The first band I came upon was Skinny Lister. From London, England, these guys are pure Celtic music that leans more toward traditional Celtic folk than rock. Of course, I attended their acoustic show, so perhaps that’s why they sounded more folky. That’s not a complaint. Skinny Lister was gobs of fun. This five-piece band includes Lorna, the only female and predominantly lead singer (and dancer, just to liven things up). She steals the show. Then there’s Dan Hephinstall on vocals and acoustic guitar (and a lot of stomp), Max Thomas on vocals, mandolin and melodica (name any other band that uses a melodica), Sam (the Make Brace) on electric guitar and concertina, and Dan Gray on stand up bass. I spoke with Lorna briefly after their acoustic performance (I missed the non-acoustic set) who said the name Skinny Lister doesn’t come from the Red Dwarf TV series, but from someone they once went to school with.
Ballyhoo was the next band I made the effort to seek out. This foursome from the Baltimore area has been a band for seventeen years. Singer guitarist Howi even has that perfect skate punk look and voice. They are pleasantly poppy with some elements or reggae thrown in and had enough hooks in their music to open a mega tackle store. He also possesses a good sprinkling of that on stage charisma that adds to the band’s charm.
Musically think of Blink 182, with a hint of Sublime and some early Weezer and you’ve got Ballyhoo. The rest of the band is comprised of Big D on drums, Mista J on bass and Blaze who stood stoic behind his keyboards until the very end when he grabbed a mic, leaned into the crowd and belted out some songs, igniting the audience into a broil. Ballyhoo was impressive, to say the least.
After Ballyhoo it was time to search for comestibles and this was where my good mood came to an abrupt halt. All the food vendors except one were closed down so all we had a choice of were burgers, hot dogs, fries or pizza. Too bad for those wanting healthier options. To make matters worse, the prices were outrageous. In Warped Tours past there was always a decent selection. The food wasn’t haute cuisine, but it was priced reasonably and of decent quality. I don’t know who was in charge of food at this years’ Warped but it’s to the gallows for them. A burger with fries and a drink was eleven dollars. A hot dog alone was five dollars and for your five dollars all you got was a skimpy hot dog on a skimpy bun. For topping you had ketchup and mustard — no onions, no relish. This was total highway robbery. You weren’t allowed to re-enter the amphitheater once you left and the nearest food place was about five miles away anyway, so they had us trapped. I ate a hot dog and went to see the next band.
After Mighty Mongo I headed off to the Kia Soul Stage for New Found Glory. They were already on stage when I arrived as Mighty Mongo spilled into their set ever so slightly. New Found Glory were in top form sporting identical basketball uniforms with their band name emblazoned on the front. The packed crowd was on fire as they crowd surfed and tumbled over the four-foot barricade in front of the stage. Security earned their keep catching the surfers one after another. The highlight of the New Found Glory show was their performing with gusto Green Day’s Basket Case. Everyone sang along word for word as they slammed into each other and the crowd surfing grew more intense.
Unfortunately no photographs were allowed. I’m not sure if New Found Glory are now so high and mighty that they don’t allow photographs or if this was an event decision. So much for having a photo pass. At least their performance was as lively as ever and they did not disappoint. After New Found Glory finished their set, I wandered off in search of another band to watch. My ear caught hold of The Greatest American Heroes, a punk rock quartet from Alaska who played some catchy power pop punk a little reminiscent of Blink 182 but with a harder edge. Their infectious energy and easy rapport with the audience even got a small circle pit going, which grew more intense when they performed a raucous song called Batman Girl. I think they won my prize for most charismatic.
When The Greatest American Heroes finished their set it was off to the main stadium to see my favorites, the band I really came to see, Streetlight Manifesto. I arrived at the amphitheater and expected to get down to the front of the stage where I could take pictures and be intimate with the band. I flashed my photo pass but got told only VIPs were allowed down in front. In other words, only those who paid extra got to be that close. Apparently the press wasn’t considered VIP. Again, so much for a photo pass. I was relegated to sitting up high where I could barely see the musicians on stage let alone what they were doing. I could hear them well enough, but I could have brought my I pod for that privilege. I stayed for their set and was doubly disappointed that they only played only for a half hour. What a rip-off. At least there weren’t any more bands that I wanted to see playing that stage. By now I was getting hungry but didn’t want to spend the rest of my money buying substandard foods for inflated prices. I wanted to stay until the end to see Yellow Card and Taking Back Sunday, but wouldn’t last without sustenance.
On my way to the exit, however, I had to pass some more stages and another band caught my attention. This was the all girl five-piece from Minneapolis called Sick of Sarah. These girls rocked my socks off! They are girl power. They have “tude” and reminded me of The Runaways. Front woman Abisha Uhl belted out the songs with wild abandon and reminded me very much of a young Joan Jett. The bass player, Jamie Holm, channeled Lita Ford. For the entire set I had to convince myself I wasn’t sent here via some sort of time warp and this really WAS the Runaways. Sick of Sarah gives their all to their performance. Uhl never stays in one spot for more than a few seconds and the entire band gave off such energetic vibes they very quickly had a good crowd cheering them on. Rounding out Sick of Sarah is Jessie Farmer on guitar, Katie Murphy, Lead Guitar & Backup Vocals, Jessie Farmer, Lead and Rhythm Guitar & Backup Vocals, Jessica Forsythe, Drums and Backup Vocals. Perhaps the punk rock gods were trying to atone the disappointment of Streetlight Manifesto by having me stumble upon Sick of Sarah. I am in love with this band, and though I saw many incredibly wickedly awesome bands, Sick of Sarah turned out to be my favorite. I implore any punk rock fan to see them when they scoot through your city. They are not only The Runaways reincarnate, but they are also the female Ramones.
By now I was starving, so I left the premises without seeing Yellow Card or Taking Back Sunday. I’ll just have to hope those two bands play concerts here in Seattle in the not too distant future.
Incidentally, I just heard two DJs on KGRG state pretty much the same as what I just wrote about Streetlight Manifesto. They just weren’t up to par. Too bad. I guess I should have gone to see Cheri Bomb instead, but I love SL Manifesto so much, I really wanted to see them again.
My overall take on Warped Tour is that although I saw some pretty awesome bands, Warped has gone downhill. There was the food issue, for one, the fact that you had to pay extra to be in front for bands playing the main stage. This never was the case before. No one working there knew where the press tent was, so I never found it. I couldn’t take pictures of New Found Glory and that was a let down. But mostly, Warped has not been able to attract any of the bigger punk names that they’ve attracted in the past. I attended my first Warped Tour event exactly ten years ago and NOFX headlined. I’ve seen Bad Religion, Flogging Molly, Rancid, Bouncing Souls, Less Than Jake and even Joan Jett play Warped Tour. Rise Against were on the tour this year, but didn’t play the Seattle event. Maybe the aforementioned bands feel they’ve outgrown Warped Tour because they can fill pretty good sized houses on their own now or maybe they’re all playing the many great music festivals in Europe. Whatever the reason, I hope Warped can spring back into action. A punk rock festival is a great thing to have around.
All photos property of Holly Homan, all rights reserved.
