Warped Tour - Phoenix, AZ, June 30

Whoo Hoo! I had my first Warped Tour visit ever (I know, I know) yesterday in Phoenix. Nice hot sunny day, full of sweaty teenagers and bikini-clad babes sporting sexy tats. But I was there to learn about bands I know nothing about - the whole AltPress-Warped-The Hills kind of bands, ya know? And I did. I was so excited I didn't even feel the 105 degree heat! Swag and booths and bikinis and rock all around. Excellent. I only saw maybe 10 of the 50 bands that played yesterday, not knowing that arriving at 4:30ish would be more than halfway through the day (Hey, it was a Tuesday!). To the bands!

- Therefore I Am, a Boston postcore band pictured to the left, kicked total ass in front of a smallish crowd (cuz everyone else was watching 3Oh!3 and waiting for Bad Religion). Great energy, amazing riffs and total commitment to the moment. They're backing a new CD called "The Sound of Human Lives" - they LIVED it. Wonderful to see.


- Tempe band The Maine had a huge crowd eating out of their hand. Great frontman John 'O Callaghan with a shirt that read 'Are You on Our Side?' - the band played really well and seemed pretty pumped about everything. I caught maybe half the set then left when 'O Callaghan said they would slow it down. Seems there was a brawl up front, and some kid got whacked bad. So he asked the crowd to hug one another instead of punching. That was my cue to stroll.


- Caught the last wheezes of Aiden's set - singer William looked red-eyed and really kinda scary, but he also said some very heartfelt words at the set's end and seemed to have a huge heart for the kids. After the set, Aiden's booth had a huge long line waiting to speak to him.


- Canadian hardcore band Alexis on Fire put on a fantastic set - full of fire and spit. They are promoting a new CD "Old Crows/Young Cardinals". Great stuff, wish I had more pics. That's the only one that came out decent.

- I didn't know the band 3OH!3 (but recognized some songs of theirs from rock radio here in PHX), and they put on a great show, even if the two front guys Sean and Nathaniel look like 80s-styled fitness gurus onstage. But the live band rocked, the electronic samples soared and the crowd was all over it. I couldn't get close enough for pix.


- Bad Religion finished the night with a excellent, sturdy set that included songs from 2007's "New Maps of Hell" and classic nuggets from their vast catalogue. Greg Hetson's and Brian Baker's guitars roared and snarled, and Greg Graffin was in fine voice, though mentioning some hoarseness. The kids were throwing plastic water bottles and crowdsurfing, and despite the tiredness of everyone who was there all day, the band and the crowd synched great.(Q: Who was the guy next to the drummer onstage just smiling and laughing the whole time?)


All in all, a great afternoon/evening of rock, and way more fuckin' fun than being in a dark club. And I even got to meet and chat with Ramones' creative guru Arturo Vega, who was running the RamonesWorld booth at Warped. Cool. Crazy I lived in Manhattan for a decade and never ran in Vega at any shows, and I come out west and there he is. Nuts.

All my pix from yesterday show with my not great but decent phonecam on at my Flickr page.