Warped Tour 07 at Darien Lakes: still punk-rock summer camp?

By Brian Campbell

Even though it is known as a festival for punk bands, Warped Tour is pretty much a musical melting pot--at least this year it was since there were, fewer than ten punk bands, and like a million emo bands, not to mention a few metal bands. Regardless, it was successful, and very fun.

I should mention that I really do not like seeing shows at Darien Lake, and if it were not for festivals being there, I would never go. This was my second straight show at the theme park resort, having covered Family Values here a week ago. Projekt Revolution rolls in next weekend.

Unfortunately I missed Circa Survive, but arrived in time for Bayside. These guys were good, just as I thought they would be. They featured material from their latest, Walking Wounded, which is probably worth getting. Next up was a band I particularly excited to see, Chiodos. These guys are excellent live--very spastic and energetic, pretty much all over the stage. After hearing their record, All’s Well That Ends Well, I can tell you that their live show is a pretty good representation of their recorded material.

I’ve been following Hot Rod Circuit for a while now. They did their part to add to the whole pop punk blended emo thing that was the story at Warped Tour. They have a pretty powerful stage show, one that I think all would enjoy. The Vincent Black Shadow was the band I was most looking forward to in the early stages of the day, and they were as smart as can be live. Without giving away too much of their live show, I would say I really hope they come back to town very soon. I just cannot get enough of their sound.

After a small break, I took the time to catch a band that I have seen live once before, So They Say. I am in love with their self-titled EP, but have to admit that I don’t have their excellent Antidote for Irony disc. It’s hard to imagine the CD is as powerful as the live performance. Next came A Static Lullaby, another strong live band that had also been at Family Values, playing material from their very much under the radar self-titled release.

After perusing some booths along the ‘midway’ I had the chance to catch a set of Buffalo bands representing the scene the right way as they jammed on adjacent stages. Of course I’m talking about It Dies Today and the very bleeding emo Cute Is What We Aim For. Both of these bands were incredibly well received, especially Cute. Since they are an emo band with one release, they pretty much only have like 30 minutes of material, but it went over well.

After Cute, we wandered over to the Hurley stage and made the mistake of catching of the Unseen’s set. Ugh, this punk band completely butchered a cover of the classic Door’s cover of Paint It Black. This sent me over to the other stage for New Found Glory, which delivered a good set and a good sound. Another band that’s live than on CD, at least to me.

That brings me to my first surprise of the night, Biffy Clyro. I was told going into this years Warped that this band was one to be on the lookout for, and I am happy to say, yes they are. Their latest record, Puzzles, just dropped and is surely something you’ll want to hear. In the meantime, you are in for a treat seeing them live and also checking out their music on their MySpace page. Go ahead, I’ll wait here while you go and check it out. Oh, you already did? There, don’t we feel better now?

Our first break from the monotonous emo barrage was Killswitch Engage. This was the first time I saw them live and they ripped through tracks off of all of their records, including “Life to Lifeless,” “My Last Serenade” and “Fixation on the Darkness.” Yeah, I know that all of those songs are off of their brilliant release Alive Or Just Breathing, but I guess we all have our favorites. Regardless of their abbreviated set, Killswitch was awesome to see, and a welcome break from all of the other music at Warped. So far, the best band to have played on this day.

That is until Pepper took the stage, and I give you my second surprise of the night. Hailing from Hawaii, Pepper sounded like Sublime, Bob Marley, 311 and Red Hot Chili Peppers all rolled into one fantastic package. They were punk, funk, rock, reggae and all things in-between. They were incredible live, and also hailed themselves as ‘Warped Tour’s 30 minutes break from MTV.’ Well, they were just that, and so far, they were the best band I saw all day.

Paramore took the stage following and opened with “Misery Business,” and then went right into “Emergency.” We left in order to catch Blessthefall playing across on the other side of Warped. These guys were heavier than I could have ever imagined and were in synch, all over the stage, and in and out of the crowd. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands, especially with the set closer “A Message To The Unknown.”

Blessthefall really adds a different dimension, metal, to Warped, and it is absolutely a good addition. Rap on the other hand? Next up was a rapper named P.O.S., who didn’t seem like a good fit for the festival. We were off for the other stage.

I made it across in time for My American Heart, followed by Valencia and Rocket Summer, all of whom fit the overall mold of the festival. They all have that sound that pretty much everyone wants to hear, especially those heading to Warped. I enjoyed them all, but catching a new band on a festival tour is not the best place to judge their talent. I would welcome seeing all these bands again down the road.

Next we checked out band called Split 50, and came over to the stage just as they ripped off a cover of Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell. It was great seeing such a small band on a small stage play this track. I stayed in a good mood as I next stopped in for a wrestling match featuring wrestlers from Mexico’s AAA promotion. Wrestling fans may remember Psichosis, whose career failed miserably in the WEE, so now he is wrestling on the Warped Tour. It was entertaining to watch, even if they didn’t really do much high-flying.

After that , I took some time to walk around and visit booths from MySpace.com, Alternative Press, FYE, Fuse and so on. Then, while waiting for Then As I Lay Dying to come one, I caught some Coheed and Cambria, two bands I’m sort of indifferent about.

Then As I Lay Dying hit the stage and never looked back. Though too short, this was an amazingly heavy set, including songs from all three of the band’s records, including favorites “Forever,” “Through Struggle,” “Meaning in Tragedy,” “The Darkest Nights” and “Confined.” A new record, An Ocean Between Us, is on the way and they graced Warped with a new song, “Within Destruction.” They also put an emphatic stamp on the night’s set with “94 Hours.” AILD was the heaviest band that day, and also the best.

After a long day, it was time to leave. Hawthorne Heights was on stage as were leaving the show. All in all, Warped Tour was incredible again this year. I always seem to have more fun at Warped than I do at any other festival I go to. There is just so much to do, so many things to see and there are always a few fun surprises too, like the wrestling and the half pipe and skateboarders. Good times were had by all.