heroes debuted a new song that instructed us to "put up your peace sign/put your index down!" (try it)
Best rumor: Against Me! is coming back to NYC this fall with Ted Leo. As told to yours truly by AM frontman Tom Gabel.
Why old punks make lousy politicans: A ferocious set by Warped mainstays Pennywise included this mon bot from guitarist Fletcher Dragge: "McCain...Obama...they're all a bunch of lying cocksuckers. We need one of YOU running the country!"
The day's best set:...was also Pennywise, who ripped through a number of f-you anthems, brought out CJ Ramone on stage for "Blitzkrieg Bop," and help started a massive circle pit...which also provided us with the best audience moment of the day, when two parents left their (massively bored) tween kids to join in the fracas.
They were also good: MC Chris, Say Anything, Against Me!
Best new band: Bring Me the Horizon, a caustic U.K. metal band playing the stage right next to Katy Perry. Somehow, in a day when all bands were alloted 30 minutes, BMTH managed to go 10 minutes over...confusing and somewhat scaring the 12-year old girls impatiently waiting to hear "I Kissed a Girl."
Most disappointing act: Katy Perry. You're a cute girl. But between a late start, an embarrassing pre-show hype-man ("she's No. 1 in ten countries!") and a stiff, overly-rehearsed stage banter, things didn't go well. Three songs in, and more than a few people near us were chanting "you suck!" (including your teen girl audience). Thankfully, you ended the set with your album's three sure-fire hits.
Other photos:
(All photos by Katty Biscone)
