So! Tomorrow I’ll be at the Warped Tour, which brings its traveling road show to the parking lot of Nassau Coliseum, home of the Islanders and the very first concert I saw. While there are some acts that I’m definitely excited to see (The Academy Is…, Against Me!, a couple of other acts that don’t have any punctuation in their name) and some that will be a fine excuse for a smoothie break (Katy [insert swear word here] Perry), there are also many that I don’t really know too much about or at least don’t have much of a bearing on beyond a glimpse in a TV ad. But I figure some members of Idolator’s collective hive mind probably have opinions on at least a few of the bands on tomorrow’s roster, so why not throw the floor open? The full lineup for the show I’ll be sweating out after the jump.
ORESKABAND
3oh!3
Against Me!
Aggrolites
Alesana
All That Remains
Anberlin
Angels and Airwaves
Automatic Loveletter
Beat Union
Bring Me the Horizon
Charlotte Sometimes
Cobra Starship
Confide
Dr. Manhattan
Evergreen Terrace
Every Avenue
Everytime I Die
Forever The Sickest Kids
Four Year Strong
From First to Last
Gym Class Heroes
Horrorpops
Just Surrender
Katy Perry
Lordz
Ludo
MC Chris
Norma Jean
Pennywise
Protest The Hero
Reel Big Fish
Relient K
Say Anything
Set Your Goals
Settings
Shwayze
St. Alivia Cartel
Story of the Year
Street Dogs
The Academy Is…
The Audition
The Bronx
The Fabulous Rudies
The Human Abstract
We the Kings
Oh, The Bronx! I liked that one record of theirs, which I plucked from a promo pile long ago.
Saturday, July 26 [Warped Tour]
Oh God, Maura. You are dedicated to your craft. Nothing about the above description appeals to me in anyway (I think this will be my catchphrase). Tons of kids. Hot parking lot. Nassau Collesium. Eww.
That being said, MC Chris is total nerd-hop, if you like that kind of thing. And Dr. Manhatten was a character from Watchmen, so they got that going for them, which is nice.
Other then that…your on your own.
OH come on, you must know a bunch of these, Maura. My 2 cents:
ORESKABAND - japanese teenage girl ska band. HIGH ENERGY, but very polite in person (we had ice cream together at SXSW 2007)
MC Chris - geek rap, he does a lot of stuff on Adult Swim, his songs are all about Star Wars and candy. Not a joke!
Reel Big Fish - weren’t you a teenager in the ’90s? Their record was REQUIRED LISTENING in South Florida, circa 1996.
@DavidWatts: I was a teenager in the early ’90s. By 1996 I was lost to college radio, but I do remember the Reel Big Fish song on Q101. But ORESKABAND sounds awesome, and I will definitely check them out.
Other bands on the bill I know: Cobra Starship, obv. Say Anything, who many of my male friends adore. We The Kings, who had the crowd eating out of their hand when they opened for Cobra Starship. Gym Class Heroes, who I’ll probably check out since I’m a bit intrigued by what I’ve heard about the sound of their new album. Angels And Airwaves, meh.
Somehow I have never heard Story of the Year, even though I think they’re from Long Island.
You have to know Angels & Airwaves - ex-Blink 182 member, Tom DeLonge?
Gym Class Heroes?
Stay away from Relient K unless Christian Rock is your thing.
The Aggrolites are a good roots reggae/ska band. Really nice old style. Somebody pointed me towards them a ways back and I’ve enjoyed their stuff on MySpace. If I had the chance to see them, I would.
Say Anything’s “…Is a Real Boy” is a masterpiece of an album
My advice is to stay at home.
@PenguinSwim: Ditto, see Say Anything, they’re great. Also I still really like the Ludo single I mentioned in a column a while back, they seem like they could be good live.
Ahh, the Warped Tour: 195 bands, 3 chords.
GCH’s Travis McCoy and Katy Perry have been an item for a while. He just bought her a “promise ring”:
[www.people.com]
@Rob Murphy: once a minister’s daughter, always a shitty singer, i guess.
The Bronx would be the best one…they’ve been one of my favorite L.A. bands for a few years. I’ve seen them numerous times with my other favorite, 400 Blows, and depending on how wasted they are, you may be in for a treat, or just slop. Either way they’re fun to watch. I’m also very eagerly awaiting their next lp after I heard the first track they leaked from it, “Knifeman”. Total heaviness, brah.
Oh, and Against Me! is good too.
@MayhemintheHood: There’s a local bartender here who’s one of the Bronx members’ girlfriend — she’s pretty chill, and from the way she tells it the band are all right guys, so I’ve always had a soft spot for ‘em.
No Gil Mantera’s Party Dream? You lose.
