Warped Tour @ Oceanport 7/18/2010

July 18, 2010

On a hot afternoon in Monmouth County, Vans Warped Tour arrived in Oceanport, New Jersey. Packed with more than seventy bands, the day promised to showcase a variety of genres in the rock spectrum. Warped Tour veterans played alongside newcomers; punk bands alongside neon acts. With overlapping set times, a few great bands would be missed, but managing to catch full sets from Reel Big Fish, The Dillinger Escape Plan, AM Taxi, Face to Face, The Riverboat Gamblers, The Swellers, The Mighty Regis, Alkaline Trio, Motion City Soundtrack, and Set Your Goals made the day overwhelmingly exciting and enjoyable.

Reel Big Fish performed at noon, sticking heavily to their older, most well-known songs. In fact, only two of the band’s eleven songs were written in the last decade despite the band releasing more than fifty original cuts over the last ten years. The band’s sophomore album (issued in 1996, which contains re-recordings from their 1995 debut) contributed five of the set’s eleven songs, including absolutely stellar performances of “Beer” and “Sell Out”. Pretending to walk off stage after every song (“thanks, we’ve been the Reel Big Fish!”) in the first half of the set, the California natives set a jovial, lighthearted tone early.

With songs like “She Has a Girlfriend Now” — sings frontman Aaron Barrett during the song’s potent ending: “I never thought it would end like this just because I’ve got no tits / I’ll shave my legs, I’ll wear a bra, I”ll even cut my dick off for you”) — the band thrives on a playful setting, but doesn’t rely on it. Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl” was undoubtedly in jest, but the band’s cover of the Norwegian mega-hit “Take On Me” is as solid as any cover recorded in the last twenty years. And there lies Reel Big Fish’s true appeal. While many of their So-Cal peers understand the fun side of music, few execute with Reel Big Fish’s precision and musicianship.

Everything Sucks
Thank You For Not Moshing
Another F.U. Song
Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison cover)
Your Guts (I Hate ‘Em)
I Want Your Girlfriend to Be My Girlfriend Too
Snoop Dog, Baby
She Has a Girlfriend Now
Sell Out
Beer
Take On Me (A-Ha cover)

The Dillinger Escape Plan

The Dillinger Escape Plan

Starkly contrasting the ska antics of Reel Big Fish, The Dillinger Escape Plan played a loud, brash, and to-the-point eight song setlist constructed largely from the band’s latest release, Option Paralysis. Beginning with 2004′s “Panasonic Youth”, the New Jersey locals tore through a career-spanning setlist that drew the biggest response with Calculating Infinity‘s “43% Burnt”. There’s no questioning the band’s unbelievable technical ability or vocalist Greg Puciato’s unrestrained vehemence, but it remains to be seen why the frontman ditches his trademark screams for an embarrassing attempt at traditional singing on songs like the closing “Farewell, Mona Lisa”. The Dillinger Escape Plan were likely the most potent heavy act of the day — that is, when the band stays fierce and unrelenting.

Panasonic Youth
Milk Lizard
43% Burnt
Room Full of Eyes
Chinese Whispers
Good Neighbor
Sunshine the Werewolf
Farewell, Mona Lisa

AM Taxi

AM Taxi

The five-piece AM Taxi played next on the nearby side stage, showcasing their blend of Bruce Springsteen-influenced melodic punk rock. Comparable to The Replacements or The Gaslight Anthem, the Chicago natives ripped through a seven song set filled with songs from their recent debut, We Don’t Stand a Chance. Tight guitars, interesting bass lines, and rock-steady percussion backed frontman Adam Grier’s raspy vocals, with occasional keys provided by Luke Schmitt. The band appeared genuine and appreciative of the meager crowd they attracted, and during the penultimate “Shake, Rattle, and Stall” Schmitt traveled down to the audience to sell copies of the band’s album for just five dollars. The unique marketing tactic proved successful, and Schmitt sold every CD he had taken down to the crowd. The keyboardist returned to the stage for the band’s closing song, a solid cover of “Paint it Black”, and AM Taxi wrapped up their set to enormous applause from anyone lucky enough to have caught the up-and-coming act.

