Photo by Tim Norek
Warped Tour 2008 - Susquehannah Amphitheater,
Camden, NJ - July 25, 2008
By Phil Rainone, Tim Norek & Frank
Norek. with help from Stephen Rainone, and
inspiration from Nicole Norek, photos by Brian
Rentas and Tim Norek
Punk, Funky Crunk, Lame-ass Junk
…and the Ultimate Philly Cheese steak
Recipe!
The 14th annual Warped Tour hit Camden, NJ
on a cloudless, 85-degree, blue-sky Friday,
as we arrived via the NJ Turnpike around noon
time. After driving around the city streets
for about an hour before finding a parking
spot, we got in line. The waiting time was
a scant 15 minutes from parking to picking
up our tickets and press passes.
Two of the girls
from The Oreska Band with two of the boys
from the Jersey Beat crew
With 65 bands spread across 8 stages, the
Camden Warped Tour covered an area of about
100 yards, stretched from the amphitheater
to the two main stages, with the other smaller
stages (and tons of fun) in-between! My only
gripe was that when we got to the press area,
which was a small room inside the Amphitheater,
we were told that they had "gone green,"
as in there was only one sheet for interview
times, and one for show times. Both were on
8 x 11 sheets that were taped to the wall
behind a couch. They could of at least used
some kind of chalk board big enough for everyone
to see, and not have a clusterfuck trying
to write everything down at once. To their
credit, this year the Warped Tour enlisted
EarthEcho International to shine a spotlight
(solar powered) on how the Warped Tour is
getting green with the Warped Eco Initiative:
Biodiesel for the 55 buses and 15 semis, a
Solar Stage (the Kia/Kevin Says Stage) run
entirely on solar power, and Clean Catering,
in which they ditch the styrofoam plates,
plastic forks, knives, and so on for reusable
tableware.
In the past, they used the outside patio
for interviews where the press could relax
and do interviews with ease. This year, all
the interviews and check in’s were done
in this tiny room, and most interviews were
done standing up. Bethany, who was coordinating
all this mayhem, was the quiet in the eye
of the storm. She handled everything with
a smile, and a lot of grace. While writing
down the times for the bands sets, Tim noticed
that Reel Big Fish were scheduled to go on
at 1:30 in the afternoon. It was already 1:30
so we headed out to the Route 66 stage (they
renamed the main stages this year, the other
one being Route 1), for the fun and merriment
that was about to explode via Reel Big Fish's
set!
Reel Big Fish -
Photo by Tim Norek
As is traditional with the Warped Tour, all
the bands, except the closers played half-hour
sets. Pennywise was supposed to be the closer
at Camden, but for some reason they got switched
with Gym Class Heroes, which was a disappointment,
as I'll get to later. We got to the main stage
just as Reel Big Fish swung into one of their
biggest hits, (most the bands were playing
their hits) "She Has a Girlfriend Now,"
in which they added the line "I kissed
a girl and I liked it," as the crowd
roared their approval/ disgust to newcomer
(and hopefully only appearance on the Warped
Tour) Katy Perry's nauseating "I Kissed
a Girl." (We passed by her set later
that day in the amphitheater, where the crowd
gave her a lukewarm response.) This was RBF's
fourth Warped Tour, which means they have
a lot of experience preserving their sanity
while dealing with a lack of showers and a
lot of down time, as they mentioned in the
interview band we did, which was like trying
to bottle liquid lighting. Still, they played
like they had something to prove! "I
Hate Your Guts," "SR," "Beer,"
and an stage- quakin, speaker- reverberatin'
crowd surfin' over-the-top cover of A-Ha's
"TaKe On Me" left us all wide awake
and wanting more - a lot more!
Sometimes during the day we'd just wander
around (we don't need no stinkin' schedules),
and just follow the music. That happened to
Frank as we were trying to find each other.
Tim and I just missed a great set (as Frank
will tell you in his story) by the Japanese
ska band Oreskaband (look for their CD review
in JB).
Crash Car Burn
- Photo by Brian Rentas
The good times this year came with a bit
of a problem. With gas prices soaring, I saw
a lot of car pooling among the fans (including
us), but attendance was nearly on pace with
2007. To date, the Warped Tour reported that
they had sold 630,000 tickets, with just a
handful of dates left this year. Some of the
bands reportedly had a tough time making ends
meet, as the Warped Tour, even with its major
sponsors, had to work with the DIY ethic throughout
the tour. But the tour's communal spirit and
experience is something that is still special
and unique.
The bands ranged from hardcore punk like
The Bouncing Souls and Pennywise, to poppier
emo bands like The Academy Is, as well as
not-exactly-punk acts including the electro-dance
pop duo 30H!3 (who rolled and tumbled about
the stage - weird fun!), and Gym Class Heroes.
You’ve gotta see Family
Force 5 (whom we interviewed), who were nothing
but phenomenal, in their own special way!
FF5 don't take themselves as seriously as
GCH obviously do. Family Force 5 know a parody
when they see one, while laying down jams
that are so damn funky that this uptight white
boy shook his groove thing from start to finish.