@Ned Raggett: Yes, i’ve heard that those guys are cool as hell. I’d make that assumption just based on their videos…as aggressive and crazy as some of their music is, they seem to have a rad sense of humor.
Norma Jean. Definitely. I saw All that Remains open for Gwar and Dying Fetus once, they were really good.
I also encourage you to, before hand, like nowish, check out Protest the Hero, because you’ll either really hate them or think they’re neat, and its best to discover this prior to dedicating that time.
(I wish they’d stop talking about dying/death/blood)
I will also be there on account of a free ticket. I’m actually looking forward to watching maybe five minutes of Katy Perry. Evergreen Terrace, regardless of their awful name, should hopefully put on a good set of Cookie Monster style vocals.
Christ, some of us have been joking about these kinds of band names since before a lot these bands’ balls even dropped.
*Story of the Year suck but I’ve heard they put on a good show.
*Reel Big Fish should be fun.
*I remember thinking Everytime I Die was overhated back in 04-05. Can’t vouch for objective quality without revisting the records.
@MayhemintheHood: I’d like to think that, since everything else has gotten weirder in the past couple of years, that 400 Blows and Wires on Fire would be main stage acts at Warped by now. Not the case, but still a world I want ot live in.
Hey Maura,
Glad to know I won’t be the only 20-something person there who’s not in college (24). I recommend Ludo, who even Al Shipley has been enjoying in his Corporate Rock Still Sells column. My personal schedule will probably be something along the lines:
Relient K
The Academy Is
Cobra Starship
Against Me!
Set Your Goals
Four Year Strong
Story Of The Year
Reel Big Fish
All Time Low
Pennywise
We The Kings
Angels And Airwaves
Naturally, probably won’t get to see all those since most likely 4 will overlap and I will immediately have 2 hours to spare afterwards. I assume you’re taking the train to Hempstead and then grabbing a cab (best way to do it)?
Bring sunscreen, it’ll be brutal.
@2ironic4u: I put on sunscreen on days when I don’t leave the house! If you see an awkward-looking woman carrying a black and white messenger bag and fumbling with a camera, do say hello.
The way I am getting there is slightly embarrassing given my advanced age. Let’s just say it’s not all that dissimilar to the way I arrived and departed from the Crue show way back when.
@RaptorAvatar: 400 Blows are probably one of my top 5 current bands, and I agree with what you said. They played Alex’s Bar in Long Beach a week or so ago, and The Scene Bar in Glendale about a month ago, and those are basically the same shows they’ve been playing for years. Oh well.
Reel Big Fish: I’m from Orange County and it was horrid having to hear so much about that band in the mid 90’s, as well as all the other third wave “Ska” bands from the area. They peaked at their appearence in Baseketball, if you ask me. It really bewildereds me at how they’re still around, but to quote Maurice Chevalier, “Thank heaven for little girls.”
@Maura Johnston: Which way is that? Bicycle?
@2ironic4u: Mom dropping off?!!
@MayhemintheHood: Reel Big Fish: I’m from Orange County and it was horrid having to hear so much about that band in the mid 90’s, as well as all the other third wave “Ska” bands from the area.
I was in grad school at UCI at the time and working at KUCI…and I would be happy to never, ever, hear about those bands again. Ever.
cough…
@Maura Johnston: Hey, no shame in that. Saves the train fare.
I just had a brilliant idea!
Katy Perry can join Gym Class Heroes for Very Special Performances of “Clothes Off!” and “Cupid’s Chokehold” and sing the Patrick Stump parts.
Like I said — brilliant!
Maura, please do everything in your power to make that happen…
@Rob Murphy: NO.
@Rob Murphy: (I still love you though!)
@2ironic4u: I too am 24 and for some unknown reason I went to Bamboozle for about four hours this past year. I didn’t know someone could feel so old at 24.
@Ned Raggett: That’s funny. Around 96-97 I went down to the KUCI studios a couple times to be on The Ska Parade(friends band, actually, but I did get to say on the air that The Aquabats sucked). I always wished I could’ve worked their or something. Lucky you.
Maura, let me know if there’s anyone worth seeing. I’ve got to take 8 kids to Warped in MKE next week.
Last year I saw Biffy Clyro at the noon slot…. I like them!
Street Dogs are ex-Dropkick Murphys.
Not a selling point. At least for me.
Bands I never knew were on Warped Tour:
Civ three times.
Quicksand once.
Orange 9 twice.
Seaweed once.
SOIA once.
Skarhead once.
So says Wikipedia.
How far it’s fallen.
I’d sooner be shot in the face than see Katy Perry. Stay drunk, Maura.
I would see Reel Big Fish and Pennywise, and then avoid any band with punctuation marks in their name. In my own personal opining, I’d save my dollars and go see Between the Buried and Me at some other venue for half the price. Now they put on an excellent show, as long as there are no seats in audience.