Dead Street
Woodpecker
The Mistake
Fed Up
Charissa
Shake, Rattle, and Stall
Paint it Black (The Rolling Stones cover)

Face to Face

Face to Face

Catching all of AM Taxi unfortunately meant missing part of Face to Face‘s setlist. Frontman Trever Keith was characteristically cynical throughout the set, at one point calling out fans of Bring Me the Horizon for idly standing around in the middle of the band’s set. Unquestionably one of the oldest bands in Monmouth Park that day, the California five-piece’s classic ’90s punk-pop was refreshing amongst a backdrop of neon-powered acts on nearby stages. Face to Face’s setlist included “Ordinary”, “Pastel”, “Velocity”, “A-OK”, “Complicated”, and a song from the band’s upcoming full-length, Laugh Now, Laugh Later.

The Riverboat Gamblers

The Riverboat Gamblers

Led by the charismatic Mike Wiebe, The Riverboat Gambers performed on a small sidestage in the mid-afternoon as Face to Face’s set wrapped up. The Texas quintet was exceptionally exciting, gathering a fairly large crowd that grew bigger and bigger as passersby noticed the intense live show. The band played a brand new song (“What Are You Waiting For?”) before wrapping up with Underneath the Owl‘s “Victory Lap” and Something to Crow About‘s “Hey Hey Hey!”; for the latter, Wiebe toppled a nearby trashcan, dragged it across the parking lot to the pit, and then climbed on top, demanding a circle-march around him for the song’s final moments.

The Swellers

The Swellers

The Swellers contractually finished their stint on the Warped Tour before the Oceanport date, but the band still set up a merch tent to make a few extra bucks before heading home to Michigan. In addition, the band teamed up with the Keep-A-Breast non-profit organization to perform a set of acoustic songs at 3PM. Barely miked and quickly improvised, the set consisted of four songs from the band’s latest full-length, Ups and Downsizing. Frontman Nick Diener was overwhelmingly cheerful and lighthearted, coming off extremely relaxed and accessible; his softer takes on normally swift punk-pop songs gave the tracks new life, displaying an honest, sincere vibe that feels missing on the band’s overproduced and lifeless album.

Do You Feel Better Yet?
Ups and Downsizing
Sleeper
Welcome Back Riders

The Mighty Regis

The Mighty Regis

The Mighty Regis, a seven-piece Celtic-punk/folk-punk band from California, was next. Beginning with “Them Bastards” from 2008′s Another Nickel for the Pope, the band played a lengthy six song setlist. “Broken and Battered” was dedicated to Chicago Celtic-punks Flatfoot 56, whose singer Tobin Bawinkel would join the band later for a rousing cover of “Boys from the County Hell”. An unconventional take on “Danny Boy”, featuring Ryan O’Neill on pan flute, finished up The Mighty Regis’s set. Unfortunately, few saw the band put on one of the day’s best sets.

Them Bastards
The Brothers Rafferty
Broken and Battered
Celtic Storm
Boys from the County Hell (The Pogues cover)
Danny Boy

Alkaline Trio

Alkaline Trio

The Flatliners played next, kicking their set off with “July! August! Reno!”. The Canadian punk quartet played a new song, “Common Collection”, next, but I left the sidestage afterwards to catch Alkaline Trio performing across the parking lot.  Opening with the rarely seen “She Took Him to the Lake”, the Chicago three-piece played a respectable collection of early-decade cuts, wisely opting to ignore the less-than-impressive offerings found on 2005′s Crimson and 2008′s Agony and Irony. “My Friend Peter” was a nice surprise, as was a totally unexpected and passionate Nomeansno cover that flew over the head of a crowd not-yet-born when the song was originally recorded in 1989. Alkaline Trio wrapped things up with “97″, tossing in the often-sampled chorus fromRock Master Scott & the Dynamic Three’s “The Roof is On Fire”.

