Today I am writing from the Sleep Train Amphitheatre, a venue that is located in the middle of a field outside the northern California farming community of Marysville, some 35 miles north of Sacramento.
The heat today is absolutely staggering, at least a hundred degrees. Having recently relocated from Los Angeles back to the Sacramento Valley, I had forgotten how punishingly hot the summers could be here. I am quickly remembering why I left the valley in the first place. I have brought plenty of water and sunscreen, yet I worry constantly about getting sunburned or suffering heat stroke. Hollywood's usually more balmy climes never seemed more appealing than right now.
I am here today for the 15th annual Vans Warped Tour, a punk rock festival that travels the U.S. each summer touring various outdoor venues, particularly the amphitheaters, or "sheds" as they are referred to in the biz, mostly owned by concert giants Live Nation. Though nominally a punk festival, perhaps it is more apt to say that it is "punk-ish", with a number of bands on the bill who might actually fall into the category of emo-rock or metalcore. There is also a smattering of ska-punk, alternative hip-hop and even a bluegrass band (with attitude) for some much welcomed variety.
The show itself takes place over ten different stages with up to a hundred bands playing in one day. There are two large main stages, but there are a number of smaller ones scattered throughout the festival grounds. The bands start playing at 11am and the music continues until about 9pm. Every band plays approximately thirty minutes with several bands playing at once, though in the case where there are two stages right next to one another, they have it timed with military-like precision for one band to start up their set as another band is finishing.
How odd it is that punk rock has its own corporate sponsored festival. Punk, or at least some of the stylistic trappings of punk, long ago was absorbed into the mainstream of American teen youth culture. Maybe it was Nirvana with "Nevermind" or maybe it was Green Day and their mega-platinum "Dookie" record ,or maybe it was the fashion world who co-opted ideas from punk and repackaged them for the teen market, or maybe punk was helped along by the rise in popularity of skateboarding and other extreme sports for which it often serves as the soundtrack to and also informs the dress sense of its participants. Or perhaps maybe, just maybe, over time enough older brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, and even mothers and fathers had adopted aspects of punk culture and had paved the way for the fashion, music, attitude, and sometimes the ideals of punk to become more commonplace and thus more acceptable.
Nowadays punk is not viewed with the same fear and derision it once held. In fact, punk is almost passe, an all too common instant identity for confused teenagers in search of one. This wasn't always the case. I was no punk myself, but I had friends who were or at least those that flirted with it at some point during high school. To be a punk back in the early to mid 80s was to really open oneself up to ridicule and persecution by just about everyone. Whether is was jocks, parents, school officials, law enforcement officers,local business owners, everybody seemed to have a problem with punker kids and all wanted a piece of them. Back in high school I had enough problems without inviting that kind of additional hassle into the life. The irony is not lost on me that those punk rockers who were followed and often trespassed from the property by shopping mall security now have their own "lifestyle" boutique chain store, the cheesy put popular Hot Topic. Yes indeed, times have changed.
Anyway, now on to the bands that I was able to take in during my eight plus hours roasting in the hot August sunshine:
12:45 pm , Hurley.Com Stage: Westbound Train
Was not familiar with this band, but a band named after a Dennis Brown reggae classic could only be a ska band on this bill. This stage is located withing the Sleep Train amphitheater itself: most of the other stages are actually located in part of what would normally be the Sleep Train parking lot.
7 piece band, including horn players, Westbound Train play a genial mix of ska-reggae,mixed with a bit of soul. They are a solid outfit. They do conform to one hard fast rule: the nerdiest looking guys will be in the ska band. Must be all those years in the high school marching band.
They finish off with a ska version of "I Fought The Law". We are off to a good start. I make my way through the festival's main area, which is lined with small band tents. These tents are set up to sell merch and are a place for band members to come to either hang out or participate in a pre-arranged signings. I see some signings already under way. In some cases these lines are 100 to 200 people deep. A lot of teenage girls await with posters, albums and camera phones for a chance to meet and interact with their favorite tattooed love boy. Some things will never change.
1:15, Vans Main Stage: Underoath
This Florida based screamo (or is it post-hardcore?) group specialize in a brand of rock that just leaves me cold. Bellowed verses by one guy, anthemic choruses from another high tenor-ed guy who is straining to reach the top of his register, and metal textures just make this a real chore to watch. A good 700 or so people don't agree and are totally into it. Another indication that I am out of touch with what "the kids" are into these days. The band are kicking much ass, I'm the one with the problem.
My attention is much more focused on the half-pipe skate ramp erected just to the left of this main stage. I am amazed by what looks like seven year olds flying back and forth with ease on this thing. I nearly do a double-take when I see a couple of guys who are riding without any board at all--just the wheels! They ride on top of them without any attachments. Perhaps people have been doing this for year, but this is the first time I've witnessed it.
1:45, Punk Rock Legends Stage: Channel 3
Now finally a band I came here to see. In fact I was enticed to come sweat out my fluids in this brutal heat because of this band and about half a dozen other "old school" punk bands who are on the tour. Warped Tour usually includes a couple of these heritage acts, but this is the first time I have seen this many scheduled. I'm not sure if its to attract older folks like myself (precious few of those around) or to add some legitimacy to the proceedings. Conveniently, the Warped Tour have gathered all these band together on their own stage.
