Concert Review: Van's Warped Tour, 7/17/2008, Cleveland, Ohio - Page 4

With about thirty minutes to kill until the next act I opted to skip seeing The Bronx live and I really wish I hadn’t as I was tortured by the emo-ish Automatic Loveletter.  Regardless of how I felt about the emo group there was a nice sized crowd checking out the band I had never heard before.  Unluckily for the band, but lucky for me, their set was cut short and it was time to check out yet another band, but this time I had heard of them.

3OH!3, pronounced 3-oh-3, in my opinion had the most energy out of any of the bands on the entire tour. They recharged any tiring fans at the beginning of their set with a cover of Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock-n-Roll” and got everyone moving and dancing.  The duo of Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte with their backing band unloaded their white-boy hip-hop to a great crowd packed full of crazy dancing and flirting motions.  Imagine crunk mixed with emo and a little electronica and that is just a small idea of what they sounded like, especially "Punk Bitch." 

Warped Tour veterans Pennywise blasted through their set on the Route 66 stage to a minimal crowd mostly because Angels and Airwaves was to play at the other side of the venue and I am sure a lot of fans wanted to get an early spot to see them.  I was glad I stuck with my choice because I witnessed Rick Thorne take over the mic spot for a cover of Minor Threat’s “Minor Threat” and got to sing along with Pennywise to the ending song “Bro Hymn” with everyone else around me.  Pennywise thanked their fans and informed everyone that they are going on twenty years as a band, an amazing feat.

There is nothing about Angels and Airwaves that interests me so I stood my ground at the Route 66 stage until heavy hitting act Gym Class Heroes walked out to approving cheers. Opening with “Clothes Off” and continuing with other rap/punk rock hits they were another highlight of my day.  The live band backing up Travis McCoy was solid and sounded much better than I had anticipated. 

This year’s lineup did not seem as impressive to me before the show started as there were all these bands I had never heard of but in turn I really did enjoy myself. There were still some old school contenders returning to the punk rock fest that attracted my interest but there were also a lot of bands I had never heard of before making me feel that I have fallen out of the loop.  One of the main reasons Warped Tour means so much to me is that I can take out a day every year and spend it with good friends, that alone is priceless.  Will this be the last Warped Tour I will ever attend?  That depends on next year’s set. 

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Article Author: Brian McConville

A music lover for life, this former punk rock super hero has finally slowed down a little and accepted the fact that he is a better listener of music than a performer. Brian McConville operates his own blogging website www.brokenheadphones.com in his …

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