Poison: Live Raw & Uncut Summer Tour 2008

By Skitch, Unassociated Press (red-HALO.com)

Ever since their “Look What The Cat Dragged In” album back in 1986, Poison has always been a guilty pleasure for me. I know they’re not the world’s greatest band and they’re far from the most technical group of musicians. But, they’ve found themselves the perfect niche as a good time party band and they do it very well. From start to finish, they’re showmen.

Poison was scheduled to take the stage at 10:00. By 10:15, the crowd was getting a little impatient. The person to my right said, “They’d better start soon, the noise ordinance doesn’t allow music after 11:00.” With the lights still up in the pavilion, the stage lighting came up and the video screens were turned on. The crowed rose to their feet and began to cheer … for a Rock of Love commercial and a Poison Live, Raw & Uncut DVD commercial.

I’ve since realized that was, in fact, the start of the show. Following the commercials, GNR’s “Welcome to the Jungle” was pumped thru the PA. The stage and pavilion lights were up full and Brett Michaels was walking around the crowd taking photos and shaking hands. As the crowd sang along to GNR, I realized the producers of the show were setting the perfect party atmosphere.

When the stage and pavilion lights went out, Big John from Rock of Love screamed, “Indianapolis … Are you ready?! From Hollywood, California please welcome … Poison!” {Note: Reading it doesn’t do it justice, it was energetic. Just listen to the introduction from the Swallow This: Live album, it was the same guy.}

In the dark, the screens flickered a moment then displayed the movie countdown from 5 followed by pictures of Bret Michaels, CC DeVille, Bobby Doll and Rikki Rockett and a viewer discretion warning which read, “Warning: The follow program contains adult themes and situations. Would you expect anything less?”

The first song up, Look What The Cat Dragged In. I’ve seen Poison a few times and actually predicted they’d start the show with this tune. It’s the perfect song to start the show, it fits the band’s personality perfectly. As I mentioned before, they’re a good time party band, not Rush. The great thing is I think they embrace who they are by mocking themselves a bit starting with that song.

Bret Michaels popped out of a trap door from under an elevated riser behind the drums kit. The stage was lined with amps, 14 in all, on both sides of Rikki’s drum riser. Stairs were set up at stage left and right leading up to the elevated riser behind the drums. It was similar to the stage in the “Unskinny Bop” video, but only in design. Unlike the stage in the video, the stairs and risers were all plain white. In fact, the only color on stage was CC’s purple flying V guitar and the red flames on Rikki’s white drum kit. {Note: Bobby’s bass and Bret’s acoustic guitar were both black if you were wondering.}

The boys followed “Look What The Cat Dragged In” with I Want Action, also from their 1986 debut album. Both “Look What The Cat Dragged In” and “I Want Action” were performed with full energy from the band. CC’s guitar solos were just as I remembered them, Bret’s vocals were spot on and Bobby and Rikki were holding down a solid rhythm section.

Ride The Wind from the Flesh & Blood album followed “I Want Action” and I remember being very impressed with the harmonized backing vocals provided by CC, Bobby and Rikki.

After “Ride The Wind”, Bret chatted up the crowed for a bit. He welcomed everyone to the show and thanked Sebastian Bach and Dokken. He also plugged the Kid Rock/Lynard Skynard show the following night and introduced the next tune from the Poison’d album, What I Like About You.

During “What I Like About You”, the music video played on the screens. Poison’s rendition of this classic tune is pretty good. I know some people don’t care for cover tunes, but I enjoy hearing them. I also find it interesting that both Poison and Def Leppard came out with cover albums recently; the old is forever new.

Following “What I Like About You”, Bret began to chant, “CC” and the crowd joined him. CC walked to the front of the stage, motioned the crowd to cheer more and began to play a Guitar Solo. I’ve always enjoyed CC’s guitar solos. It’s one of the great things about Poison, there’s a guitar solo in every song they wrote (even the cover tunes).

CC’s solo began in the way most guitar solos do, with a lot of fast notes followed by a held high pitched bent note. The great thing about CC is he’s a ham. He’d play a few lines and then stop to get the crowd to cheer for more. He made his way from one side of the stage to the other, stopping every so often to egg the crowd on for more. At one point he stopped and walked around the stage basking in the cheers. He then mouthed the words, “Okay, Okay, one more time.” He then proceeded to play “Flight of the Bumble Bee”, something Nuno Bettencourt (of Extreme) was famous for playing, followed by a finger tap solo. CC ended his solo by playing a little of “Amazing Grace” which sounded pretty good on guitar.

