Vans Warped
Tour goes heavy, wears Prada
Vans Warped Tour
July 14, 2009
Merriweather Post Pavilion
Columbia, Maryland
By GREG MAKI
Live Photos: Shooter Jennings, The Devil Wears Prada, In This Moment, Escape the Fate
Interviews: Black Tide, Alana Grace, In This Moment, Shooter Jennings
My second Warped Tour experience left me no less amazed than my first. Seventy-five bands performed on seven stages. Each seemed to bring with it a devoted fan following, even the many I had never heard of before. Most of the bands on the tour fall into the punk category—or some offshoot of it—but there are always exceptions, ensuring a diverse group of music-lovers, young and old (but mostly young), in attendance.
I was drawn to the acts that stood farthest from the pack, and none did that more than Shooter Jennings. I don’t know how to classify his music—it’s a little bit country, a little bit rock ‘n’ roll, a little bit something else—but I know Warped Tour and the majority of its paying customers have seen anything like it. Performing in the early evening on the out-of-the-way Skullcandy Stage, Jennings played to a small crowd, focusing his set on songs from his upcoming album, Black Ribbons (due in October). It represents an exciting new direction for Shooter—sort of a psychedelic Southern rock sound. Mixed in with the four new songs were staples “Steady at the Wheel” and “Daddy’s Farm,” the latter a showcase for new lead guitarist John Schreffler. I hope Warped Tour continues to book acts off its usual beaten path in the years ahead and, better yet, puts them on stages where more people might see them.
The heaviest band of the day—maybe the heaviest this tour has ever had—was The Devil Wears Prada. Evidently, their brand of Christian metalcore is fairly popular, as they played on the main stage to a rabid audience (and their latest album, With Roots Above and Branches Below, debuted at No. 11 on the U.S. Billboard Top 200). The pits were some of the biggest I have seen recently.
Maybe everyone had gotten their fill of metal by the time In This Moment went on at 7:15 p.m. Or maybe no one could find them. The Ernie Ball Stage—essentially a very small flatbed truck—was hidden at the top of the hill that serves as Merriweather’s lawn, behind the many band merch booths. In This Moment has toured with Ozzy, Rob Zombie and Megadeth, but I suppose Warped Tour is a whole new ballgame. Their set relied more on their debut, 2007’s Beautiful Tragedy, than last year’s follow-up, The Dream, and omitted the current single, a cover of the Blondie classic “Call Me.” The Dream is in more of a hard rock vein, but this set was pure metal. It surprised me that they went that direction on this tour, but I liked it.
I didn’t watch any other performances in their entirety, but what I saw emphasized the tour’s diversity—Lights, with nothing but keyboards (including a keytar!) and drums; the upbeat rock of Meg & Dia; the metalcore of Escape the Fate; the punkish, Joan Jett-like rock of Tat; a small piece of Black Tide’s classic metal stylings; whatever it is that Jeffree Star does. There were a few more acts I would have liked to have seen but missed due to either being stuck in traffic or conducting interviews. But I was satisfied with my day and I look forward to seeing what Warped Tour 2010 has to offer.
COMPLETE BAND LINEUP
MAIN STAGE
After Midnight Project, Chiodos, Less Than Jake, The Devil Wears Prada, Underoath, Anti-Flag, Flogging Molly, Bad Religion, NOFX, 3OH!3
HURLEY STAGE
Sing It Loud, Saosin, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Tat, A Day to Remember, Gallows, Escape the Fate, The Maine, Bayside, Alexisonfire
SMARTPUNK STAGE
A Skylit Drive, Dance Gavin Dance, A Rocket to the Moon, Breathe Carolina, Hit the Lights, The White Tie Affair, Senses Fail, Jeffree Star, There for Tomorrow
HURLEY.COM STAGE
P.O.S., Lights, Meg & Dia, Streetlight Manifesto, Millionaires, Big D & The Kids Table, Westbound Train, Black Tide, I Set My Friends on Fire
SKULLCANDY STAGE
Therefore I Am, Attack! Attack!, Ivy League, The AKAs, TV/TV, Shad, Innerpartysystem, Shooter Jennings, Brokencyde, The Architects
KIA/KEVIN SAYS STAGE
The Scenic, Rossy Likes Red, Alana Grace, Mercy Mercedes, The Blackout, Down with Webster, Jet Lag Gemini, Kelsey and the Chaos, Vamps, Landmines, Knock Out Theory, Reflective Insight, Detox Retox
ERNIE BALL STAGE
Oh, The Story, Adalie, Behold the Flood, Dropout Year, Shut Up & Deal, Self Made Soul, Longway, Madina Lake, Monty Are I, Versa Emerge, Settings, Aiden, In This Moment |
