Time Warp(ed)

I am officially not old. If anything, I feel a bit younger, a bit hipper, with a little more spring in my step. Ron and I survived with minimal sunburn. Warped Tour was everything that I excepted. First of all, there was merch as far as the eye could see. In the age of the $40 concert t-shirt, the Warped folks took their attendees into consideration and embraced "punk pricing." Every single band had their own merch tent along the concourse in Comerica, so it was covered and relatively cool, if you took the body heat into account. Daniel walked away with a year subscription to Alternative Press for five bucks, plus a triple (yep) album from one of his favorite bands The Early November and two t-shirts for around $40. I almost snagged a Thursday hoodie for $35 (the most expensive item I saw all day), but opted for The Sounds new album...and we already know how I feel about The Sounds. Secondly, the food was hot and greasy and a 20 ounce bottle of water was only two bucks. We polished off five bottles each that day with only one bathroom break. I love science! Lastly, as Ron put it perfectly, we saw teens embracing all that was teenagedom. We usually see kids out and about in Oakland county (i.e. Birmingham and Royal Oak) and they look like little adults. Tops are just a bit too tight, makeup is applied a little too thick, hair is far too shiny. The Warped kids reminded us of how teens should be - pimpley and awkward and goofy! Kids just need to be kids. Like I said, they made me feel young and they made me appreciate what being young means.

Daniel had a blast. At this point, music is one of the most important things in his life. He has fully embraced playing the guitar and has a great musical ear. He can play most songs after a handful of listens. There was so much going on that you couldn't possibly experience everything. Since this was Dan's day, we had to default to the bands that he really wanted to see, while he tolerated Thursday (too much screaming) and The Sounds ("they were alright," which actually means not alright) for Ron and I. Alas, we missed out on NOFX. They've been on the Warped Tour for the last 150 years, so we'll be seeing them next year. And there will be a next year.

Everyone knows that I have a soft spot for the Warped bands. I hate the word 'emo,' but you know what I mean - jumpy, upbeat, generally lovelorn bands like Motion City Soundtrack, Saves the Day, The Academy Is... Well, none of the bands that I saw disappointed. You couldn't help but get caught up in the lyric-yelling hand-waving, clap-along songs. Dan and I made a serious music trade at the end of the day. Lots to absorb.

Now, a visual representation of the day:


This is Dan - gotta love the hair. His, not mine...


The Academy Is... - I tried to hack it with Dan, but everyone rushed forward when the band took the stage and I panicked a bit. I can't deal with crowdsurfers anymore, so I hung back with Ron at the soundboard. Dan was all the way up to the stage. He's the fan! That's where he's supposed to be! The lead singer is so thin!


Moneen was next. This buzz came from Dan. The guitar player had crazy hair and they were one of the harder bands on the Vagrant stage. Not terrible.


Ron and I stood in line with Dan and he got to meet The Academy Is... and get The World's Coolest Ticket Stub signed by the band . He also walked away with the set list from Motion City Soundtrack. Lucky kid...





The Sounds. Yeah, they get two photos.


The Pink Spiders were up next. Ron and I really liked them - very Hives-ish. I think the band shops at H&M...in the women's department.


Saves the Day - an acoustic treat for the kids. I thought it was a nice palete cleanser. Not a fan of the pink hair, but man, was it a sing-a-long.


This is a crappy photo of Thursday, but they KILLED IT. This is the fourth time I've seen them and the new album is their best yet. At least I caught Geoff Rickley in mid-air!

Reality check of the day: The official program included bios of all the major bands on the bill. The genres of music describing these bands were pulled right out of someone's ass. Emocore? Post-punk screamocore? Pianocore??? Really? Well, my band is pretty much melodic-yodelcore-smoothed-out-xylaphone pop. We sound like Panic! At The Disco.

That is all. Was it hot as balls? Yes. Would I do it again? Without a doubt.