Bobby, Rikki and Bret returned to the stage as the crowd cheered for CC’s guitar solo. Brett walked to center stage strumming his acoustic guitar. He introduced the next song, Something To Believe In, from the Flesh & Blood album mentioning that they play it each night for the troops. He talked about going overseas this past summer to meet with the troops and reintroduced Big John from Rock of Love who walked on stage with a video camera. Bret explained that they film “Something To Believe In” each night and send the video to the troops overseas.

Following “Something To Believe In”, Bret pulled out a harmonica and played a little blues intro to Your Mamma Don’t Dance which was quickly followed by Rikki Rockett’s DRUM SOLO. As Bret introduced “Mr. Rockett”, Rikki’s drum riser lifted off the stage.

The crowd cheered for the elevated drum kit and Rikki began beating his drums in to submission. The great thing about Rikki is he’s a true showman with his drumming. He stands up while playing and effortlessly twirls his sticks or tosses them in the air and catches them without missing a beat. The solo itself was pretty good, at one point I remember Rikki playing a Buddy Rich style single handed roll; that was impressive.

Rikki’s kit lowered back to stage level and moved forward toward the crowd as he finished the first part of his solo. He stood up carrying a large jam box on his shoulder and walked around to the front of his kit. He set the jam box down in front of his bass drum and hit the play button to start a backing track for the next part of his solo. He then walked to the edge of the stage and sat down on a box drum where a set of bongos were set up and continued his solo.

When Rikki was done with the hand percussion part of his solo, he walked back behind his drum kit and played the intro to Unskinny Bop as his drum kit moved back into its original position. CC and Bobby returned to the stage and Bret came running out as a stage hand tossed him a pair of maracas.

After “Unskinny Bop”, Bret thanked the crowd again for coming out and supporting them for the past 22 years. He then plugged the new season of Rock of Love, aka Rock of Love Bus, which will feature 20 women on the road with Bret for a month long tour. Bret also mentioned the first stop on the Rock of Love Bus would be in Indianapolis.

Bret than began to strum the intro to Every Rose Has Its Thorn on his guitar as the crowd cheered. Lighters were raised all over the pavilion and in the lawn and a mirror ball was dropped from above the stage. It was very surreal … a flash back to junior high school dances in 1988. At the end of “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”, Bret prepared the crowd for the last chord saying, “The end of this song features the first four notes I ever learned on guitar, this is where my dad’s $12.50 guitar lessons paid off”.

Another song from the Open Up And Say… Ahh! album, Fallen Angel, followed “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”. For me, Open Up And Say… Ahh! is thee Poison album; perhaps because it came out around the same time I got my first drum kit and I drummed along to every track hundreds of times or simply because it was good time Poison from start to finish.

From “Fallen Angel” you could feel the show was building to an explosive ending. The boys followed “Fallen Angel” with Talk Dirty To Me, which was by far the bands Best In Show number. CC was tossing picks to the crowd and dancing around with Bret, Bobby was running from stage left to stage right and Rikki was standing while playing throughout most of the song.

As Bobby, CC and Rikki hammered the ending to “Talk Dirty To Me”, Bret thanked the crowd for 22 years of support and reminded everyone about Rock of Love Bus. He then said, “Thanks to all my friends up front, [and] all the way up in the lawn, have a good summer, see you next year!” and the stage went dark.

Within a very short amount of time, possibly because it was now after midnight, Big John from Rock of Love came out on stage and yelled, “Do you want more Indianapolis? Give it up one more time for Poison!!”

Bret, CC, Bobby and Rikki ran back out on stage (Rikki in a Corey Feldman hat) as Bret said, “Indianapolis, we’re not leaving ‘till you have nothin’ but a good f-in’ time”, he then pointed to Rikki and said, “Rockett!” and Rikki and CC began the intro to Nothin’ But A Good Time. Once again, there was full energy on stage. Clips of the band from the 80s were being played on the video screens; skateboarding on hotel luggage carts, wrecking hotel rooms and clips from their music videos.

