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Punk rock's mega extravaganza, the Van's Warped Tour, hit Buffalo on Wednesday and for the second year in a row we rocked in grueling, skin melting heat.
Fans lined up for what looked like miles outside the gates of Buffalo's LaSalle Park to see their favorite punk bands play in what amounts to a modern day travelling Woodstock. Inside, it's more like a carnival than a concert. There are people, tents, food, drinks, competitions, and entertainment wherever you turn. This year's show featured 8 stages, 72 bands, and 10 hours of hard-hitting punk for nearly 10,000 fans.
Two of the bands on this year's tour also released albums this summer, they were Reel Big Fish and Simple Plan.
Reel Big Fish is a high-energy ska/punk band with upbeat music and downbeat lyrics that
have a huge cult following. They played four songs off the new album (Cheer Up) and four from previous albums.
They played "Where Have You Been" a new RBF emo-classic and another one of my
favorites,
"Valerie" about an evil psycho-bitch from hell. As usual, the only thing RBF leaves you wanting, is more.
Simple Plan is a band that's not new to the punk scene, but just
recently broke into the mainstream of pop/punk with the release of their album No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls as well as major airplay on MTV. Their fans got a real treat at Warped this year because they
played on the smaller VOLCOM stage. Fans could literally reach out and touch the band (and that's just what they did).
Even with the heat, the sweat, and the taste of dust in your mouth
from the mosh pits, Warped is always the show not to miss.
It's more than a concert; it's a punk rock extravaganza. You aren't a concert attendee at Warped, you're the as much a part of the show as the bands are, and they let you know it.
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