She Took Him to the Lake
Armageddon
Emma
Dine Dine My Darling
My Friend Peter
Blue Carolina
Private Eye
Off the Map
Two Lips, Two Lungs, One Tongue (Nomeansno cover)
97

Motion City Soundtrack

Motion City Soundtrack

Motion City Soundtrack performed the tightest set of the day, but it was unfortunately the exact same collection of songs performed by the Minnesota five-piece just a few months earlier at the nearby Bamboozle festival. Luckily, the songs are some of the band’s best. Things began with “Attractive Today” leading directly into I am the Movie‘s “The Future Freaks Me Out”, the entire crowd singing the song’s opening lines: “I’m on fire / and now I think I’m ready / to bust a move / check it out I’m rockin’ steady!”

With four albums to choose from, Motion City Soundtrack spread things out quite evenly. Tossing in three cuts from the band’s excellent 2010 release, My Dinosaur Life , frontman Justin Pierre was spot-on yet tired, clearly draining the remains of his stamina on the penultimate “Disappear”.  Still, closing track “Everything is Alright” sounded excellent and the crowd roared to the song’s opening riffs. Motion City Soundtrack never disappoints, but it would have been great if the band switched things up from their last New Jersey appearance just a few months earlier.

Attractive Today
The Future Freaks Me Out
My Favorite Accident
Broken Heart
A Lifeless Ordinary (Need a Little Help)
LG Fuad
This is For Real
Her Words Destroyed My Planet
Disappear
Everything is Alright

Set Your Goals

Set Your Goals

As the sun began to set, Set Your Goals played a large side-stage. Drawing in fans of all genres, the band opened things with their latest single, the blistering “Gaia Bleeds”, setting the tone of their performance immediately. “Goonies Say Die”, from their debut EP, made an appearance in the nine-song set, and a surprising number of attendees responded to the song. Highlights included “Summer Jam”, a song almost describable as a Warped Tour anthem, and the one-two closing punch of the “Dead Men Tell No Tales” into “Mutiny”. Unfortunately, the band sounded hollow — especially vocalists Matt Wilson and Jordan Brown — a far cry from their normally-outstanding intensity. The rest of the band picked up the slack, though, with crisp leads and rock-solid rhythms anchoring an enjoyable performance.

Gaia Bleeds (Make Way For Man)
The Fallen
This Very Moment
Summer Jam
Goonies Never Say Die
To Be Continued…
Echoes
Dead Men Tell No Tales
Mutiny

Criticisms of Warped Tour’s sixteenth year are often targeted at the overwhelming number of awful bands on the tour. It’s not unfounded. At the Oceanport date alone acts like Alesana, Artist vs Poet, Attack Attack, Breathe Carolina, Breathe Electric, Bring Me the Horizon, Emarosa, Emmure, Four Year Strong, Hey Monday, In Fear and Faith, Mayday Parade, NeverShoutNever, Pierce the Veil, VersaEmerge, and We the Kings undoubtedly cluttered the parking lot with uninteresting tunes, but there were more than enough diamonds in the rough worth checking out. At least one solid band was playing at any given time, including a number of overlaps that meant missing quality acts like Every Time I Die, Fake Problems, and Flatfoot 56. At just $40 per ticket, Warped Tour remains an excellent opportunity to see a large number of favorites in one day. More importantly, it might expose you to your new favorite band.

Photos credit to the amazing Rebecca Sawka.

3 Comments | Alkaline Trio, AM Taxi, Face to Face, Monmouth Race Track, Motion City Soundtrack, New Jersey, Oceanport, Reel Big Fish, Set Your Goals, The Dillinger Escape Plan, The Mighty Regis, The Riverboat Gamblers, The Swellers | Permalink
Posted by Anthony Charles Ambrose

Alkaline Trio / Cursive / The Dear and Departed @ NYC 3/12/10

March 12, 2010

In support of their newest album on Epitaph Records, Chicago’s Alkaline Trio took Cursive and The Dear and Departed on a nationwide tour of mid-size venues. The tour arrived in New York City on March 12 at Nokia Theatre; the band had a lot to prove after a string of less-than-impressive albums (Crimson, Agony and Irony, and their latest, This Addiction) and a sub-par performance on their tour two years ago with heavyweights Rise Against, Thrice, and The Gaslight Anthem down the street at Roseland. Could Alkaline Trio somehow muster up enough inner-pain to return to their tortured origins?