Just prior to singing the line, “I raise a toast to all of us”, Bret asked Rikki, Bobby and CC to bring it down a bit. A roadie handed him a Corona and he asked the entire crowd to raise their drinks, he toasted Indianapolis, took a drink and then continued singing.

“Nothin’ But A Good Time” ended in classic 80s tradition, Bobby and Rikki pounded on the last note as CC took one last opportunity to solo. Then with a loud explosion, confetti dropped from the ceiling (just like the end of the video). The boys continued to hammer on the last note as Rikki’s drums rose up off the stage again, Bret said, “Thank you, Indianapolis, good night” and the band hit 5 notes and the stage went dark.

The pavilion and stage lights came up rather quickly and the band was still on stage. Bret said he’d “like to thank everyone one more time without screaming it for the video” and he CC, Bobby and Rikki made their way out to shake hands and take photos in the crowd as the credits rolled on the screens.

Underøath: 7 songs, 1,960 seconds

Mayhem Fest 2008.....and Underøath was set to perform soon. Hot Topic stage, and I arrived about 10 minutes before they were scheduled to take the stage. This, to me, was going to be the highlight of the evening. Underøath hails from Tampa, FL and has been impressing crowds with their unique interpretations of metalcore music across the nation since 1998. With an album scheduled for release on Sept 2, I anticipated to witness an epic and illustrious performance.

At 6:24 the crowd began to chant, “Underøath! Underøath!" At exactly 6:25, the band that hundreds of people had waited for, in the hot sun, took the stage. Underøath hit the crowd hard with their first song. Spencer Chamberlain roared into the microphone, and the band followed his lead. After the first tune, Spencer announced that their second song was a new song. When the song began it was as if Underøath had taken a giant leap forward. It was the same Underøath sound, but sounded so much more sophisticated. It is always difficult for a crowd to welcome a new song presented at a live performance, but this crowed embraced it with open arms. Halfway through the song the crowd began to clap along, enjoying the melodic undertones amidst the thrashing metalcore sound.

"Desperate Times, Desperate Measures," the new single off of Lost in the Sound of Separation came a few songs later. The vocals hit you in the face at the start, and then Aaron's melodic vocals shone through, to expose the familiar Underøath sound that has captured the attention of thousands over the past years. This is the sound that separates them from the rest of the metalcore bands; Spencer's throaty vocals roaring, as Aaron's melodies drive through the sounds of the heavy hitting drums, and the intrinsic guitar riffs.

"Writing on the Walls” was well received by the crowd. Glancing back into the crowd I saw singing, moshing, fists pumping in the air, and bodies floating across the top of the crowd. Partially through the song Chris lifted his hands up, as if in worship, then Aaron's drums kicked in, as he pushed the band to their last tune.

7 songs packed into 1,960 seconds, with each, these six innovative individuals, were able to compliment the tastes of melodic music connoisseurs, and the thrashing, face to the floor, metalcore fans of all ages. With a stunning display of enthusiasm and invigorating live performances, Underøath has gained honors in my notebook as being exceptional musicians and entertainers. Lost in the Sound of Separation is due to hit stores on September 2nd. Highly anticipated and well overdue, this remarkable blend of innovative ferocity, and lucid melodies, may be their most accomplished album to date.

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Soundtrack of Your Summer - Boys Like Girls

