Warped Tour 2012

I think the last time I seriously went to Warped Tour before this year was 2007. I was in high school--the age in which you are supposed to go to Warped. This year, though, the lineup was way too good to pass up, so haters can hate all they want, but I'm raging at Warped while they're at home judging. Highlights abound below!

Taking Back Sunday. One of the great loves of my life...one of my great romances, if you will. Finally got to meet them for the first time in St. Louis! I got my Tell All Your Friends album signed along with a poster of Adam swinging his mic. The show was fantastic, somehow landed second row and raged hard until Cute, when too many people were falling on my head so I had the bouncer pull me out. I don't know how these guys bring it for every single show; actually I don't know how any band does it on the strenuous journey that is Warped Tour, but TBS doesn't leave you wanting for anything at the end of their set...except, of course, for a longer set.

The Acoustic Basement. Okay, I'll admit it, I really only went to the Basement (aka miniature tent...) to see John Nolan of Taking Back Sunday. I know what I like, and I like thirty-something hipsters who used to sing for Straylight Run. I found a random folding chair to the side that I commandeered and had a great view of Mr. Nolan's performance. "Done to Death," and "Mistakes we Knew We Were Making," were definitely highlights, but hearing "Existentialism on Prom Night" was a defining moment in my love affair with music, reminding me why music is so important and potentially life-altering. His voice is so much better live than on any of his recordings, by the way.

Yellowcard. Duh. One of my favorite bands from high school who recently wiggled their way back into my good graces with their latest album release. I got to meet them too, and told them how much I love them. I hope they know they still have a loyal following out there, even though it might seem like people have forgotten about them. Oh, and thank the Lord above they started playing "With You Around" live instead of "Hang You Up," the respective best and worst songs from their latest album. From the first time I heard "With You Around," that was my jam. Glad they finally caught on, I should probably be hired as their manager or something. Now if only they'd play a little something from "One for the Kids.."

New Found Glory. I had lost some of my affection for NFG a little while ago when I read an article in AP including some not-so-nice comments about Mark Hoppus (why? why would you EVER do such a fool thing?!), and then they released their album "Radiosurgery," which let's be honest is not the greatest. Unlike Yellowcard, I had a blast during their set simply because of their older music, and I told Chad Gilbert just that at their tent later. "Head-On Collision" is, has been, and always will be, my favorite NFG song. (It makes no difference to me that All Time Low got their name from that song; in fact, it makes it better because all the teenyboppers in love with ATL have no idea they started in such a good place...) They also played some other older songs which I greatly enjoyed and raged to, and I readmitted to myself my love for NFG was still strong.

The Used. I love The Used. I do. I don't know why, but I really, really just love The Used. That being said, I don't think I would enjoy being spit on by Bert McCracken,which he quite frequently does, but that's just me. Not superfan status, I guess, and I'll just have to live with it. Their set was out of this world, and starting off "A Box of Sharp Objects" with the intro to Nirvana's "Teen Spirit" came off without a hitch. I know! Even reading that sentence back to myself, I wouldn't think it would work, but it totally did. I had such a blast during their set, I cannot even describe. And McCracken's voice is still in fine shape, in case anyone was wondering.

Pierce the Veil. Oh, God of all that is holy, do I love Pierce the Veil right now. I mean, I was a fan before seeing them live, but after seeing them twice now, I can truly say I love them; I bought their latest album, "Collide With the Sky" before hearing any of the tracks, and let me tell you, that is NOT something I take lightly. Their set was incredible; I'm old, so I like their first album best and they don't play much from it, but I'll go to a headlining show to see that, I suppose. Their guitarist impressed me, and they can cover Kellin Quinn's and Jeremy McKinnon's guest vocals quite well when those boys aren't around. Vic Fuente's voice is great live, and they pull everything off without a hitch. Incidentally, theirs were also the loudest shows I went to...or maybe after I saw them everything else just sounded duller. Who could say?

Senses Fail. It had been a not-so-short while since I'd listened to Senses Fail, and I think it's a little sad they're not on a mainstage, but who am I to judge? We caught them accidentally, but after the show I was immensely glad we did. Come on, "Calling All Cars", and "Can't Be Saved"?! We got so excited for "Buried a Lie" that we made our way to the front row and moshed a little bit. Pretty hardcore for two small girls, but totallly worth it.

