Whenever I even mention the thought of attending Warped Tour to most people in my age bracket, the following statement usually follows; “I’m too old for that shit.” It’s true; Warped Tour, will make you feel incredibly old. If you have gone in past years, you will most likely utter “the (place year here)lineup was so much better” and/or “these kids have no taste.” While I, for the most part, agree with the latter when it comes to about 90% of the tour’s roster, there are always a few bands that make it well worth it. This year, along with tour-veterans Bad Religion, Alkaline Trio and Bayside, UK-uber-hyped-hardcore-youngsters Gallows were among the highlights.

Continue after the jump for the rest of the review and more pictures.

The Warped Tour marked the Gallow’s first long-term stay in the States. While they are slowing gaining attention on this side of the pond, the band made their presence known…quickly. No mic stand or audience member was safe in their wake. The band played a handful of songs off their ferocious debut Orchestra of Wolves, which was recently picked up and reissued by Epitaph. Despite lead singer Frank Carter’s vocal issues, ailments didn’t stop him from getting into the crowd and belting his heart out. Gallow’s set was just like the weather that day; blistering, sweaty and in-your-face till the end. Luckily for all of you who were afraid to venture out into the sweltering heat, the band will be back in the States this fall supporting label mates Bad Religion. Also, be on the look out for an interview I did with the band members Steph and Frank this week.

Speaking of Bad Religion, the punk-rock iconoclasts (legends, heroes, whatever you want to call them), with-out-a-freaking-doubt, put all the trendy bastards and wannabees to shame on Saturday. Touring for the release of their fourteen album New Maps Of Hell, the band slammed through a set filled with new songs like “Requiem For Dissent,” and “Honest Goodbye,” and pleased the mohawked-vets with classics such as “Fuck Armageddon… This is Hell,” “You” and “Do What You Want.” It’s pretty amazing how on-point the band remains after all these years.

I felt like Alkaline Trio’s set was somewhat lacking. Perhaps it’s because I haven’t been a fan of the band’s last two releases and that’s what the set mostly relied on. But hey, even a mediocre set from the Trio was enough to satisfy me on this day.

Local boys Bayside were the fan favorites of the day and had their set extended by ten minutes. Watching the security guards prepare for the outslaught of crowd-surfin’ kids was hilarious. One guard muttered before the first song, “this is gonna get bad.”

So there you have it. Despite some of the undesirable elements, Warped Tour generally succeeds in it’s main goal; for people to have fun. Even if I don’t go crazy for Paramore (I did take a picture though…yeah) or whoever the flavor of the week is, I did get to see two of my all-time favorites, did not get sunburned and just remembered what made this tour so much fun as a youngster.

Gallows

Bad Religion

Alkaline Trio

You can check out more pictures at our Flickr page.

Tags: Alkaline Trio, Bad Religion, Bayside, Gallows, Paramore, Warped Tour //