The Dear & Departed

The Dear & Departed

The Dear and Departed opened the evening, playing a relatively unexciting blend of new wave and Gothic rock. Frontman Dan Smith (you may have seen him on LA Ink) did his best to entertain the crowd, but the four-piece did little to differentiate themselves from a plethora of similar-sounding modern British pop and rock acts. The band played selections form their Equal Vision Records debut, Chapters EP, as well as songs such as “Hometown Hero” from their older full-length, Something Quite Peculiar.

Cursive

Cursive

Nebraska’s Cursive opened with “Dorothy at Forty”, seemingly dragging through the first few songs of their eleven-song setlist. Even the jagged staple, “Butcher the Song”, wasn’t as powerful as it has been. This all seemed strange for a band featuring three of Saddle Creek Records’s most prolific musicians — frontman Tim Kasher, guitarist Ted Stevens, and bassist Matt McGinn — who have been touring together for more than a decade.

Cursive

Cursive

Thankfully, Kasher stepped things up with their latest single, “From the Hips”, and the band seemed to click from there out. “Art is Hard” and “The Martyr”, back-to-back, were the band’s strongest moments — it’s unfortunate that their two best albums were so overlooked in the setlist selection. Patrick Newberry provided solid horns and keys to “Big Bang” and indeed the whole set, greatly expanding Cursive’s sound. The near-hour set concluded with a strong performance of Mama, I’m Swollen‘s “I Couldn’t Love You Anymore”, setting the bar quite high for Alkaline Trio to follow.

Dorothy at Forty
Mama I’m Swollen
Butcher the Song
Retreat!
From the Hips
A Gentleman Caller
Let Me Up
Art is Hard
The Martyr
Big Bang
I Couldn’t Love You

Alkaline Trio

Alkaline Trio

Alkaline Trio began their set in an interesting order, with the first half following this pattern: the first song (and namesake) from the brand new This Addiction, a few old songs; second song from This Addiction; old songs. This pattern continued through the album’s fourth track, “Dead on the Floor”, before “Mercy Me” broke the trend. Guitarist Matt Skiba identified “Dine, Dine My Darling” as his favorite cut from the new album; Cursive’s Patrick Newmann contributed horns to “Lead Poisoning”.

Alkaline Trio

Alkaline Trio

The band wisely stayed away from This Addiction for the rest of the set until album-closer “Fine” started the encore, making room for large portion of their far-superior back catalog throughout the night. Good Mourning thankfully received heavy treatment, with about one third of the band’s set coming from the 2003 full-length including an excellent performance of “We’ve Had Enough”. “Nose Over Tail” preceded “97″ as it does on the band’s 2000 self-titled album, which also contributed “Goodbye Forever”.

This Addiction
Armageddon
Emma
Dine, Dine My Darling
We’ve Had Enough
Lead Poisoning ft Patrick cursive on horns
Mr. Chainsaw
Dead on the Floor
Fatally Yours
Crawl
Mercy Me
Goodbye Forever
In Vein
Continental
Blue Carolina
Sadie
Nose Over Tail
97
Fine
Attitude (Misfits cover)
Blue in the Face

Aside from a poor performance of hit single “Mercy Me”, Alkaline Trio sounded sharp for their entire set. Misfits cover “Attitude” found the band switching instruments, with Skiba jumping on the skins and drummer Derek Grant stepping out from behind the kit and leading the charge. “Blue in the Face” finally wrapped up the band’s great performance, and Alkaline Trio left the stage victorious, having proven that they are an incredibly worthwhile live act.

