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warped
2001-07-23-7:45 a.m.
You know that feeling you get when you come back from a concert or some sort of all day festival? Well I'm on that high now. I went to the Vans Warped Tour last night. I'm not so big on all the "culture" that goes with it, all the companies trying to hawk their products to their target demographic, 4 dollar bottled water and a poorly coordinated show by the venue (no shade, not enough room to see the bands or the skaters) but the music and perfomances really shined through. The feeling of excitement is more evident for me I think, because of how discordant the entire experience is compared to life in my neck of the woods. To be surrounded by a culture (californian mostly) that is so different than what I experience everyday is a welcome little break. Mostly my appreciation of punk rock music is just that, mine. I listen in my car, in my office and in my room, occasionally wear a t-shirt or share the music with a friend, but overall the slow, meandering pace of life in Texas is very contradictory to the positive, energetic tone of punk rock. And when I say punk I'm using it pretty broadly of course. Although somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 bands played, I mostly went to see three bands, Pennywise, AFI, and 311. Pennywise canceled, (really upset about that), but AFI was an experience to say the least. The guys sound punk/sorta heavy, but the lead singer dresses goth! Not impressed with that, not my bag, but the music and his singing were still great, even if made a little campy by the makeup and long hair...*sheesh* Finally, 311 came out and kicked ass. This is the third time I've seen them, and they always have a great show. For me, what makes a show great is how the band reacts and plays to the audience, with each other, and how the audience plays back. I dont' think anyone was watching any of the other bands when 311 was on as the stage area was packed, everybody stood on their seats, and everyone sang along. Of course with the punk/reggae/alternative/rap style that they have, some of the lyrics flow pretty quickly. And for those of you who may think 311 may be ripping off the new "rap metal" bands out there, shut-the-fuck-up before I kick your ass. Their new album "From Chaos" is their 6th and they've been around for well over a decade. And still no one has managed to copy them or rip them off. You've got the spirit and speed of punk, the overall musical style of alternative, the positivity and sometimes heavy influence of reggae/funk musical trips, and the lyrical flow of rap. You've got the good, without the bad (no whiny alternative crap, no rap-like bravado etc...) Anyway, seeing and being reminded that people DO live their life differently is a great thing. And another thing, I didn't see a single fight at the show, out of thousands of packed people in 100 plus degree heat. Bet there would have been at least 2 or three drunken brawls at a country music show. I wont bother to explain why. I'll challenge anyone to tell me of a type of music that is less selfish, cares more about helping people out, and still sounds good. (automatically discounting that bob denver/uplifting/gospel/world music scene) ;-)
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