Mayday Parade. Obviously one of the best live bands of this genre/generation. I'm so sad I didn't get to see more of their set; I had to pick between them and Pierce the Veil, and I'd seen a Mayday headlining show before, so I couldn't bring myself to miss PTV. But Mayday is phenominal live, and I will never understand how they get the crowd so pumped and so involved with their brand of pop-punk. It's more pop than punk! Until I saw them live, I wasn't even that big a fan! They've got such a big following with older kids too; maybe it's because they pull so much heart and soul into their music. Gah, and let's be honest, the boys of Mayday Parade leave nothing to be desired in the eye candy department...

Four Year Strong. I'm a big fan of FYS' album "Enemy of the World," and I'm really glad I got to see them live. They've been around, making good music for a little while now, and it was really important for me to know they're not too bad live. Had to leave their set early to go meet Adam and the boys of Taking Back Sunday, but I don't think anyone could blame us for that.

We the Kings. Uhhh. I blogged on here once about how much dislike I had for their newest album, "Sunshine State of Mind," but that doesn't change how awesome they are live. Literally probably one of most technically sound bands on Warped this year. It might be because they have what seems like an excessive amount of guitars for the type of music they play, but I'm not complaining. And those guitarists are in the same league as the boys of Mayday Parade. I have a blast to songs like "Skyway Avenue," then just objectify the guitarists during the songs I don't like.

Rise Against. Okay, they were only on one date of the tour that I went to, and I used to be a huge Rise Against fan, but The Used were playing at the same time and I'd already seen Rise Against a couple of times live. So, I skipped a part of their set. Sue me. I was listenting to them back in the days of "Everchanging," and no amount of kids claiming to be huge RA fans now will ever change the fact that I listented to RA exclusively during my freshman year of college way back in 2008. As always, I had a great time listening to their set and they played fantastically.

Twin Atlantic. They deserve a mention because they actually have some pretty great music and there were only about 30 people watching them. Sad! A lot of people could get into them.

So, those are my Warped Tour 2012 highlights...so far. In the words of a great band, When You're Though Thinking about whether to attend (about being too old, or having to work, or whatever other excuses you might be contemplating), Say Yes to going to Warped Tour this year. (I see you Yellowcard.) I also found some really neat charities represented there, many for saving arts in schools and the like; personally, I gave my donation money of the day to the Wishbone Foundation, which supports art in group homes--check them out at their website. I don't know what the URL is, just Google it you lazy punks. I'll definitely have my signed copies of "Tell All Your Friends" and "Ocean Avenue," along with the photo of me and John Nolan, hanging on my wall for years to come, commemorating some of the best days of my life.

And oh, yeah. It's hot out there! It's 105 degrees in the shade in the midwest, but we're not complaining, so suck it up and bring plently of water! The day is totally worth the exhaustion, and this is America--we could all stand to lose a couple calories. And while you're out there, check out the newer bands, that's what Warped is all about. I'm just too old for the new scene--Ronnie Radke literally scares me, it actually makes me nervous to be in the same vicinity as him. See? OLD.

The Wonder Years Tour w/ The Early November Review

I'm really behind on updating this blog, but in May I had the exciting opportunity to see The Swellers, The Wonder Years, and The Early November at Irving Plaza in New York City. Now, I think we've established that The Wonder Years are my current fave, so I could not have been more pumped to see how they performed live.

We got to the plaza a little too early, but I like live music in general so watching the local opening band was fine with me, although I don't remember much about them. The Swellers were up next; I had downloaded a few of their songs prior to the concert, and found out I actually enjoy their music. I wasn't running to load up on shirts at their merch table or anything, but I could easily sing along and be into their set. Then again, I rarely visit merch tables...there comes a time when you're just too old to be sporting band tees everywhere you go.

