Jared’s Blog

The 2006 edition of the Vans Warped Tour rolled through Minneapolis last Sunday (yes, that was Father’s Day and yes, I called my father). Ten solid hours of music and fun in the sun! Well, except that all your favorite bands only play for 20 min, food costs a fortune, and you’re tired and sunburnt by lunchtime.

No really, I enjoy going every year that I can and this year was no different. Rick was supposed to drop by my place about 10, but he was delayed by too many drinks from the night before. After planning to meet up later, I decided to take off for downtown. A little disclaimer: Warped Tour is a long day. I’m sure there’s stuff I’m forgetting. If you were there, feel free to rip me a new one in the comments.
Once I got parked, I made my way to the line only to find Will Call was around the other side of the building. Now being that I was at gate D, I decided to head towards gates A, B, and C thinking that it’d be a shorter walk then if I walked all the way around the other way. Wrong! Turns out the way they had things set up, you couldn’t get around that way without walking around the entire Warped Tour area. I made it about 1/3 the way before I realized this.

Just after I walked up to the line, Birhanzel just about jumped me. I was jealous because he was set up with a photo pass and I wasn’t (I also later found out he interviewed The Bled and Thursday which made me more jealous).  I also connected up with Andy before going inside, but there was no sign of Rick and no answer on his cell phone.

The first thing you do when you get inside Warped is check out the big blow up set list thing. To my surprise Every Time I Die was playing first thing, but I guess they rotate slots on the stages so everyone gets their turn. I didn’t really watch their set though. With some time to kill before the next band I wanted to see, I got a feeling for where each of the stages were and sometime during that, I found Rick.

The first band we went to see was Greeley Estates. I had missed them at Taste of Chaos, so I was excited to see their live show. To make it even better, we were able to be right on the rail. I couldn’t have asked for a better spot to take photos from. Greeley played mostly newer material which I wasn’t quite as familiar with, so that was kind of a bummer, but they were still pretty good.

Next in the day’s sets was The Casualties. I’m not really a fan at all, but I dig any band who’s as hardcore punk as these guys. They’re straight out of 1983. At some point between their set and whoever was playing afterwards on the other main stage, I went and grabbed a $6 gyro from Dino’s. Damn, was that worth $6 in tickets! Though it had a little too much sauce on it and as I was ridding the excess from my food, some girl walked right in front of me and I squeezed some on her. The funny thing was she didn’t notice, and didn’t even turn around. She just kept walking and every step she took I started laughing harder and harder.

The next 2 hours were the best of the day. Anti-Flag, Rise Against, Underoath and Protest the Hero all right in a row. Somewhere in there I walked by the Volcom stage and Amber Pacific was playing. I was only there long enough to snap a few shots and run back to the other stages.

I don’t know what it was about Anti-flag, but they just weren’t as good this year as in years past that I’ve seen them. Consequently, I think they’ve been at all 3 times I went to the Warped Tour. They’re always a good show regardless though.

Rise Against was the next band I saw. Out of every band on that bill, I was most excited to see them and they didn’t disappoint one bit. My only qualm with their set was they played 1 new song. I wanted to hear Chamber the Cartridge, but they only played their latest single, “Ready to Fall.” It’d be really great to see them headlining some time.

Underoath was just as impressive as Rise Against and they played a couple of new songs. To tell the truth, I was fighting the crowd most of their set trying to get some good shots, but they didn’t really work out. I couldn’t make it very close to the front and there was too much movement to get a clear shot of the stage. Finally, I just gave up on the camera and enjoyed their set, which was absoultely stunning.

As I said, things just kept going and Protest the Hero was no let down. I thouroughly enjoy this band and they are a treat to see live. Protest wins the prize for highest rolled up pants. Their bassist Arif was sporting these white pants that were rolled all the way up. They looked kind of like a cross between boxers and a big diaper. To top it all off the dude is rockin a Dragonforce shirt. How can you not like these guys? Oh, did I mention they shred? My best shots of the day came from Protest. I guess I hit my stride early in the day.

