Loved: Aggrolites, NOFX, Katy Perry, Underoath, Rise Against, Ozomatli, Bad Religion, Pennywise

Hated: 3OH!3, Ice T & Body Count, All American Rejects, Decadence All Stars, Blink 182

Now let me defend this list.  The Aggrolites are just good and if you haven’t given them a chance, do s if you like the reggae-punk-sound (here).  NOFX sounded great playing “Eat the Meek” and they were pretty hilarious during their interview.  Katy Perry is an amazing singer and quite talented.  She played “You’re So Gay” and although that’s one of my least favorites – she did it very well.  Underoath was a big hit in our movie theatre and they did pretty well.  Rise Against had to be THEE best performers that night!  Hands down my favorite.  They played their big hits “The Good Left Undone” and “Savior”.  But honestly they sounded the best that night.  Ozomatli was a very random band in the mix.  Maybe because I don’t think many Warped fans know them but I do due to my cousin who loves them and got me into them.  And Bad Religion really?  They’re one of the reasons Warped Tour has been around for so long!  They have been there since the beginning and are still around so it keeps all the older fans coming.  They played “New Dark Ages” and “21st Century (Digital Boy)”.  They reminded me that a big reason why I want to be in this business and love the music so much is because it keeps you young.  Punk music reminds you when you’re older to let lose and remember when you were a crazy teenager once.  These guys are getting pretty old but they’re still doing it and still loving it.  I’ve seen Brett Gurewitz walking around in a “Farewell” band shirt.  I wanna be that person =).  Pennywise hardly played.  They started off playing “Bro Hymn” and kind of just…went crazy.  Chaos and insanity began as band members, staff, Kevin Lyman, and fans just got up on stage to sing.  It was a pretty good ending to the Warped Tour birthday party.

However – the bands that I did not like.  3OH!3 – I already disliked them before this movie even started.  I dislike them even more after being forced to watch them ‘perform’ “Starstruck”.  They sounded horrible and those choreographed moves killed me.  Ice T & Body Count?  What the hell was this?  Body count as a band sounded damn good but Ice T was just awkward.  I thought he was going to blow up Club Nokia and start shooting up the place.  I was scared.  All American Rejects.  Oh my god, what happened to Tyson Ritter?  What was with all the glitter?  What drugs is he on and why isn’t anyone stopping him.  They sounded horrible.  Intervention please!  Decadence All Stars (Pete Wentz and members of Panic at the Disco) covered a Blink 182 song.  That was pretty bad as well.  Leave the Blink up to Blink thanks.  I would love to say I loved Blink 182′s performance but guess what?  They didn’t play a performance!  The interview was pretty cool but I would’ve LOVED to seen a clip of their current tour not just their music video.  

All in all – it was 50/50.  I didn’t know what to really expect going into this movie theater.  I was hoping for more interviews, more Warped tour clips and more of a documentary.  

What I learned from this movie from all the band interviews is the Warped Tour is a rite of passage.  Well, I already knew that.  Every up and coming band dreams of going on Warped Tour not for the glamour of it all (because if that is the reason they’re insane).  There is not much glamour to warped.  You don’t shower, you’re riding a bus all day, you’re out in the hot sun or stormy weather, dragging your gear in 100 degree weather or mudslides but it IS all worth it.  The bands said it best themselves, “it’s everybodys crowd, you gotta convince them you’re a legit band” (AAR), “Rite of passage” (Wentz), and “Traveling woodstock” (Mark and Tom). 

I’ve had the privilege of meeting and conversing with Kevin Lyman and listen to him talk.  This man is genuine and if he wasn’t doing it for the right reasons, there would not have been a 15th Anniversary.

We can all thank Kevin for putting together the highlight of our Summers.

Here’s a clip of Kevin on the Carson Daly Show speaking about Warped (source).