And I'm such a bad dancer that they pay me
NOT to dance. Along with Frank, Tim and the
rest of the newly anointed chosen of body
poppin' people, we were gettin' down to everything
from crunk to punk, garnished with classic
bits of 80's electronic nostalgia like Transformers
and Nintendo!!
Alex of All Time Low - Photo by Brian Rentas
As for Gym Class Heroes, after seeing FF5,
we all concurred (at least the three of us)
that even though GCH tried to pull off a cover
song along with their "hit, " "Clothes
Off," they were not worthy to carry Family
Force 5's equipment (weird and wacky stuff),
or take FF5's back-up dancers’ gold
lame outer space jumpsuits to the dry cleaners!
Family Force 5 are a text book lesson in unrestrained,
over-the-top rockin out, compared to the Gym
Class Heroes’ lame prize-in-the-cereal-box,
cookie-cutter crap.
Although I didn't see any signs
of the Adult Daycare Tent that they had in
the past, there were old and new Warped Tour-ist
sites. Some of the cooler stuff included the
Vans Amateur Skate Ramp, Kia Soul Lounge,
Take Action Area, the Monster Energy Drink
VIP Area... Hey, wait a minute, speaking of
"VIP," what the fuck was that tower
in the middle of the two main stages? We happened
to come across it toward the end of the day.
Yeah, it was about 20 feet high and held about
50 people with a "VIP" sign on it!
We took a photo because we couldn't believe
it! Ok, I can see getting corporate sponsors
on board, but anything "VIP"?? I
thought that was what the Warped Tour was
NOT about. Everyone being pretty much equal,
with a DIY attitude, no egos... WHAT THE FUCK?
A VIP STAGE!! Ok, I got that outta my system...
Bouncing Souls -
Photo by Tim Norek
I could have kicked myself in the butt for
missing the Girlz Garage, and could have done
without the Trojan Scream Machine. The sun
was peeking out from a few clouds, and the
temps only reached the mid 80's, as The Bouncing
Souls took the stage about 5pm. After a few
interviews, including a wonderfully wacky
chat with Reel Big Fish, we were energized
for the Souls set. When we spoke to them during
the interview, Brian and Greg had mentioned
that this was the only Jersey show they were
doing on the Tour, but I've got a sneaky suspicion
that after they played that day, they may
have gone to the "Warped Tour After Party"
that Asbury Lanes was throwing later that
night! Now, I'm not as big a Souls fan as
Tim (he had a smile on his face a mile wide
when we interviewed Brian and Greg), but man,
to me there ain't nothing like a Bouncing
Souls show! It's like a whirlwind that blows
in and it grabs up everyone and everything
in its wake! Being one of the most seasoned
bands on the Tour, The Souls infuse aggressive
punk with the best parts of folk. I think
they may have set a record playing the most
songs within a half-hour for the Warped Tour.
Songs like "Private Radio," “Hopeless
Romantic" and "East Coast Fuck You"
were blended together so they could fit "Sheena"
in as their finale.
Coolest Thing To Happen At The Warped Tour:
Tim and I were in the photo pit taking photos
of the band for the first ten minutes. When
we regrouped with Frank, we heard that a kid
with his wheel chair beside him had been gingerly
crowd surfing while we were taking photos
of the band. I sure hope someone got a picture
of that. Now that's communal.
We The Kings - Photo
by Brian Rentas
Up And Coming: My daughter Melissa said to
check out We The Kings: Pop Punk to the core,
with audible influences from early Blink and
New Found Glory. Their set was cemented by
a rock solid rhythm section of Drew Thomsen-
bass, Danny Duncan- drums, with lead singer/
guitarist Travis Clark, and guitarist/ vocalist
Hunter Thomsen. The pride of Bradenton, Florida,
this sunny four-piece have established scene-darling
status that Bowling For Soup had dibs on a
few years ago. During their half-hour set
(which went by in the blink of an eye) they
were taking girls numbers and breaking hearts
as the stage area and hill side was jam packed
with the faithful. Find out when they'll be
playing in the area again. Hopefully their
dance card won't be filled.
As we were leaving the venue, we can across
a few of the fans (Tyler, Sam, AKA Samantha,
Alexa, and Alex.) After a few Q&A about
their experience at The Warped Tour (as well
as their feelings about Power Rangers and
dinosaurs,) they were nice enough to share
with us their infamous recipe for a Seven
Layer Philly Grilled Cheese Sandwich.
1.) 7 slices of your favorite cheese. These
Philly kids preferred a mix white and yellow
American cheeses; they didn't say if they
used 4 slices of white and 3 of yellow, or
vice versa.
2.) White bread
3.) Heat over a medium flame - burnt bread
is ok
4.) While still hot, cut into triangular slices
5.) And the secret ingredient - no potatoes.
Yeah I know, how can it be an ingredient if
it's not included in the sandwich?! Hey, these
guys are from Philadelphia, what can I say?
6.) Beverage. We didn't get to that because
we were all just having a great time listening
to them.... I'm assuming that they'd wash
it all down with a ice cold glass of milk.
Yummy in the tummy!
That's one of the cool things about The Warped
Tour. You never know what to expect, even
if you've been going to it for years.