2 Comments | Alkaline Trio, Cursive, New York, New York City, Nokia Theatre, The Dear and Departed | Permalink
Posted by Anthony Charles Ambrose

Rise Against / Alkaline Trio / Thrice / The Gaslight Anthem @ NYC 10/14

October 23, 2008

Possibly the best tour of 2008 arrived in New York City on October 13 and 14, the four punk-inspired acts selling out the 3500 capacity Roseland each night. I made it out to the second night, anticipating a show featuring four of my favorite bands.

The Gaslight Anthem opened the evening with “Great Expectations”. Sounding as tight as the previous times I’ve seen them, they played for about thirty minutes, tossing in older songs in addition to new standards like The ’59 Sound‘s title track and “Say I Won’t (Recognize)”. On any other tour their performance likely would have stolen the show, but the young blue-collar punks were opening for some of the scene’s most talented veterans.

These veterans include Southern California’s Thrice, a band that has been redefining their sound for the last decade. The band opened with “The Messenger” from The Alchemy Index Vols. I + II, a hard-hitting track that set the tone for their set. Playing a fairly mixed set of cuts from as early as 2002 (“Deadbolt”), the band outshined The Gaslight Anthem’s incredible performance, even including a cover of The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter”. Songs such as “The Melting Point of Wax”, “The Artist in the Ambulance”, “Motion Isn’t Meaning”, “Of Dust and Nations”, and “Firebreather” found their way into the night as well before the band closed with a pummeling performance of Vheissu‘s “The Earth Will Shake”.

Chicago dark-punk stalwarts Alkaline Trio took the stage next. In comparison to The Gaslight Anthem and Thrice, the band sounded flat and uninviting, despite playing for nearly an hour. The first two bands seemed to lure the entire audience (fans and newcomers alike) into their sound, but Alkaline Trio seemed to only excite diehards. Their newer material is less edgy, and songs like “Calling All Skeletons” just don’t do the band justice in a live setting. A combination of sloppy renditions of great songs (“Radio”) and playing after two great bands marred what could have been an otherwise strong outting.

Rise Against singer Tim McIlrath.

Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath.

In no uncertain terms did Rise Against make a case for why they should be headlining a tour of this magnitude. Their set spanned much of the band’s existence, moving from loud and inciting (“State of the Union”) to calm and reflective (the well-crafted and beautiful “Swing Life Away”). The latter is largely responsible for their huge fan base–and rightfully so. Rise Against thrives on writing hook-laced singles that are great live songs (“Prayer of the Refugee”, “Ready To Fall”, “Re-Education (Through Labor)”).

Perhaps the band’s essence was summed up while covering Minor Threat’s “Minor Threat”, during which the band was joined by NOFX’s Fat Mike. The song combined the band’s primal influences with the man responsible for signing the band to their first record deal. All of this as part of a second encore, illustrating the band’s current status in 2008.

Rise Against never sounded so sure or so potent live, easily their best performance I’ve had a chance to experience. Vocalist Tim McIlrath’s sincere vocals demand the audience’s attention, and singalongs are never more than a verse away. Laying down for no man or government, the band pulls no punches and continues to demonstrate that a superior live show starts with great songs and ends with honest energy.

ATTENTION: inTuneMusic was unable to acquire any setlists from this incredible evening. If you know the songs in order of any of the bands from this evening please post them in the replies and the article will be updated! Thank you!

2 Comments | Alkaline Trio, New York, New York City, Rise Against, Roseland, The Gaslight Anthem, Thrice | Permalink
Posted by Anthony Charles Ambrose

Warped Tour @ Englishtown 8/5

August 7, 2007

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been attending Warped Tour in Camden, the “Philadelphia stop” of the annual tour. To mix things up this year, I ventured north to Englishtown Raceway.

