Warped Tour '08

Warped Tour came near my house on July 13th, and instead of just rambling on about my whole day, full of sunburn, headache, and alcohol-riddled people, i thought i would do something creative for a change. so here are the Warped Tour Awards!

Loudest Band: Against Me!

Warped Tour is held outdoors and has 8 stages, so you know the volume will be up. but when Against Me! came on, and didn't even say a single word the whole set, they cranked up the volume so freakin' loud that the ground shook.

see a video of Against Me! here.

Biggest Surprise: Reel Big Fish

i've always liked ska music, and i knew Reel Big Fish would be a cool band to see live, but i had no idea this band had so music energy and were so incredibly funny. they even threw in a free Metallica cover. how rad.

Most Talented Band: Anberlin

i saw Anberlin at Warped last year, and they were definitely one of the better bands there. this year was no different. they continue to prove they're musical genus with a really tight set this year and were generally stoked to be on the tour again.

Most Entertaining: Say Anything

there's no doubt that Say Anything is one of my absolute favorite bands, and i was really excited to see them at Warped this year. their live show is constantly exciting, energy-filled, and funny, complete with sing-along sections and a lot of audience participation. not even a few technical problems could stop them. and Max Bemis had a Neil Diamond shirt on. talk about hardcore.

see a video of Say Anything here.

Best Band at Warped 2008 Runner-up: Angels & Airwaves

i've loved blink-182 ever since i was a little kid, and it truly upset me when they broke up. but i've managed to see both Mark and Travis play live in +44 twice, but never saw Tom in Angels & Airwaves. things changed this year at Warped when AvA came out and blew my mind away. i love AvA's music a lot, and their set was awesome, but just seeing Tom standing there, cracking jokes about having sex with everyone's dads, brought back a lot of good memories.


see a video of Angels & Airwaves here.

Best Band at Warped Tour 2008: Jack's Mannequin

i know what you're thinking: what is a band like Jack's Mannequin doing at Warped Tour? isn't this supposed to be for loud punk bands? regardless, JM felt right at home with the packed in tighter-than-tight crowd watching their breath-taking set. it's a shame they could only play for 30 minutes, because when Andrew McMahon sang the last line of closing song "La La Lie", the band seemed like they were just getting started. oh, and i met Andrew, and he's got to be the coolest and most chill person i've ever met.

see a video of Jack's Mannequin here.

so there you have it. compared to last year, Warped '08 was totally awesome. not to say last year's was bad, it was just boring compared to the sheer amount of amazing bands on this year's lineup. it was totally worth all the tubes of suntan lotion i went through that day and countless amount of sizzled skin.