Last Sunday’s Warped Tour in Ventura left me with a wicked sunburn, sore joints, and a deep appreciation for the bands who distracted me from my discomfort with their infallibly upbeat attitudes and earnest performances.
At the Smartpunk stage, The Higher set the mood for my day with cheerfully energetic renditions of songs from their On Fire album. The catchy-as-hell “Histrionics” kept the audience dancing and singing along and put the lyric “One check, one love” in my head for the next half hour or so. An unexpected rocked-up cover of ‘N Sync’s “Bye Bye Bye” elicited a few boos from the crowd, although most people seemed to appreciate and enjoy the novelty. Undeterred, lead vocalist Seth Trotter kept things light afterward with a quick quip: “I think some of the metal crowd were mad that they knew that song.” The set ended with Trotter jumping onto the barricade during the crowd pleasing “Insurance?” to the delight of front-row fans.
I managed to catch the last leg of Cobra Starship’s set at the Vans Highway 1 stage. Their lively performance of “Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)” invoked fond memories of the hit music video from a couple years back, especially when William Beckett of The Academy Is and Travis McCoy of Gym Class Heroes appeared onstage. Who cares that the actual movie was a disappointing flop? This song is pure, unapologetic fun. The band wrapped things up with “Hollaback Boy” â the crass, almost too clever parody of Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” with a surprisingly effective beat. Lead vocalist Gabe Saporta articulated each smug, mocking, oh-so-funny line with a smile, making it all the more entertaining for the audience.
Wanting to hear more of Travis McCoy, I followed him to the Vans Route 66 stage and watched him in action with the rest of Gym Class Heroes. With Marc De Jesus’s trademark flag-waving during each song, McCoy easily pulled fans in with his strong vocals and rousing banter. His demands for the crowd to “put your peace sign up, put your index down” did indeed have people putting a peace sign up and then putting their index fingers down, resulting in a sea of extended middle fingers. Quite a sight. GCH solidified the crowd’s favor by closing with “Cupid’s Chokehold,” their hit song from The Papercut Chronicles, and De Jesus incited one last wave of excitement when he jumped off the stage to crowd surf.
The greatest surprise of the day was Oreskaband, an all-female Japanese ska band whose name literally translates to “We’re a ska band.” Although their lyrics are in Japanese, their music is nearly as accessible as their name. I had no idea who these girls were or what they were singing â or how ska had made its way back as a music trend â but their enthusiasm was i
infectious, their talent was evident, and their blend of brass, percussion, and guitar was undeniably catchy. In their white dress shirts with varying checkered accents, the six teenage girls churned out relentlessly happy-sounding songs that had even the mohawked, tattooed audience members nodding their heads to the beat. They spoke English reasonably well, and any mistakes they did make only added to their charm. While everyone gave the performance their all, trumpeter Saki practically stole the show with her ability to play one-handed and tendency to point the trumpet straight up in the air during her solos. Oreskaband ultimately won me â and many others in the audience â over with their vivacious spirit and unabashed gratitude to be at Warped Tour with us, and we were definitely glad to be with them. 
Back at Route 66, Anberlin reminded me that some songs are best heard live. Their onstage energy infused their already powerful lyrics with a heightened sense of emotion, made all the more palpable when the crowd sang along. Lead vocalist Stephen Christian acknowledged long-time fans by dedicating oldie-but-goodie “A Day Late” from Never Take Friendship Personal to them. Renditions of “Godspeed,” “Hello Alone,” and “Dismantle. Repair.” from their last album Cities juxtaposed powerful bass and guitar riffs with moody, introspective sentiments. “Is this the end of everything we know? Is this the end of everything I am?” Christian sang during “Hello Alone,” so intensely that he almost seemed to expect an answer. The band also graced the audience with “Breaking,” a track fresh off the promising New Surrender whose sound seems to be continuing in the same vein as that of the previous album.
Story of the Year, Relient K, and Reel Big Fish (another ska band!) deserve honorable mentions for delivering reliably solid sets focusing on fan-favorites, while rising artist Katy Perry was yet another pleasant surprise with a bouncy, jubilant performance of her notorious hit “I Kissed A Girl.”
It was difficult to care about my developing sunburn or aching feet when there were so many talents, old and new, being showcased at Warped Tour as only Warped Tour can.
Story by Guest Writer Evelyn Wang
All photos by Winnie Jaing.
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1 Warped Interview: Valencia | LA.CityZine.com - Los Angeles // Jun 26, 2008 at 10:32 am
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