Review: Warped Tour - Punk Rock Circus Brings Its Big Top to Los Angeles

The last day of the punk rock circus that is the Warped Tour hit the Home Depot Center in Carson California and it brought the sights, sounds and contradictions that encompass the world of punk rock. The Warped tour, in its fourteenth year has outlived most of the traveling rock festivals it started out with. It has done so with a unique formula of trying to unite the disparate sounds labeled "punk' nowadays. Although this year's tour did not feature the tag team of last year's Bad Religion and Pennywise, it did contain a wide range of styles. From old school and new school, from emo to metal and suburban hip-hop, the "Warped" tried to do it all this year with some hits and some misses.

The day started early with new school punks Whole Wheat Bread hitting the skate ramp stage at noon. The young band from Florida mixed rap and even covered a Rage Against The Machine tune into their style of super charged punk rock. On another small stage Mo Bigsley, from Long Beach served up a heady mix of funk, rock and rap. On two of the bigger stages two emo bands vied for the heats, minds and perfectly quaffed hair of the young fans. The Academy Is brought their tuneful, angst ridden lyrics to the masses while Anberlin tempered their melodic power pop with lyrics of hope and a stage show that was arena rock ready thanks to the relentless touring the band has done this year.

Old school groups like Big Drill Car, The Germs and Fear tried to keep the spirit of punk alive and the bands ATR and A Day to Remember brought a heavy metal edge to the festival. The band Against Me! represented the newest wave (no pun intended) of angry, progressive modern rock. Against Me! walked onstage to thunderous applause and had the crowd singing their anthems of protest and politics from their brilliant record New Wave. The band was criticized for moving to a major label and having Butch Vig (Nevermind) produce their disc but on this day, Against Me! stood out as the new school punk act with an old school spirit and mind set. The band challenged the audience both musically and lyrically in the true spirit of the genre.

Another group that seemed to want to challenge everything the tour had to offer was the band Black President. Black President is a group made up of old school punks from various bands. The band had one agenda on this day for the Warped Tour, and that was to shake things up and they accomplished their mission early in their set. Black President hit the stage with a fury that embodied the true essence of all things punk rock. They declared there were only five good bands on the tour, they announced they did not support either candidate for president and they urged the audience to vote for Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, Chuck D. and/or Samuel L. Jackson! Their set was loud, aggressive and they may have even scared a good number of emo kids as they tried to take the genre back to a time of political relevance and intensity.

As Against Me! and Black President represented the intensity of punk; the fun of the genre came in to play thanks to the ska and hip-hop groups on the bill. Reel Big Fish were part of the third wave of ska in the early 90's and they have not missed a beat as it pertains to their live show. With horns blaring the band put on a show that had their fans bouncing and pogoing to their infectious beats. The British band, Beat Union also tempered their rock sound with ska. Shwayze and Gym Class Heroes threw their unique styles of hip-hop into the mix, further stretching the boundaries of the genre. Shwayze's brand of laid back, Malibu beach hip-hop had their young fans waving their hands in the air and "buzzin" much like their radio hit, entitled Buzzin'. The Gym Class Heroes' live, dynamic hip-hop show seemed to enthrall the young crowd. The band, led by lead rapper/vocalist Travis McCoy had both emo and hip hop fans in a state of euphoria as they played tunes off of their last disc "As Cruel As School Children".

While some may forever criticize the Warped Tour for being almost too diverse there is no denying that the festival itself is a wild smorgasbord of everything and anything labeled punk. For the emo kiddies, old school, new school and even indie hip-hop fans the Warped Tour has something for everyone. Don't be left out next summer when the punk rock circus comes to town.