Everyone complains about Warped Tour.
Maybe "everyone" is an exaggeration - young teenagers, like all of our little brothers and sisters, are probably uber-stoked for this year's 17th annual Vans Warped Tour. The tour features a ton of crappy metalcore bands, so it makes sense for middle- and high-school-aged kids to rejoice over the lineup.
But for you and I, young adults in their 20-somethings, we often wonder what happened to the glory days of the tour. Blink-182 used to play this tour. The Starting Line used to play on this tour.
Let's take a sample lineup from what might have been Warped Tour's grandest year: 2003. The Ataris, Brand New, The Early November, Less Than Jake, Midtown, Motion City Soundtrack, Something Corporate, The Starting Line, Taking Back Sunday, Thrice and Yellowcard were a chunk of the bands that made up that year's now-legendary lineup.
Today, that doesn't look so much like a potential lineup for Warped Tour as it does a dream world I wish I could stay in forever. Warped used to be the place that made those dreams come true; for a while it would be the place any young music listener could go to if they wanted to watch many of their favorite bands.
In fact, there is only one band from that 2003 lineup that is performing the entirety of Warped Tour this year: Gainesville's own Less Than Jake.
But this column isn't another Warped-bashing article. Plenty of those can be found across the blogosphere of Tumblrs and whatever else teenagers type their thoughts on. I love Warped Tour. I've been every year for the last three years, and I have no shame in saying this weekend will be my fourth consecutive year attending.
The tour will sweep through its three traditional Florida dates beginning tomorrow. Friday the tour is in Orlando, Saturday in West Palm Beach and Sunday it travels to St. Petersburg.
So here's my defense for Warped. It may not be all that well thought out, and it may be sort of weak when you compare it to - um - better thought-out things, but here it is.
What else are you going to do that day?
Seriously, most of the 20-somethings that complain about the lineup are all sitting behind their computers with their glasses, frowning about crap-core bands like Black Veil Brides and wishing on their lucky stars for a Midtown/Starting Line/Early November reunion tour that won't be happening anytime soon.
My view on the whole issue is that going out for a day in the sweltering Florida sun couldn't hurt you. Well, it won't hurt if you remember sunblock. But really, the lineup this year isn't as bad as people are saying.
By my count, there are 12 bands I really hope I get to watch one day this weekend. Since I'm attending all three of the Florida dates courtesy of Less Than Jake, I'll probably get to see everyone on my list. And while I won't name my whole list, there are a few bands that I might highlight to help turn the tides in some people's minds.
First off, Gainesville is well-represented this year. Against Me! and Less Than Jake are holding down the fort throughout the whole tour, and both are solid punk-based groups to see on the main stage. While everyone whines about the lack of punk on the tour, Warped also features one of the most exciting punk bands from overseas: Sharks.
The highlight of the tour for me comes in the form of two artists on Hopeless Records' roster - The Wonder Years and The Dangerous Summer. The Wonder Years are one of the brightest up-and-coming pop-punk groups in the scene, and The Dangerous Summer is riding a huge wave of momentum stemming from their recent full-length release.
"I feel like bashing the Warped Tour is kind of ‘in' nowadays," said Joshua Martin, bassist for Philadelphia's The Wonder Years. "It's just like how kids will complain if your band plays a 500-cap venue instead of a basement. I think it's rooted in jealousy that other kids have gotten in on ‘their little secret.'"
Martin suggested some of his own bands to check out for us. Included in his list were Bad Rabbits, Lucero, Terrible Things, The Menzingers, Moving Mountains, Set Your Goals and Veara.
Of course, people will point out the awful bands that Warped CEO Kevin Lyman has made a habit of including on the bill over the last few years. While those groups used to infiltrate dark and guyliner-filled corners of the lineup, they have definitely accounted for a majority recently.
Among 2011's worst names are quite a few lol-core groups like Attack Attack! and Blood On The Dancefloor, complementing laughable acts like Black Veil Brides, I Set My Friends On Fire, Of Mice and Men and We Came As Romans.
"I think the line-up is diverse," Martin said. "Some of the bands are incredible and some of them, well, I don't fully understand. Potential Warped Tour goers should be sure to look deeper into the list of bands than just who is playing on the main stage."
I say it's time to stay positive. There isn't really much room for crybabies in a music industry that's thirsting for profits. Lyman puts bands on the tour that will attract an audience that is willing to blindly pay $40 for a couple of bands they are familiar with - and that demographic just so happens to be teenagers whose parents pay for their tickets.
If I'm playing the Devil's advocate, it's easy enough to say Lyman could recruit a group of about 15 bands like that 2003 lineup that I'm sure would attract large numbers of 20-somethings like ourselves that are longing for years past. How much would you pay to see that 2003 lineup today? Infinity doll hairs? Me too.
If you're stuck in Gainesville this weekend pretending to study for summer semester finals, maybe consider driving out a couple of hours to Orlando or St. Pete to check out the Warped Tour. Try to see some of those bands I listed or just wander around, chuckle as you pass Attack Attack! and see if you discover something new you like.
I know that's what I'll be doing this weekend - and it's probably what I'll be doing as long as Warped is around.