Again there was a short break in the day, so Rick and I decided to go find some shade to chill in. As we were sitting there, a dude came up to us with an iPod and a box of CDs. As it turns, out he was from the band Nural. A band which Rick had reviewed on Decoy and liked. Surprised, the guy stopped trying to sell us CD’s and instead we had a short chat about Decoy and his band. I can’t blame him for doing what he could to get his band out there, but at the same time I hate pushy people like that.

After that I started browsing through the set lists again. I swore my eyes were decieving me because as I was browsing, I see No Trigger, this awesome band from MA. They sort of sound like A Wilhelm Scream and are on the same label. Well it turns out they were on one of the small side stages and we had time to see them. That made my day right there. 20 people rocking out to a really good band that really deserves more attention. Without the crowd to get in the way, I could really take my time with photos and I grabbed a bunch of great ones from No Trigger.

Things were pretty much winding down around this time and I had seen pretty much all the bands I wanted to see. Rick and I caught sets by Over It, From Autumn to Ashes, and part of Thursday’s, none of which were all that memorable.
Things finished up with The Bled and NOFX. The Bled was stellar as usual. This was the third time I’d seen them, but they were entertaining nonetheless. As much as I grew up on punk, I was never a NOFX fan. I’m getting to like them more now, but there’s a dozen other punk bands I’d rather listen to. That aside, these guys are hilarious, especially Fat Mike. Every time they’d be about to start a song, the drummer would count them off and then Fat Mike would say something or just mess up and not start the song.  They started one song a total of 4 times. The entire set, he was ripping into Underoath for having a bible study after the tour. As a non-Christian I found the ribbing pretty funny, but I could see a lot of people getting pissed off. For anyone else playing, this would’ve been a terrible set, but because this is the almighty NOFX, they can get away with making it great.

And now is where I would normally post all my pictures from the show. Instead, I’m going to be lazy and just link to my Decoy album for Warped Tour instead..

The Hammer and Blades tour came through MN on Friday with Project 86 headlining and The Showdown, August Burns Red, Schema, and Truth Has Died opening.

I followed the proper channels for getting on the guest list through Decoy, but apparently somewhere, someone dropped the ball. Again. What’s worse is there really isn’t a recourse for me. I could talk to my Decoy contact, but there’s not really anything he can do. And I’m sure he talked to the right person. Usually the fallout comes with the record label.

Now I wouldn’t imagine anyone from Tooth and Nail or any other record label that has stiffed me in the past (*ahem, cough* Atlantic *ahem*) is reading this, but if you are, take note. It is embarrassing, and not fun, to go to a show, tell them you’re on the guest list and then to have them search over it multiple times and not find your name. Please spare me the trouble of asking to get off work early so I can cover said show.

Aside from the little mishap at the door, the rest of the night was relatively good. I was surprised to learn that there were 2 more opening bands than I expected. Unfortunately, neither were something to get excited about. Rick really liked Schema and picked up their CD after the show.

I had been waiting to see The Showdown for over a year now, and unforunately I was disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, their material from A Chorus of Obliteration was stellar and I loved it. Their new stuff, however, was crap. There was not one screamed vocal or one double bass run. In fact, they pretty much went southern rock with a little heavier edge. I just about cried every time they played a new song. Well, that’s not quite true. I was really just waiting for the heavy parts to kick in, but they never did. So it looks like there’s one less band I have to care about in the future. I honestly can’t blame them for changing their sound. What they want to do with music is their choice, but I’ll miss their old style.

One band I knew would not disappoint was August Burns Red. I’d heard two things about these guys. Their live show is great and they’re really young. i don’t know if it was the fact that this Christian club we were in didn’t allow moshing, but things could’ve been taken up another notch or two. Still though, August Burns Red was the highlight of my night. I only wish I would’ve had some extra cash to buy a t-shirt.

I’m not a Project 86 fan really. I’ll listen to them, but I don’t get excitied about them. Rick, on the other hand, used to be into them a lot. I don’t think he is as much now though. Regardless, I couldn’t help thinking back to about 5 years ago. Rick and I were standing at the Quest across the street from where Project 86 was opening for P.O.D. It’s funny how much has changed, yet how many things are still the same.

