No two experiences the same at Warped Tour ‘08
Jul 25th, 2008 by Rosemary
This just in from eager reader Jaden on the Warped Tour:
In the early years of the Warped Tour, the daylong musical event featuring multiple fast-paced, hard-hitting punk and ska acts certainly wasn’t for everyone.
What started in 1994 as a skater-kid’s paradise, however, has morphed into something with much wider appeal, as was witnessed this week by those who attended the show in Mansfield this week.
Vans Warped Tour 2008 features bands playing musical genres ranging from rap to metal-core, hard-core to rock, pop to the original ska and punk, and even some folk.
The coolest thing about Warped Tour is that everyone who goes is bound to have a different experience. More than 80 bands play on any given date (the acts are changed up throughout the season), on several different stages. That means your musical preferences will drive your individual experience, since there’s no way you can see them all.
I saw nine bands in Mansfield: Automatic Love Letter, Ore Ska Band, Reel Big Fish, MC Chris, The Pirate Signal, Gym Class Heroes, Shwayze, Alesana and 3OH!3. And I may have been able to squeeze in a few others if not for the rain that ripped through the venue, causing event organizers to shoo us all to our cars until the storm passed. Luckily, it didn’t last long and we only lost an hour of performance time.
Of those I saw my favorites were Reel Big Fish, Shwayze, and, to my surprise, Ore Ska Band.
Seasoned ska punksters Reel Big Fish rocked with some amazing covers, including a popular rendition of A-Ha’s “Take On Me,” and an on-point version of Metallica’s “Sandman.” Their own number, “She Has A Girlfriend Now,” delivered laughter, as did a parody of the popular new song by Katy Perry, “I Kissed A Girl.”
Shwayze, an up-and-coming alternative hip-hop artist from Malibu, Calif, seemed incredibly comfortable onstage for an artist whose first album won’t be out until the end of August. He’s got a mellow, groovy sound. And I didn’t expect him to be quite so polished given how thinly he has been spread, cutting that album and working on the new reality TV show, “Buzzin.’” He was, though. Check him out if you get a chance.
Ore Ska Band is made up entirely of young Japanese girls — yes, that’s right. They were signed in 2006 while still in high school and I can see why.
I saw their performance on a fluke when they took the stage after another act I’d seen. Out come these six young ladies dressed in identical school uniforms, each holding a different instrument: trombone, guitar, drums, trumpet, sax and bass.
Their energy was infectious and even though most people didn’t understand a word (they sing in Japanese), as soon as they hit a note people began gravitating to this stage from others, flocking up front to check them out.
They have a crazy vibe, laughing with the audience and jumping up and down while playing beautifully. At the end of the day, I was shocked to say that I enjoyed this performance by a group unknown to me who sung in a different language more than any of the others.
I won’t forget this Warped Tour experience and I bet all those other people who attended and had different experiences are saying the same thing. It’s pretty cool for a tour to offer that experience: to help people stretch their musical interests and open their ears to something new .
After seeing how far it’s come since 1994, I can’t wait to see how the tour will revamp itself over the next 20 years. I know no rain can keep me away.
