Show: Warped Tour 2005
Date: 07-03-05
Venue: Seaside Park in Ventura, CA
Rating:
Reviewer: John Frank

Warped Tour is one of those things that is a staple in the music industry. It is the longest running festival, and it seems to run smoother and gain more ground with each passing year. While the lineup changes every year, the show is always guaranteed to be filled with thousands of people from every background, age group or scene. Almost every band that plays or has played the tour has nothing but praise not only for the festival, but for the workers and founder, Kevin Lyman. Whether the lineup is filled with unknown acts or platinum artists, one thing remains true: Warped Tour is here to stay, and with over a decade of experience, it promises to get better every year.

As with most shows, the beginning is not nearly as crowded as later on in the event. However, with this show, the first bands are not necessarily the “opening acts”, as the lineup changes everyday. With doors opening around 11am, there is a great opportunity to see some bands early in the day with fewer crowds to fight through. The first two acts on the main stages were The Unseen and MxPx, both of which allowed for fans to be as close or as far from the stage as they wanted, as the park was still fairly empty. MxPx is one of those bands that has done numerous stints on the Warped Tour and have risen in the ranks from side stages to main stages. Warped is definitely not the ideal venue to see your favorite band, as the sets are short (roughly 30 minutes) and the acoustics are almost nonexistent. With that working against them, MxPx managed to get the early crowd excited with a few songs from their new album “Panic” and fan favorites such as “Punk Rawk Show”. Once the first hour ends, it becomes quite clear that everyone has crawled out of bed and made it to the fairgrounds to take in the music. While it is a struggle to get a good vantage point for main stage acts like Thrice and The Transplants, if you venture to the side stages, it is much easier to get up close to the bands.

The Hurley and Volcom stages featured many bands that have garnered a large following just under the mainstream radar. The Matches, The Bled, Underoath, Motion City Soundtrack and many others from labels like Epitaph performed for fans and those who happened to walk by the stages. As many people have noticed, the lines between genres always seem to be a bit blurred, but more so at a festival such as Warped. Besides the fact that a band like the Transplants is already mixing sounds from hip hop and punk rock, Warped Tour is one of the few venues where one can see a TRL artist like Fall Out Boy play on the same stage as a hardcore band such as Atreyu or Avenged Sevenfold. This blending of scenes is one of the things that makes this tour so successful however. This festival is not dependant on a certain genre or scene to be in the spotlight at the time.

As far as the performances went, it all depends on which artists you particularly prefer. But with anywhere from 50 to 100 bands playing any given date, it is likely that anyone at Warped will find someone they enjoy. The main stages were filled with great acts, and as is generally the case, displayed the more popular genres of the time. Pop punk heavyweights such as Fall Out Boy, The Starting Line and The All-American Rejects blasted their upbeat anthems to the huge crowds in front of them. Punk rock veterans The Offspring made an impressive appearance, and were easily one of the best performances of the day. In a display that was very well accepted by the audience, Dexter Holland (vocals, guitar) announced that he loved Warped Tour because he could play “all of the old shit”. All of the bands on the two main stages filled the area with fans and nothing bad can be said about any of them.

One of the best things about this tour is that you don’t actually have to go watch a band to enjoy yourself. With around a dozen stages, you can’t go anywhere without hearing music, and the atmosphere is just completely energized. Additionally, almost every band has a booth set up with merchandise and meet and greet sessions. Many other booths can be found, ranging from Circuit City to a Major League Baseball batting/pitching cage. While Warped has always married sport and music, it has traditionally been more of alternative sports such as skateboarding and motocross. While there was still the presence of a half pipe, it was a wonderful thing to be able to step into a batting cage and take a few swings. The MLB setup also had a trailer with video game systems playing the newest installments of baseball simulations for various platforms, further merging another scene with the music industry. Another new addition to this year’s set up was a laser tag arena, where several bands such as MxPx took the time to play a game or two with fans. Even Myspace.com had a tent this year, and I’m sure everyone reading this knows the impact that site has had on the internet culture, and to see they are now out and about in real life is kind of an odd thing. These booths are not just ways for companies to advertise or sell merchandise though, several (including the Myspace tent) of them had small stage areas for bands who were not fortunate enough to be on a larger Warped stage.

Overall, this tour remains one of the highlights of my summer, and continues to keep me looking forward to the next one. Whether you go to see a particular band, take in the various attractions, or just escape your house for a day in the sun, Warped Tour is sure to please. It is definitely no accident that this festival has managed to survive for so long, and promises to endure for many years to come.

Click here to check out our exclusive pics from the show!