Instead of dealing with the underage crowd, Rick and I opted to go up to the balcony for the end of the show. Project 86 played about 50 min with their encore which was longer than I expected. I was really surprised that they were the only band to go on the Christian preaching track. Their lead singer really seemed to like Minneapolis though. Many times he iterated that they love to play here and they wish every night could be like it is in Minnesota. Then again, they probably say that every night.

The entire night seemed to have kind of a weird vibe. Maybe it was my rush to get out of work, the door mishap, or the fact we were in a Christian club. Personally, I am a little weirded out by religious people. They tend to be very accepting without much caution. Personally, I tend to be skeptical of people until I get to know them. The other side of it is, those people tend to be really nice and accepting of you in hopes of recruiting another member of their religion. It’s sort of the same feeling you get when a bum on the street walks up to you and starts a conversation with you to establish a repore, and then asks for money.

And I can’t forget to mention the MC. Where to begin… Imagine some combination of Emeril Lagasse and a cokehead on the tail end of a 3 day bender. Annoying and obnoxious are two words that only begin to describe this guy’s stage act. And you know by how over the top it was, it has to be an act (that or everyone this guy knows must want to kill him). He’d come out between bands and announce the next band, talk about some upcoming show, and then throw out a bunch of promo CD’s which no doubt contained a bunch of Christian music. As he threw out the CD’s, he screamed “Bam!” OK, I give up, there are not enough words to describe this guy. He was annoying and that is that.

As you can probably tell, this isn’t a standard show review. Being that Tooth and Nail snubbed me, I decided not to write a review. I of course had my camera along and did take some pictures, but most of them didn’t turn out very well. I’ll post a photo update soon.

Spring, and in the case of this show, metal, is in the air these days. What more could a metal fan ask for with a lineup like this. Inhabitatants of Minneapolis and surrounding areas turned out for a sold out show at the Triple Rock Social Club on a Sunday night.

The lines got moving a little late, so by the time I got in the door, Dead to Fall was halfway through their set. As fans streamed in, the band got more and more intense. The high point of their set was definitely the lead track off their new album The Phoenix Throne; “All My Heroes Have Failed Me.” It sounded great live too. I wouldn’t have minded hearing a few more new tracks, but opening band sets are always short. Even though I only caught part of their set, I vowed to listen to more of Dead to Fall based on this performance.

Grade: B+

Up next was The Acacia Strain. By now the Rock was about at capacity. This was the only band on the bill that I wasn’t familiar with before the show. After seeing their set, I may have to pick up their album. Their sound was definitely metal, almost thrash. One of their guitar players kind of looked like Steve-O, but it might have just been his shaved head. I can’t say much for the songs the played, but overall, they were impressive and fit right in on the bill. And Vincent, the lead vocalist, made sure to let the whole place know A Life Once Lost likes to smoke weed.

Grade: B-

A lot of people came to see A Life Once Lost. A lot more than I thought would have. After hearing what Vincent of The Acacia Strain had to say about them, I was none too surprised to see they had a projector showing trippy colors on the wall behind them and came out to chants of “smoke weed” from the crowd. Continuing with the Jackass theme, I thought their lead singer looked somewhat Ryan Dunn.

Most of their set was material from their latest album, though I believe they did play some older material. The crowd was definitely feeling a more hardcore vibe. There were quite a few people stage diving, crowd stomping, and rushing the stage. I found this particularly stage as the last time I saw a metal show at the Rock, they weren’t even letting the kids hardcore dance.

Grade: A-

The mighty Himsa took the stage next. Being that Hail Horror was released last month, their set consisted of a heavy amount of material from that album. Though, they did throw in a couple old ones for good measure.
I must say, Derek, their bassist is killer at hair whips and Johnny is good at bringing out the energy of the fans. Nothing notable happened during Himsa’s set. It was just straight up rocking out.