Anyway, Channel 3 are an L.A, punk band that were around in the early to mid 80s. Original members Mike Magrann (guitar and vocal) and Kim Gardener (guitar) and two new recruits make up the band now. Only a couple old punks in sight and a handful of true "old school" looking punk types. By this I mean young guys, some with mohawks, wearing jean jackets with mostly vintage punk band t-shirts cut out and stitched to the jacket. The total number of audience members at this stage is maybe 30.
The band are pretty good and they tear into their set with the conviction of guys 20 years younger. During the mid-80s these guys took a right turn and tried to become Replacments-like roots rockers. They lost a lot of fans by doing this, but I happened to love 1985's "Last Time I Drank..." album. They do the title track and "Hanging Around" and I'm pleased. They conclude with their one true punk classic, "I've Got A Gun".
Did I mention how freaking hot it is? I make my way to the main entrance area where there are these twenty foot high towers with what looks like a mushroom cap. The saucer like lids spray out water in streams of varying strengths. This is a place to get wet and cool down. The sweat has been pouring off of me in buckets. I'm trying desperately to not get heat stroke. I douse myself and then go seek shelter in the nearly empty beer tent. Nearly empty because there are so few people who are of age to actually buy a beer.
2:45 pm, Punk Rock Legends Stage: DOA
DOA are a hardcore band from Vancouver, Canada who have been around since 1978. Led this entire time by Joe Keithley, aka Joey Sh*thead, DOA have been a stalwart punk band with a political edge for over three decades. Mr. Sh*thead fronts the band, runs his own indie label and has even run for public office in Canada.
This festival is surprisingly apolitical. There are no political organizations with booths to be seen here. This event seems to be about presenting non-confrontational punk music and eschewing any real message, other than to buy stuff.
DOA are an exception and these guys mean business in all their sloppy glory. There might be a hundred kids checking them out now. I see a fifty year old man in the circle pit! The band reel off classics like "Police Brutality" and "F*ck You". Joey Sh*thead advises the crowd to always speak out and question authority; well, I'm paraphrasing here. This is invigorating. Finally some songs sticking a middle finger up to the establishment; some songs that actually mean something. Damn, I think its time to head to the beer tent again.
3:10 pm, Hurley Stage: Gallows
Gallows are a buzz band from the UK fronted by Frank Carter, a pint-sized lead vocalist with a lot of charisma. I guess someone forgot to inform the crowd of this band's buzz because there are maybe 200 kids watching but not being particularly receptive to Gallows brand of UK hardcore.
Frank Carter, all 5 feet of him, is covered neck to toe in tattoos. His first words to us are "How the f*ck do you people live here?", no doubt in reference to the unbelievable heat. He also goes on a rant about how many "sh*t bands are on this tour" and then name checks most of the Punk Rock Legends Stage acts as those that are worthy of our time.
In a real missionary zeal type of a moment, Frank jumps off the stage, wades into the crowd with two of the band's guitar players and proceeds to try and convert this bunch of confused, overheated kids. He commands everyone to make "the biggest circle pit you've ever seen around this tent", this tent being the sound man's. Many kids comply and they begin running furiously around the tent, Frank joining in during instrumental breaks. Gallows brand of hardcore is nothing new, but they are tight, fast and have a true star in their lead singer. By the end of their set they have won over just about everybody there.
3:45, Punk Rock Legends Stage: Thelonious Monster
Another big reason I came today, actually perhaps the main reason I came today was to see these guys. Why they are part of this thing at all is a complete mystery to me. This band was not punk, but more of a Replacements type drunk rock band with three guitar players and a lead singer, Bob Forrest, who specialized in the kind of blunt, introspective and heartfelt lyrics that had him on par with Paul Westerberg's best work. They were pretty big in their native Los Angeles in the mid 80s to the beginning of the 90s. They made some waves on college radio but were never going to be the type of band to break out big. They were also tight with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, with whom they played many shows together. I saw both of them play together at the Roxy in Los Angeles, circa 1988. They were a pretty big band for me from 1987 until their dissolution in about 1992.
Lead singer Bob Forrest became know as a notorious L.A. music scene drink and drug casualty. In the last decade he has turned his life around and now might be better known as a substance abuse counselor at the Las Encinas rehab center in Pasadena headed by Dr. Drew Pinsky. He has been widely seen in episodes of VH1's "Celebrity Rehab".
Here I am 21 years later and I am just ecstatic to see this band again. They play a great set featuring such songs as "Look Into the West", "Sammy Hagar Weekend", "Walk On Water" and "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean". They seriously rock the Legends stage and me and about 10 puzzled kids are there to witness it. I am at the front with my body hanging over the crowd barricade; of course I am the only one to do so and sing along with the band. It begins to dawn on me that I have suddenly become Mel from Flight of the Conchords, but I'm too jacked up by seeing my old heroes to care. Bob is also being affected by the heat. "How can you f*cking stand this?" he says at one point. I am too excited by their performance to care about the heat now.
