Ft. Lauderdale Folklore: Warped Tour 2008

Warped Tour 2008

Written by: Carla Wright and Katerina Nunez
Photos by: Carla Wright

Warped tour is the new Woodstock. Every year, thousands of kids are dropped off at Bayfront Park in Miami for a day of heat, food, drinking, skateboard demonstrations, and an absurd amount of bands over stimulating your eardrums.

I love it.

The street team arrived at 11am for the opening of the gates. Shortly there after, madness ensued. Lines for people who opted to pick up their tickets at will-call the day of the show had a bit of wait to go through before entering into the park.

Entering into the venue, there were four stages on which bands were performing through out the day: Hurley stage, main stage left, vans highway, Hurley.com, Smartpunk stage, Kevin says stage, and the Ernie ball stage. There was a half pipe that people were skating on, vendors representing every band that was performing, and people of all backgrounds crowding around the stages trying to have the perfect view.

I'm not too familiar myself with many of the Vans warped tour band line up, so I invited one of Livenations' street team members to write about the tour since she has attended the tour for the last eight years, Katerina Nunez.

"Doesn't it seem like every Warped Tour there's like 40 more bands then the last years'? Even though there's no way anybody would ever be able to check them all out, it's part of the magic that makes Warped Tour like Disney World to punk kids. Not only do you get to see at least a handful of bands you like perform, but you also get to shop around for some pretty hard to find goodies that range from hats, handbags, sunglasses, hoodies, t-shirts, albums, etc. of some of your favorite bands. This year, I was particularly excited about seeing Say Anything, Anberlin, Against Me & surprisingly enough, Katy Perry.
Say Anything is always a treat, and this was no exception. That was the happiest group of swaying fans I've seen in a long time. Max (lead singer of Say Anything!) always puts so much heart and character into his stage presence. Max's vocals and the bands sound were impeccable. My only "beef" (as with all my favorite performers) was that I wish they would've played a longer set. The boys played "Woe", "Every Man has a Molly", "Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too" and "Alive With the Glory of Love" just to name a few.
It's easy to lose track of time at warped tour with all the accumulated distractions. It was so easy that I was late for the beginning of Anberlin's performance. As soon as I reached the crowd, I forgot about my tardiness and sang along to some new and old favorites such as: "Adelaid" and "A Day Late". It was cool to see Anberlin on a side stage at Warped Tour last year, and then on a main stage this year. I've seen Anberlin perform five times, and I always leave their shows with a smile after having had a blast.
I must admit, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Miss Katy Perry was a part of this year's line-up. Call me a trendy "indie" kid if you will, but I don't usually care for the music playing on the radio. Loving Katy Perry is my dirty little secret. Just as I expected, she was as adorable in person as she is in her music videos. She may be petite, but she made her presence more than known. No matter how "hardcore" some of these kids claimed to be, Katy Perry had them singing along to songs like "Ur So Gay", "If You Can Afford Me" and her mega-hit "I Kissed A Girl". She had a strong sexy voice and her lyrics are relatable while the music is fun and self empowering. I was very happy with her performance.
As always, I leave every Warped Tour with at least one new band worthy of my CD collection. Last year, it was "The Automatic". This year, the "no name" band that really caught my attention was called "Oreska Band". I was so distracted by these kick ass Japanese girls rocking out, that I forgot to see Angels & Airwaves (which I was really looking forward to, sorry Tom). Not only were they really talented and energetic but, they were all dressed like punky school girls and looked so happy to be here. It was very unexpected to see these tiny chicks wailing on these instruments and jumping all over the place. I definitely recommend checking them out.
Despite the rain and incredible heat, despite sweaty strangers rubbing up on you in the pit, and despite the occasional crowd surfer kicking you in the back of the head, Warped Tour is one of the best days of the year. I can't wait for the next one."