Grade: B+

During Darkest Hour’s stage setup, I noticed how simple Ryan’s drum kit is. Just a tom, snare, bass, 2 cymbols, and a high hat. You see these drummers that come out and their kits are huge [ link to taste of chaos review ]. It goes to show that you don’t need a huge kit to play metal. There are punk drummers with larger setups.

As the opening riffs of “With a Thousand Words to Say But One” gradually faded in, the band took the stage to an enormous crowd response. The room literally erupted with headbanging and moshing, hardcore dancing, and crowd diving. They immediately followed with “Sound the Surrender.” It may be hard to believe, but the crowd only increased their intensity.

Being this was kind of a local show for Dead to Fall, guitarist Logan’s father was in the audience. John, Darkest Hour’s vocalist, sounding very sarcastic, told him to stage dive. The next thing I know this grey haired man, probably in his 50’s, is flying overhead. He actually did it! The kids managed to gracefully bring him down and he headbanged a few notes and threw some devil horns up for good measure.

One thing about John is that he’s the last guy you’d expect to be fronting one of the best metalcore bands around today. Make no mistake, he’s every bit as ferocious on the mic as some of his trendier looking coworkers.

The band continued their set and worked through “Tranquil, Accessible Losses, and Convalescence” just to name a few. I was a little surprised they didn’t play an encore as the crowd was more than deserving. Maybe it was due to local curfew. As Johnny of Himsa said, there’s a reason that Darkest Hour is headlining this tour. They’ve been doing this type of music for a long time and they do it exceptionally well.

Grade: A

There was not a weak band on this tour. I’d have a hard time saying anything bad about any of the performances tonight. For a metal fan, there was plenty to be enjoyed.

Overall Grade: A-

Due to some unfortunate circumstances for Rick, he was unable to attend Taste of Chaos this year, but I was able to go in his stead. This was my first show that I was able to use my digital camera at. I posted my review yesterday if you’d like to check it out.
Things didn’t go quite as well as I’d hoped. “How hard is it to take a few pictures,” I thought. It turns out it is pretty hard to get nice looking shots. After doing a little research online, I found that concert photography is one of the most difficult situations to shoot in especially with a consumer point-and-shoot camera like my Canon SD500.

Shows always have 1) low light and 2) lots of action. Those aspects combined make it very hard to capture the experience.
Here are my 3 best shots.

Most of the rest of them were too blurry or were out of focus. I plan on trying to edit them in Photoshop later. Two of those used flash, which is a no-no for concerts from what I read.

I ended up turning up my ISO speed to 400 as that’s as high as my camera will get. Sad, because I was reading on some sites that you don’t want to go below 1200 and at absolute minimum, 800. After reading that, I pretty much assumed my camera isn’t going to be very good for concerts.

Next time I think I’ll be better prepared and certainly I’ll know more of what to expect. I found my best shots were when I set my camera to burst mode. It takes a bunch of shots as long as I hold down the button. Not only does it make for some cool time-lapse type effects, but you get better quality pictures. As I said already, I’m going to keep that ISO as high as I can to stop the action. Any suggestions are welcome.

x

Kevin Lyman is at it again. Having put together the hugely successful Warped Tour, the same people decided festival tours aren’t just for summer and late in 2004, and created the Taste of Chaos tour.

Warped Tour is largely known as a “punk” tour, but also features other styles of music. Taste of Chaos, both last year and this year, has featured a variety of music and hasn’t yet cemented itself in any one genre. In fact the tour was made to cater to music not normally heard at Warped Tour.

As with any modern festival tour, the use of two stages allows for almost non-stop music and little down time. This was both a strength and a crutch for the tour. This year the stages were set up side by side. The placement of the second stage was far to the left side and so the lighting did not reach it properly. Often the way the lights hit the band, they were only silhouettes instead of fully lit.

The show alternated between opening bands and headlining bands playing on the second, and main stages respectively. This had the unfortunate side effect of headliners getting the crowd pumped up followed by most people ignoring the second stage bands. This is marginally better than watching stage breakdown and setup, but often didn’t generate much of a crowd reaction for the second stage bands.