Boys Like Girls was the headliner for the Soundtrack of Your Summer Tour, and many overly anxious kids awaited them to take the stage. Flocks of young girls surrounded the Good Charlotte tour bus, in hopes of catching a glimpse of one of the band members. I found myself sitting and singing along to the “intermission” music, which was Death Cab for Cutie’s album Plans. Suddenly the music was dramatically cut off in the middle of a song, and there was a loud ear-piercing sound coming from the stage. Initially I thought it was feedback, but apparently it was supposed to be the sound of static. We then heard a voice say “You are about to witness a high fidelity music experience,” and the drums to Hero/Heroine kicked in. Screams of delight escalated as the rest of the band kicked in and began to play their opening tune.The band played a few more songs back to back, including “5 minutes To Midnight.” It was about this time that I really started noticing that the sound wasn’t as great as one would expect. I heard moments of feedback, and the vocals weren’t great, either. Still, the band carried on and played more tracks from their 2006 self titled album.An unfamiliar version of “Learning to Fall,” began and lead singer Martin Bennett introduced it as the remix version. It was followed up by “Dance Hall Drug” and “Broken Man.” Before the next song, Martin spoke some more, telling the crowd that the next song was written when he was 18 years old, sprawled across the living room floor, and dreaming of playing “on a stage like this, in front of a crowd like this.” That was well received by the young fans. With that, he asked everyone to hold their cell phones up in the air, along with lighters or cameras. He continued “This song is the first song to ever be put together by Boys Like Girls, as a band….it’s called Thunder.” As had been requested of them, the crowd lifted their cell phones up in the air, and they sang along.The band picked up the pace a bit after that song, and continued to pump out songs from their one and only album. Never once was there mention of an upcoming release. The band was established in 2005, and their record was released in 2006. It’s 2008 and I’m yet to see any news of a new album. In my eyes, their sophomore album is over-due.The young pop punk band from Boston, Massachusetts closed the evening with “The Great Escape.” It was a fun, energetic way to close out the night, but again, it sounded to me like there were vocal issues, but I couldn’t pinpoint who was at fault….the sound engineer or the vocalist.The evening was very energetic, but you could absolutely tell the difference in confidence levels between this band and Good Charlotte. Good Charlotte is a seasoned band who is no stranger to the stage, and Boys Like Girls have a little more growing up to do, in order to get there. I was disappointed by the sound at times, and I was also disappointed to not hear an encore. I assumed the main reason why there wasn’t one was because they played almost all the songs off their 2006 album, and nothing else. Did they even have anything else? Who knows….either way, it left a little more to be desired.

Soundtrack of Your Summer - Good Charlotte

Tonight was my first time all summer that I had the opportunity to check out a show at The WhiteLies Lawn at White River State Park. This venue is one of my favorites, aside from the little bugs flying around that seem to only be attracted to me. This evening the Soundtrack of Your Summer Tour was stopping here in Indianapolis. The tour has been on the road since July 8th, and would be coming to a close in just a few weeks. Good Charlotte was the 3rd band to take the stage tonight, and as soon as the first note of “Just Like You” was hit, a mass of kids rushed the stage. I was amazed to see fans just take off running towards the stage. This song was immediately followed up by “The River,” and I think the entire crowd was singing along.

Lead singer, Joel Madden, took an opportunity to chat with the crowd before their 4th song and discussed the headliners of the tour, Boys Like Girls. At the mention of their name, girls began to scream in excitement. He expressed his surprise at the amount of girls that were at the show. The crowd seemed to be enthused about this, and began to scream and cheer. As Joel stood at the front of the stage, the girls in the crowd began to chant “Take it off!” in hopes of having him remove his shirt. For a moment, it looked like he was about to do it, but then did not. As if there wasn’t enough screaming going on, Joel encouraged it even more saying “The interesting part about the girls from this part of the country is their blood curdling screams.” Needless to say, it began again, but with more intensity. He asked if the guys in the crowd could compete, but they fell very short of being able to compare themselves to the females in the crowd. At his request, they all began to cheer as they went into “Girls & Boys.”

During their next song “Little Things” I heard some screams stage left, and looked to see what was going on. One of the Metro Station members Trace Cyrus had appeared for a few seconds. Suddenly that area was flocked with girls anxious to catch a glimpse of him again, or any other Metro Station member, for that matter. I wasn’t necessarily interested in participating in this, so I went back to watching the show, and listening to Good Charlotte play “Hold On.” After this tune, Good Charlotte kicked into some heavy thrashing guitar riffs and heavy drum beats, and I wondered what was going to be played next. Joel led the crowd by shouting “1,2” and the crowd would follow him up by shouting “1,2,3,4,” which lead into “Young and Hopeless.” During this song I noticed some feedback coming off the stage, which was a shock to me. That is not something that one would expect at a venue like this. It was troubling to think that they were having some sound issues.

Before their last song, Joel teased the crowd by singing “…I feel like a hero….” And the crowd immediately followed it up with “you are my heroine.” You knew at this point that their set was almost over, which was a bit of a disappointment, as they defiantly had put on a great show. Their energy level never dropped and their stage presence was confident and strong. The band has been together for about 12 years, with only one member not being from the original lineup. These guys work well together, and the songs that they write are catchy and easy to sing along to.

