Warped Once Again
The Warped Tour 2004:
Raceway Park, NJ - August 8
Ten years ago no one would have thought that the Warped Tour would out last such concert package mainstays as Lollapalooza and The Horde Tour, but here we are in 2004, and the Warped Tour is bigger and larger than ever. Sure most of the bands aren’t the same (hell, with the exception of Sick of it All and the Swingin’ Utters none of those bands from the first tour are still even together), and for the first time in a decade the New Jersey venue has been moved from Asbury Park to a land less seedy, but the punk rock atmosphere is still here.
The new location, NJ’s own Raceway Park (Sunday, Sunday, Sunday) was a logistical nightmare, as 4,000 cars attempted to access the arena from one tiny road, but once through the doors the Warped Tour was the same as it ever was. Six or so stages scattered across a few acres of tar and gravel hosted dozens of the latest and greatest bands to wear the punk banner.
The International Noise Conspiracy swaggered on stage with their matching striped outfits and shouted a firm message to the audience, “Oust Bush, then get rid of Kerry. Anarchy rules,” or something like that. The band played a handful of tunes off their last two records, but the singer was prone to chatter between songs rather than take advantage of the band’s meager half-hour time slot.
Across the field, Tiger Army were jazzing up the crowd with their version of American Psychobilly. The band unveiled their new drummer just days after announcing the departure of Fred Hell who had to bow out after surviving a shoot out a year ago. The band’s new songs stray more to the rock-a-billy side of punk and the fans weren’t quite as into the tunes as they were to more angst ridden tracks like “Fuck The World.”
The crowd was brutal during Thursday’s set. Fans split into massive mosh pits engulfing unsuspecting scenesters in waves of aggression and testosterone. Singer Geoff Rickley bounced and screamed through an assortment of hardcore gems, diving towards the audience and shouting himself hoarse.
Two surprises of the afternoon were Midtown and New Found glory. Both modern rock staples came off way cooler onstage then on MTV. Midtown were relentless in their hardcore voicing with guitars chugging and drums blazing. Yes, they sounded a bit generic, but nowhere near as poppy as I thought they would be. The crown princes of the MTV punk generation New Found Glory were also entertaining. Every ounce of energy they had was put into their half-hour in the sun and the audience ate it up. The lead singer sounded like a cross between Pulley’s Scott Radinsky and NoFX’s Fat Mike on speed.
Over at the South stage, Lars and The Bastards showed off their new viking/biker motif while tearing through their ‘hits.’ The band sounds like Rancid when they were good, which is sad considering the front man is also Rancid’s guitarist.
The highlight of my afternoon was this little gem of a band hidden behind a van in the middle of the field. Humorously named Shiragirl, this raunchy trio of femme fatales lit up their little spot with a half dozen quirky hip-hop inspired punk tunes calling for action against just about everything. The band ditched the drums in exchange for turntables and the guitarist chugged out some awesome riffs. Lead singer and the coolest gal at the Warped Tour Shira dominated the crowd with her gyrating moves and venomous vocals, awkwardly touching fans in time to her cheerleader on crack routine. Shiragirl rocked the Warped tour.
Finally, we headed over to the North stage to witness possibly the only metal band to grace the Warped Tour this year. Avenged Sevenfold is a treat for fans who like some dueling guitars with their punk rock. The lead singer looked like a slightly less-buff Danzig while crooning like the lead singer of Pantera and posturing like no one else on the tour. The guitarists posed for photographers inch deep in white make-up and mascara. Double-bass drums tore apart the stage as the singer dove into the crowd singing about murder and death. Four songs in half an hour was all we were treated to, but those four songs were more intense than anything that came from the Warped speakers all day.