The first band I intended to see was Straylight Run, but I didn’t make it to their stage in time, unfortunately, so I kicked off the day with Christian hardcore/metalcore Underoath on the main stage closest to the entrance. I’ve enjoyed Underoath since 2002′s The Changing Of Times, but a few shoddy performances live have turned me off to the band somewhat, and I was hoping their performance today would convert me back into a follower (religious pun intended).

Playing selections primarily from their brutal Define The Great Line, the Florida six-piece dominated the crowd. I’m always disappointed that the band has abandoned the best song they’ve ever written (“When The Sun Sleeps”, from their old singer’s era), but new songs such as “In Regards To Self” are absolutely stellar live. Despite existing for nearly a decade, the band doesn’t dip into any material older than 2004′s They’re Only Chasing Safety, from which they played excellent songs (with especially precious titles) “A Boy Brushed Red…Living In Black And White” and “It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door”. I walked away from Underoath’s set quite impressed, anxious to see them on their upcoming tour with Every Time I Die.

Somewhat like Underoath, Coheed and Cambria were once one of my favorite bands, but I’ve enjoyed them less and less in recent times. Also similar to Underoath, their Warped Tour performance changed my opinion of the band in a positive direction. With new a drummer in Chris Pennie (the founder of The Dillinger Escape Plan), the band’s live performance was immediately upgraded, and it showed on the hot afternoon. Integrating some of his math-influenced Dillinger styled playing into Coheed and Cambria’s progressive rock, the band sounded tighter than ever. The band opened with the stunning “Welcome Home”, and moved into some catchy pop-influenced songs such as “The Suffering” and “A Favor House Atlantic”. “Everything Evil”, one of the songs that hooked me onto Coheed and Cambria earlier in the decade, was improved with impressive new guitar work and double-bass drummed beats. The band closed their setlist with “In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth”, and helped recapture why I enjoyed the band so much just three or four years earlier.

Chicago’s best dark-rock band, Alkaline Trio, played a great set that featured one brand new song and some older essentials. Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano split vocal duties well live, feeding off the energy of one older Warped Tour crowds of the day. Following their set, I wandered Englishtown Raceway, eager to learn the differences between the familiar Tweeter Center in Camden that I’ve grown accustomed to.

Englishtown certainly manages the space well, and all the stages are ultimately closer to each other, although the two main stages are placed on opposing ends of the parking lot (in stark contrast to Camden, which places its stages directly adjacent to each other). Checking out various tents, I didn’t find too much that interested me and for the first time didn’t buy anything from any of the tents. Even the “freebies” seemed tuned down this year; my pockets are usually overloaded with free stickers, discs, and promotions, but this year they held only my wallet and keys.

A Static Lullaby, a band I slightly enjoy but seem to spend too much time defending, were next on my list. I arrived at their stage to find a less-than-enthusiastic crowd; their performance couldn’t be described as the same, but it was certainly much less entertaining that I had hoped for. I decided to rehydrate myself instead of standing around listening to their screamer attempt to scream, and walked to the Monster truck and cooled down for a moment.

Chiodos was next on the main stage, and vocalist Craig Owens held the crowd’s attention with his high-pitched vocals and gut-wrenching screams over the band’s take on modern emocore/hardcore/metalcore tinged with keyboards and effects. Opening with “The Words ‘Best Friend’ Become Redefined”, the crowd (much like Underoath, filled with young girls) exploded into a handful of different pits. Unlike traditional hardcore pits, however, these modern bands seem to draw out ignorant teenagers doing what they believe is hardcore dancing. It couldn’t be any farther from that, however, and pits generally turn into push-moshing; no surprise, though, as I’d imagine most of the crowd is only into these bands as a trend–they’d likely learned their “moshing skills” from the previous trends such as Papa Roach or Korn. Chiodos played two new songs, each one as good as songs from All’s Well That Ends Well. Favorites from that debut album were also played (although nothing prior to that–in fact, I’m pretty sure all the material prior to that has been completely abandoned), such as “There’s No Penguins In Alaska” and “Baby You Wouldn’t Last A Minute On The Creek”. The band was quite tight musically, and I’ll certainly be picking up their next album, Bone Palace Ballet.