The last tune of their set was “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous.” This is one of their bigger singles and even if you don’t really know many Good Charlotte tunes,you know this one. The crowd was genuinely having a great time during this tune, singing along and jumping up and down during the chorus.

Good Charlotte is a punk band that should be admired. Bands do not stay together for this long anymore. People change, the passion dwindles, and the fans disappear. This group is comprised of all but one original band member. That is dedication. The energy level at which this group played demonstrated that their passion is still there, and they are moving forward to see what comes next, on their road to success.

Indianapolis Warped Tour 2008

Vans Warped Tour is one of the most highly anticipated music festivals to come to Indianapolis. The Warped Tour fell on July 31st this year, as usual, it was a very hot and balmy summer day. Doors opened at 11, and by then, there was an enormous line of tattooed punk rock kids anxiously waiting to get in.

Walking in you could hear that a couple of bands that had already begun to play. As much as one wants to hurry off to a stage to catch their first band, the first stop must always the big inflatable schedule board. The interesting, and unique part about Warped Tour is that the schedule is always different. Your favorite band may have played at 1:00 the previous stop, but today might be playing last. The board lists all 8 stages, along with all the bands and their performance times. The board is always surrounded by people for the first hour or so that the doors open, because all want to make sure they don’t miss anybody. After writing down a few band names on a piece of paper, I made my way out of the crowd and headed towards what I know to be the Main Stage at Verizon Wireless Music Center.

This is the 14th year that the tour has been in existence, thanks to Kevin Lyman Warped Tour creator. When the festival first began, it was about skating, and music. The half-pipe was huge, and there would be a crowd gathered around it, waiting their turn. I must say, I was very disappointed by the fact that I had to hunt down the half-pipe this year. It was so small, and the crowd was almost non existent. What happened to the old skate festival that this used to be? The lineup also showed a reflection of some major changes. Back in the day it was guaranteed that you would see classic punk and ska bands, and then some new up and coming bands on the smaller stages. This year, the lineup really didn’t have anyone that I would consider a classic punk band. For some, who are older, this year was probably a disappointment, but for the attendees between the ages of 13 – 20, this was a dream.

Today the pavilion was actually split in half, one half being the SmartPunk.com stage, and the other being the Hurley.com stage. A few moments after we arrived, Oreskaband took the stage. This is an all girl Japanese ska band that just looked absolutely thrilled to be there. I hadn’t attended a ska show in quite some time, so it was refreshing to see all the energy that was flowing off the stage. When not playing the horns, the girls were jumping and dancing across the stage, dressed like school girls. This was the first time that I had seen this group, so I was unfamiliar with their songs, but it was a fun set. The next set to catch was at the same location, just on the other side of the big stage. I walked over and was greeted by the hardcore sound of Confide. The group didn’t necessarily impress me much. Screaming vocals and the shredding of guitars filled the area, but not many seemed to be overly interested. I had hoped that the screaming would subside to hear the true vocals of the lead singer, but to my disappointment, it did not. After 3 songs I decided it was time to take a walk to the next stage sponsored by Hurley, where up and coming pop artist Katy Perry was going to play. There was some confusion as to where she was scheduled to play, so I ended up catching a little of Family Force 5’s set. Unique to say the least, this Christian ‘crunk’ band has somehow assembled a small army of fans that enjoy their energetic show. I took that one listen, and quickly remembered why I hadn’t taken the time to watch their 2007 performance on Warped Tour. As entertaining it was to watch them play an oversized drum machine, I had a very full schedule and I was in search of where Katy Perry was actually going to play.

I made it back to the Hurley.com stage just in time to catch Katy Perry. This artist was unheard of until the recent success of her chart topping hit “I Kissed a Girl.” There were many fans there to catch her set. Katy pulled out her guitar for a few songs and played with the band, which was surprising to me, as I thought she was only a vocalist. She closed her set with “I Kissed a Girl,” which was no surprise to all that were there.

