Warped Tour @ Raceway Park - 8/5/07
Another year, another Warped Tour. For the past 13 years, the Warped Tour has been reliable, in both good and bad ways.
Good:
- You get to see a lot of bands for less than $30 a ticket (although with surcharges that may not be the case).
Bad:
- A lot of the bands now are screamo/emo (which to some may be a good thing, but I'm not a fan).
Good:
- Even still you can find some really good bands if you check out all the stages, especially all the smaller ones littered around.
Bad:
- The smaller stages are not listed on the big board with the list of all the bands and set times, and many of the bands on the smaller stages don't mention their names so even if you do like them, it's hard to know who they are.
Good:
- Mixed in with all the vendors trying to sell you stuff are some activist groups with information. Among them where PETA and a Go Vegan info tent.
Bad:
- Trying to find anything vegan to eat there. The only vegetarian thing I could find (as I am a vegetarian) was a crappy reheated frozen pizza. If the event runs from 11am until 9pm, and you don't allow people to bring in outside food, you should really try harder to meet the dietary needs of various people. I know I say this every year, and yet nothing ever changes.
Good:
- Raceway Park is only 10 minutes from, where I live.
Bad:
- It took me 1 hour and 20 minutes to drive that normally 10 minute drive. Last year I went to the Warped Tour show in Camden, 1 hour and 30 mintues from where I live, and it took me 1 hour and 30 mintues to get there. I realize Raceway Park doesn't have any major roads leading into it, but then maybe that's why it's not a good location.
Good:
- On the other hand, Raceway Park is much more spacious than when they had the Warped tour in Asbury Park
Bad
- But in Asbury Park I had cell phone reception. Cell phone reception is bad at Raceway Park, and I actually was unable to get an important call about a relative that was sick enough to have to go to the hospital.
So given that I have a bad for every good, why do I still go every year?
Because while I'd like to see the Warped Tour improve upon the things I mention above, it's still one of the best tours going. At any given time there are at least 5 stages going. So if I didn't like the screamo band on one stage, or the watered down pop-punk band on another, I still had at least 3 more stages I could check out.
Some of the highlights:
I caught a bit of Straylight Run as I first walked into Raceway park. Definitely not a traditional punk band, their mainstream piano driven rock wasn't half bad. I would have watched more, but after the long ride there, I was hungry.
Ska, while no longer as hip as it was 10 years ago, is still a big part of the Warped Tour. The Toasters, having been part of the ska scene for over 20 years now, were still one of the best bands I saw all day. High energy, and fun.
Another great ska band was The Fabulous Rudies, employing a male and female vocalist, their fun set included a song about Richard Gere, and covers of, "A message to you Rudy", and "99 luftballons" (yes, with the German lyrics!)
Hearing the last 2 songs of Alkaline Trio's set, I can see why these pop-punkers are moving into the major labels (having just signed with Epic). They've got the chops, but I knew that from having seen them before.
Pepper had infantile lyrics (about being horny and getting stoned), but despite that I rather liked their funk/reggae/punk music. I also have to admit they charmed me by making fun of screamo bands and bands who wear eyeliner.
But the main reason I wanted to be at the Warped Tour was to see Bad Religion. For over 20 years these guys have been making incredible punk rock, and as their incendiary set showed, they show no signs of slowing down. What was truly amazing was that many of the people watching the band were really, REALLY young when songs like, "American Jesus", and, "Infected", came out, but the crowd still went nuts when they played those songs.
The oddest sight of the day happened during Bad Religion's set when a guy in a wheelchair went crowd surfing. Crowd surfing in general is stupid to me, but I have to think it's even stupider to do it in a wheelchair.
Bad Religion closed out their set with, "sorrow", and I closed out my day at the Warped Tour. Sure I would have liked to have stuck around and seen some other acts, but I did not want my drive home to take an hour and 20 minutes.
Other Photos From The Warped Tour
Another year, another Warped Tour. For the past 13 years, the Warped Tour has been reliable, in both good and bad ways.
Good:
- You get to see a lot of bands for less than $30 a ticket (although with surcharges that may not be the case).
Bad:
- A lot of the bands now are screamo/emo (which to some may be a good thing, but I'm not a fan).
Good:
- Even still you can find some really good bands if you check out all the stages, especially all the smaller ones littered around.
Bad:
- The smaller stages are not listed on the big board with the list of all the bands and set times, and many of the bands on the smaller stages don't mention their names so even if you do like them, it's hard to know who they are.
Good:
- Mixed in with all the vendors trying to sell you stuff are some activist groups with information. Among them where PETA and a Go Vegan info tent.
Bad:
- Trying to find anything vegan to eat there. The only vegetarian thing I could find (as I am a vegetarian) was a crappy reheated frozen pizza. If the event runs from 11am until 9pm, and you don't allow people to bring in outside food, you should really try harder to meet the dietary needs of various people. I know I say this every year, and yet nothing ever changes.
Good:
- Raceway Park is only 10 minutes from, where I live.
Bad:
- It took me 1 hour and 20 minutes to drive that normally 10 minute drive. Last year I went to the Warped Tour show in Camden, 1 hour and 30 mintues from where I live, and it took me 1 hour and 30 mintues to get there. I realize Raceway Park doesn't have any major roads leading into it, but then maybe that's why it's not a good location.
Good:
- On the other hand, Raceway Park is much more spacious than when they had the Warped tour in Asbury Park
Bad
- But in Asbury Park I had cell phone reception. Cell phone reception is bad at Raceway Park, and I actually was unable to get an important call about a relative that was sick enough to have to go to the hospital.
So given that I have a bad for every good, why do I still go every year?
Because while I'd like to see the Warped Tour improve upon the things I mention above, it's still one of the best tours going. At any given time there are at least 5 stages going. So if I didn't like the screamo band on one stage, or the watered down pop-punk band on another, I still had at least 3 more stages I could check out.
Some of the highlights:
I caught a bit of Straylight Run as I first walked into Raceway park. Definitely not a traditional punk band, their mainstream piano driven rock wasn't half bad. I would have watched more, but after the long ride there, I was hungry.
Ska, while no longer as hip as it was 10 years ago, is still a big part of the Warped Tour. The Toasters, having been part of the ska scene for over 20 years now, were still one of the best bands I saw all day. High energy, and fun.
Another great ska band was The Fabulous Rudies, employing a male and female vocalist, their fun set included a song about Richard Gere, and covers of, "A message to you Rudy", and "99 luftballons" (yes, with the German lyrics!)
Hearing the last 2 songs of Alkaline Trio's set, I can see why these pop-punkers are moving into the major labels (having just signed with Epic). They've got the chops, but I knew that from having seen them before.
Pepper had infantile lyrics (about being horny and getting stoned), but despite that I rather liked their funk/reggae/punk music. I also have to admit they charmed me by making fun of screamo bands and bands who wear eyeliner.
But the main reason I wanted to be at the Warped Tour was to see Bad Religion. For over 20 years these guys have been making incredible punk rock, and as their incendiary set showed, they show no signs of slowing down. What was truly amazing was that many of the people watching the band were really, REALLY young when songs like, "American Jesus", and, "Infected", came out, but the crowd still went nuts when they played those songs.
The oddest sight of the day happened during Bad Religion's set when a guy in a wheelchair went crowd surfing. Crowd surfing in general is stupid to me, but I have to think it's even stupider to do it in a wheelchair.
Bad Religion closed out their set with, "sorrow", and I closed out my day at the Warped Tour. Sure I would have liked to have stuck around and seen some other acts, but I did not want my drive home to take an hour and 20 minutes.
Other Photos From The Warped Tour