4:15, SkullCandy Stage: Millionaires
I was warned about this act. Apparently they are the most divisive act on the tour. It is a girl trio with huge hair performing catty electro rap songs. They came out and performed to backing tapes. They are just awful. That said, there are many high school age girls singing along to their hit "Alcohol", which has lines such as "Come get f*cked up. Give me my alcohol." Time to move along.
4:45, Punk Rock Legends Stage: UK Subs
Talk about legends. Lead vocalist Charlie Harper is by far the oldest punk here, if not in the world. He is 65 years old! He started his first band in 1964. He has led the UK Subs since 1976. Considered part of UK punk's second wave of punk bands. the Subs had their heyday from 1979 to 1981. During this time they racked up half a dozen Top 40 singles and a few charting albums as well. They were and are a pretty straight forward three chord punk act, with a Clash-like approach and attitude.
They perform a great set of Subs standards, including "Warhead", "Emotional Blackmail", "New York State Police" and "CID". Harper rasps his way through his umpteenth gig. Still the consummate front man after all these years and a true punk legend.
The heat is oppressive. Time for another beer and a mushroom tower shower.
5:15, Vans Main Stage: NOFX
NOFX were one of the preeminent punk bands of the 90s. They have released at least fifteen albums since 1989, many of them on leader Fat Mike's Fat Wreck Records. Their 1994 release "Punk in Drublic" even went gold.
I have never really listened to these guys much. Their show on Van Main Stage is full of bad on-stage jokes and unimpressive songs. The kind of pop punk that made punk rock very formulaic and predictable by the 90s. Really I think that punk said all it was going to say musically in its first ten years, which is to say that it was done by the mid-80s. Or perhaps that is just me being out of touch again. Still, the appeal of this group mystifies me.
The heat is really getting to people. Kids are taking shelter where ever they can on these grounds, which are few and far between. Heat exhaustion and dehydration must be a problem. And what is this? I think I have seen my first stretcher of the day.
5:45, Punk Rock Legends Stage: Fishbone
Here is an act that should be much bigger than they are. Fishbone are an all African-American six piece act that play a fusion of punk, funk, ska and metal. They have been around since the early-80s and had their commercial and critical heyday in the late 80s and early 90s, though they never really broke through like they should have. They appeared on the third Lollapalooza festival in 1993. I saw them play the UCD Coffee House in 1987.
They are working hard up there to a crowd of maybe one hundred kids. They should be gods, but now they are perhaps of more curio interest. They do a cover of Sublime's "Date Rape", which seems a little odd. They conclude with the chestnut "Party At Ground Zero" , which I believe is prominently featured in one of the late John Hughes teen flicks. Good set from a criminally under appreciated band.
6:15, Vans Main Stage: 3 Oh! 3
This is a Colorado-based band sure has drawn a lot of fans today judging by the number of t-shirts I see. They are currently enjoying a big pop hit with the song "Don't Trust Me". There is nothing remotely punk rock about these guys. They play a sort of alternative rap mixed with the kind of generic "Alternative Rock" that gets played on stations with that format. Lots of keyboards and a heavily processed guitar that doesn't even sound like a guitar.
The crowd is digging it though. Must be 4,000 people with their hands in the air and getting really into it. I seriously don't get it. The end of day is almost here and I think I am ready for it. Just one last thing to do.
6:45, Punk Rock Legends Stage: The Adicts
Yes, and for the final act of the day, it is the UK's Adicts, a veteran punk band, also of the UK's second wave. This band is all about the gimmicks. The lead singer, Monkey, dresses like an evil clown, Ala the Joker from Batman. The backing band dress like the Droog gang members from "A Clockwork Orange". Their music is pretty standard fare with chanted choruses and your usual chords and song structures.
Somehow these guys have become quite renowned in the punk rock world of today. I see the Adicts logo on many a jacket and wonder how they have achieved this. They were practically a non-entity back in the 80s. Perhaps the fact they have never broken up and continue to tour the U.S. has elevated their profile.
They also turn out to be one hell of a fun time. Monkey bombards the audience with streamers, confetti, glitter and joker playing cards as the band tear through their biggest songs: "Joker in the Pack", "Viva La Revolution" and "Chinese Take-away". For their final song, roadies fling all sizes of beach balls from behind the amps into the crowd of 150 or so. Simple but enjoyable pleasures.
So, that is about it. There is still another hour or so of this festival, but there is no one that I would want to stick around for, and besides, I am pretty fried and want to get a jump on the traffic.
Is this an accurate representation of the punk rock revolution that has now gone mainstream or is it just another rock show? The crowd was predominantly a mainstream one of high school kids who seemed most interested in the bands that seemed, to these ears, the least punk rock. I think punk rock lost its ability to shock a long time ago. Nowadays a kid with a mohawk hardly gets a second look. Hip hop usurped punk back in the late 80s, early 90s a the subculture of choice for rebellious teens to piss off their parents. Now even hip hop has grown tame and predictable. Where is the next youth culture revolution? Whatever it is or whenever that will be, I am sure it will be a grass roots movement that will be hated and misunderstood by adults and it sure won't have a corporate sponsored music festival supporting it. At least not yet.
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