While wandering between stages, I began trying to understand the reason for the changes in the festival. Walking by the merch tent I overheard a band discussing the tour. I heard one band member mention to the other that they would be lucky if they broke even while on the tour this summer. Being on this tour means you’re not making the normal amount of money you could be making, if you were playing individual gigs. These bands spend approximately 2 months on the road doing the same thing every day. They play their 30 minute sets in the grueling heat, then try to sell as much merchandise as they can, in hopes of making enough money to get to the next city. I sat down at one point with Mike Lasaponara, drum tech for The Academy Is and asked him what life was like on the tour. He explained to me that it was fun because you get to meet lots of new people, and surround yourself in music, but there was a catch. You are always surrounded by people. There is rarely a moment to yourself, ever. He said that one really doesn’t realize how much they need alone time, until they are deprived of it. The day starts off at approximately 8:00 am. You get up and get to the venue, to prep for the day. The gates open, the music starts, you play your gig, you tear down, and you go try and sell some merchandise. The show may end around 8:30 at night, but then you must load everything up and go to the next city, just to start all over again. He said that sometimes you have to make sure that you don’t lose yourself in the monotony, which is difficult at times.

Say Anything, an alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California, was my next stop at the Highway 1 Main Stage. I was encouraged by a few fans to make my way over to see them and since they had the lucky time slot to be playing just before Angels and Airwaves, I decided to go. Although the crowd was active, I believe a few of them were simply there to get a good spot for the next band. I wasn’t thoroughly impressed with Say Anything’s performance although I have to admit, the band was candid for the camera, and they did look like they were having a good time.

Angels and Airwaves (AVA) took the stage shortly after 4pm and they were welcomed with hundreds of screaming fans. Fronted by Tom DeLonge formerly of Blink 182 and Box Car Racer, AVA was a much needed break from all the screaming that had already commenced that day. AVA played six tunes in their 30 minute set that included “My First Punk Song” which was a Box Car Racer tune that the fans enjoyed. The day was quickly passing and I had more bands that were a must see for me so I was off.

I headed over to the little Ernie Ball stage to catch Forever the Sickest Kids. I got there early and unfortunately had to listen to MC Chris. When I first began to listen I thought someone was joking around with the mic. After a few minutes I realized that this was actually a performance. I was shocked to see the amount of people at his set who seemed to be enjoying it. Towards the end of his set he commented that the Indy Warped Tour had, thus far, been his largest crowd. I was absolutely amazed.

Once he finished I made my way to the stage to await Forever The Sickest Kids. This group of guys had gone from nothing to stardom in less than one year. They came out onto the stage and the crowd went crazy. It was as if a pop-punk version of a boy band had just taken the stage. Their crowd was big, and seemed to know every song. When lead singer Jonathan stated that the next song was about a girl named Brittany, the crowd began went wild. Needless to say, the next song was “Hey Brittany,” the song that got them their big break. I will say this for this band, they were full of energy. Will it last? It’s hard to say, but I would say they had a successful show at the Indy stop of Warped Tour.

Halfway through the FTSK set I had to make my way across the lawn to the Route 66 stage to catch Anberlin. I was surprised that they were on the Warped Tour bill, I didn’t think that this was “their thing,” but their crowd was one of the largest. They played a variety of tunes from all three of their albums, and played one song off their up and coming release, scheduled to come out 9.30.08 on Tooth and Nail Records. Stephen Christiansen of Anberlin announced that they will be touring with Scary Kids Scaring Kids after the conclusion of the Warped Tour.

The Route 66 stage hosted quite a few bands that I wanted to catch, including The Academy Is. This band has been touring, for what seems like forever. This was their second Warped Tour, and their crowd seemed happy to see them back. This group has an album coming out later this month, so they played a couple of songs off of that, but made sure to play the familiar tunes of their previous albums. I caught up with William Beckett after observing a filming of a new TAITV skit and when asked if they’d do a 3rd Warped Tour he said he was unsure. We will see what happens next year.

I headed back to the Highway 1 stage to catch one of the seasoned bands on this years tour, Against Me. This band has been around for more than eleven years, making these guys some of the oldest on the tour. This fact did not slow them down. Against Me played a high energy punk show that seemed to please a variety of fans.