The Matches played the Hurley.com side stage, so I rushed over to catch them. Always exciting live, at festivals the band sticks to material mostly from Decomposer but did include older songs such as “Chain Me Free”. The Matches seem to attract a more respectful crowd than any other band, and the “pits” aren’t for slamdancing but more for jumping around, and, when “Salty Eyes” is played, waltzing. The band is very appreciative for its fans, and Shawn Harris even brought a girl up on stage who had created an intricate home-made shirt of the band’s lyrics. Playing near flawlessly for twenty-five minutes, the band closed with “Papercut Skin”.

One of the biggest surprise albums of 2007 is Paramore‘s Riot!; their debut, All We Know Is Falling, was solid, but Riot! is a tremendous follow-up I wasn’t expecting. Paramore may always just be a vehicle for teenage vocalist Hayley Williams, but if that’s the case then she’s certainly riding in a luxury car. Paramore’s most distinguishing feature may be its vocals, but the music is fine-tuned and pop-perfect.

Paramore opened with their biggest single, “Misery Business”. At first, the band seemed sluggish and Hayley’s vocals were not quite as strong as I remembered from the last time seeing them. As if changing gears, however, the band exploded with their next few songs, including seamlessly flowing from one song to another without braking for even a second. “Here We Go Again” received a touch-up with the band integrating part of At The Drive-In’s essential “One Armed Scissor”. The band played others from All We Know Is Falling, as well, including “Pressure” and “Emergency”. Putting on one of the strongest performances of the day, Hayley Williams is certainly elevating herself to role-model status for a generation of confused teenage girls.

I wasn’t going to miss even a moment of Bad Religion, so I rushed across the parking lot to catch the eldest (and unquestionably most important) band on Warped Tour 2007′s lineup.  The band kicked off with the familiar “American Jesus” riff, and true punk-styled circles broke out in the crowd. The band played eleven songs, touching on nearly every essential Bad Religion song including “Social Suicide” and “Infected”. Midway through the band’s set, a man in a wheelchair made his way on top of the crowd, surfing it all the way to the stage, at which point the band announced it was the coolest thing they had ever seen. Greg Gaffin called out all the parents sitting in the distance on the raceway’s bleachers, but he quickly noted that in his old age, that’s where he would be watching bands perform. The band closed their strong set with “Sorrow”.

I did spend some time wandering around, catching parts of various bands’ setlists throughout the day, hearing pieces of The Starting Line and even All Time Low covering the essential punk-pop “Dammit”. I sat down for the first time all day and listened to Bryce Avary perform for awhile while waiting for Bayside to take the stage; the crowd of entirely teenage girls seemed to melt to every word of every The Rocket Summer song.

I had hoped to see Circa Survive, but their set conflicted with Bayside, who took the side stage as one of the last bands of the evening. The New York four-piece didn’t hold anything back, opening with “Montauk” from their self-titled album. Their setlist consisted of primarily songs from The Walking Wounded, which is certainly their strongest release to date. They played the title track from the album (with Aaron Gillepsie of Underoath), and also “They’re Not Horses, They’re Unicorns”, “Duality”, and “Carry On”. The band sounded tight as always, and the crowd didn’t show any signs of fatigue. Sirens And Condolences‘s opening track “Masterpiece” was also played, and the band closed with “Devotion And Desire”.

Before leaving Englishtown, I caught the end of Tiger Army’s set, which included “In The Orchard” at a fan’s request and the standard closer, “Never Die”. I didn’t stick around for MC Chris (the very last act of the day), and headed back to the car as the evening was beginning to get dark. Certainly a solid Warped Tour lineup, and definitely a great place to see the show. I may be at Englishtown again next year instead of Camden.

Leave a Comment » | Alkaline Trio, Bad Religion, Bayside, Chiodos, Coheed and Cambria, Englishtown, Englishtown Raceway, Paramore, The Matches, Underoath, Warped Tour | Permalink
Posted by Anthony Charles Ambrose

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