The Wonder Years came out and put on a spectacular show. I was singing along with every song, although I held back because the friend who went along had never been to an indoor punk show before and I wanted to hold in my secret weirdness. The crowd went crazy for songs like "Melrose Diner" and "Local Man Ruins Everything," and also "Coffee Eyes," which surprised me because it really hadn't been one of my favorite songs by them. They closed with "Came Out Swinging," and I finally went all-out. I pushed my way to the second row and sung along loudly. It was one of the best concert experiences of my life when the entire crowd sang the soft part towards the end, and then the harder part came in, the lead singer jumped into the crowd, and everything went banana-sandwich crazy. I happened to be close enough to make my way over and support the lead singer in his crowd-surfing endeavors, but unfortunately most of the crowd had the same idea, and everyone fell over as a group. After a few desperate seconds trying to get back up, I finally accepted death-by-trampling as a certainty and my life flashed before my eyes' I barely had enough time to think, I'm too old for this shit. Then, some kind, large, soul grabbed me under my arms and pulled me out of the crushing mob before it was too late. I quickly composed myself by pulling my shirt back on--not sure how it fell off--and found that I had lost an earring and nearly a shoe. Oops. I made my way back to my friend and acting as if nothing had happened. I should really go into acting.

We then went upstairs to find comfortable seats in which to watch The Early November. I liked this band a lot, and still do, although I'm not one of Ace Ender's fangirls. We didn't end up staying for the whole set, and unfortunately I can't give the excuse that we wanted to avoid traffic. It's New York, we were walking, bitches. We were just old, tired, and hungry. However, the half-set I saw was pretty great. The crowd wasn't as enthused as they were for TWY, but then again November isn't exactly the moshing kind of band anyway. All in all, I had a spectacular time watching these three bands at Irving, and I'd recommend going to see any of them, if you like them...because sometimes concerts suck if you don't know the music. Or maybe you should start listening NOW so when they come to your town you can avoid this problem. Just a suggestion.

The Wonder Years: Suburbia, I've Given You All Review

Last year right before Christmas break, I went into my local mall to look for old used records and CDs at the music store. I stumbled upon a new album by a band I had vaguely heard of (thanks to New Found Glory) for the fair price of $6.99. I mulled it over: was it worth two beers?

I bought the album but didn't listen to it for a couple of weeks. I finally forced myself to put it in the CD player on my trip back to school, and immediately was interested. The first song on this album is "Came Out Swinging" and that's exactly what the album did. This is still my hands-down, holding nothing back, favorite song by The Wonder Years. "I spent the winter writing songs about getting better, and if I'm being honest...I'm getting there." Next came "Woke Up Older", and after listening to the first verse and chorus of this song, I was almost crying crocodile tears of happiness and illegally whipped out my cell phone to tweet about how much I already loved this band. And I am not an impulsive person.

The third song is "Local Man Ruins Everything," which is also super catchy and just all together amazing. The next few songs I also like, one being slower, another having a super catchy chorus, and all of them just being awesome in general. "I Won't Say the Lord's Prayer" was an interesting one for me, because I am fairly religious; however, it didn't turn me off, it actually made me think. It's not really about religion, or maybe it's not just about religion. It's about thinking for yourself, and about not believing in something simply because you've been told to believe it. It's a great message, however it's presented. "Don't Let Me Cave In" is one of the lead tracks from the record, and it is pretty great, but I think there are better songs on the album. My second favorite song comes in at second to last track-wise, "Hoodie Weather." The lyrics ring true to me, and the chorus is so, so catchy. "And Now I'm Nothing" is also very catchy and finished off the album nicely.

When all is said and done, if you are a fan of punk, alternative, or pop punk music and you're not listening to The Wonder Years, you're making a mistake. It's taken me a while to write on this blog since my last post, and that's because it was becoming more of a hassle than a joy--I was listening to some bands I really didn't like, and then recommending them because they weren't necessarily bad. Now I'm back, and I'm telling the world that I love The Wonder Years. Not to be confused with the 90s television show starring Fred Savage...

Their latest album is not only spectacular music, but listening to it as a whole can be truly thought-provoking if you let it. Go. Buy Suburbia, and while you're at it, buy "The Upsides," the album that preceeding this one. Top recommendations from both albums if you're just starting to get into them: "Came Out Swinging," "Logan Circle," "Melrose Diner," "Hoodie Weather," "Local Man Ruins Everything."