One of the band that I was anxious to see was Reel Big Fish. Yes, Reel Big Fish. They are STILL together and STILL releasing new albums! I couldn’t believe it either. I was welcomed by old favorites, and a couple of new songs off of their new album “Monkey’s For Nuthin’ and The Chimps For Free.” This band was also one of the older ones on the tour, but they were tight and full of energy. I was surprised at the variety of people in the crowd. I didn’t expect to see as many young people in the crowd as I did.

The Hurley stage was placed just down a hill near the Main Gate of Verizon Wireless, The stage featured a inflated top to give it a amphitheatre look, although it was just a semi trailer unfolded into this pre-wired stage. As the crowd anxiously awaited All Time Low to take the stage they began to chant ATL…ATL…ATL… Moments later Alex, Jack, Rian and Zack took the stage before a loud and excited crowd. Jack had to be the most active guitarists that I had seen that day. He jumped, kicked, and swung his guitar around effortlessly all over the stage. All Time low played 8 tunes during their 30 minute set and every second was exciting.

Relient K had one of the larger crowds of the day, performing on Highway 1. The set was tight, which isn’t surprising since they have been together for quite some time. I can see why their fan base is large. Their songs are poppy, catchy, and easy to sing along to. I wouldn’t necessarily say that they were my favorite of the day, but still a good set.

It was a little after 7:00 and the day was coming to a close. The small half-pipe had been torn down, a few of the smaller stages like the solar powered Kevin Says Stage was dismantled and on the ground, and I was on my way to the Route 66 stage to catch Motion City Soundtrack. At the front of the crowd were kids waiting patiently to catch this Minneapolis band. I asked a few guys against the barricade what their favorite part of the tour had been and one responded with, “Water, do you have any? I’ll pay you for it.” Another fan said, “Waiting for Motion City Soundtrack!” Neither response surprised me much, so I went and grabbed a can of water and handed it to the thirsty kid. At 7:40, just as the schedule read, Motion City Soundtrack took the stage. Motion City is a perfect blend of infectious vocal melodies, indie rock riffs and hard driving synths. Adding to the depth was Justin Pierres clever lyrics, which made this show one of my favorites from the day.

The last band to perform today was Story of The Year. This band has never been high on my playlist, but after seeing them live, I may have to give them another chance. They took complete control of the stage, and the crowd loved it. Lead singer Dan Marsala was all over the stage, and at one point jumped off the stage. He stood up on the barricade and then actually let the crowd take him crowd surfing! It was incredible. He was singing, the band was playing, and the crowd was going nuts. After the song he jumped back up on stage to finish the set. This performance was probably one of the most energetic of the day, which is hard to believe, since by this time the crowd that was left was exhausted.

Leaving the venue that night I was completely drained. Over 95 bands performed, and I think I only had time to catch about 15 of them. I give props to the band performing, though. It is always so hot during the Warped Tour, and for them to unload gear, get up on stage to play, then load up gear again, is impressive. The crowd was impressive as well. At almost every stage you saw kids crowd surfing and moshing, which led to bruises and bloody noses. I’m sure if I’d asked any of the fans there if it was worth the pain and blood they would have told me yes, and that they’d do it again tomorrow. With only 2 weeks remaining of the 2008 Warped Tour we look to Kevin Lyman to see if the 14 year skate and music festival will see another year.

A Static Lullaby announces fall tour.

A Static Lullaby (Fearless Records) and Maylene and The Sons of Disaster (Ferret Records) will be hitting the road together this fall to tour nationwide. The tour, sponsored by Hurley, will also include Showbread, Confide, and Attack Attack! The tour kicks off on September 26th in Memphis, TN and ends on November 15, 2008.

A Static Lullaby will be playing tracks off their upcoming album, "Rattlesnake!", which drops in retail stores nationwide on September 9th. If you can't wait until September for the fourth album from A Static Lullaby, jump online and listen to the Rattlesnake! sampler, now playing on their Myspace page. The sampler plays clips from every track off their upcoming album. The band is really excited about Rattlesnake!, as vocalist Joe Brown explains, "This is the best thing I've ever been a part of, hands down...I truly am 100% happy with how the songs came out."

A Static Lullaby is currently co-headlining on the Party Star Tour this summer with Dance Gavin Dance. They will be joined coast-to-coast by Four Letter Lie, Secret and Whisper and Lower Definition.

For more information please visit www.myspace.com/astaticlullaby

Courtesy of Fearless Records