Greeley Estates was the first band of the night and began on the second stage. As previously mentioned, the crowd mentality seemed to be that of ignoring the second stage and waiting for the main stage acts. Sadly, Greeley didn’t see much of a crowd response. I didn’t manage to get into the venue until their set was almost completed. After two songs, which sounded great, they finished their set.

Grade: B- (though maybe higher if I could’ve seen their entire set)

Immediately Adair took the main stage. Their brand of rock fits well into this type of show and as such they seemed to keep the crowds attention. Close to the end of their set, they played a song, which was identifiable only because of the use of a Speak-n-Say. With the children’s toy mic’ed up, the band played an entire song over the boops and beeps of the device. An interesting gimmick, but at the same time, just that, a gimmick. In the end, Adair failed to stand out and stuck mostly to their rock sound with a bit of screaming. Their presence on the tour may have something to do with Lyman’s affiliation with Warcon Records.

Grade: C

I think the next band up was Millionaire, but I’m not sure since I didn’t hear them announce their name and a list of set times was nowhere to be found at the venue. Millionaire was awful. Boring and uninteresting, as they played through their set, the only noticeable thing was the lead singer/guitarists afro. Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age thinks these guys are the next big thing in rock, but they’re going to need a lot of help getting there if this show is any indication.

Grade: F

Thankfully, As I Lay Dying came out and for the first time, the crowd was excited. That is, the part of the crowd that was there for some heart-pounding metal. Early in the set, guitarist Phil, wasn’t getting any of his guitar in the main speakers. The issue was corrected after a few songs and Phil thanked the sound guy with some devil horns and even harder shredding. The rest of their set went off without a hitch. Tim is great at commanding the crowd and with his energy; he pushes them even harder. The band served up equal amounts of material from Frail Words Collapse and Shadows Are Security finishing with the track “Forever” and much fist-pumping. As I Lay Dying are every bit as calculated and tight in a live setting as they are on their records. They definitely had the best set of the night overall.

Grade: A

Dredg or American Eyes maybe took the stage next. As with Millionaire, I wasn’t sure because I never heard a name announced. Regardless of the band playing, I wasn’t interested, so I spent my time checking out merch booths.

Grade: N/A

Atreyu came to rock tonight. They’ve ditched the white-suit look from their round of touring for The Crimson and opted for standard street clothes instead. Probably a new look for their new album. Speaking of which, they got right into the new ones playing “Ex’s and Oh’s” and later in the set with “Creature.” The got the biggest pop from the crowd thus far in the night with “Lipgloss and Black.” There was plenty of fist pumping and chanting to close the set out. I have to wonder about their drummer though. His kit was sporting 3 bass drums. What is the advantage to this? I am not a drummer, so I can not say.

Grade: B+

Up next was Pelican. The most notable thing about Pelican is that they are essentially an instrumental band. There was only 1 mic on stage and it was used sparingly during songs. Not much can be said for the bands performance. Their songs were so long, they only managed three before their timeslot was up. They hardly got an audience response at all, in fact by the time their set was over, many were almost sleeping. This type of music doesn’t translate into a very exciting live show. Maybe Pelican belongs on another tour.

Grade: C-

Warped Tour veterans and co-headliners Story of the Year took the stage next. Instantly the under 15 crowd perked up. Not to say there weren’t some older types enjoying their set as well. They are very high energy. Flips, jumps, and flying instruments are all a part of their stage show. Their music and message, however, tends to be more appealing to the younger folks. Being that the crowd was mostly these type of people, they had a very good night.

Grade: C+

Yet another newcomer, The Smashup, took the Myspace stage following Story of the Year. The New Yorkers played an upbeat rock that was somewhere between standard radio rock and punk, but not pop-punk. They were one of the few second stage acts that seemed like they fit on this tour. This may have been one of the only second stage bands worth checking again.
Grade: C

Thrice has gotten a lot of heat lately for having departed from their heavier style on Vheissu. Some say they’ve finally found their sound, while die hard fans want the old Thrice back. Their set had plenty for both of those camps. They opened with “Image of the Invisible” and immediately followed with “Red Sky, their current single.” By this time the crowd was going off. An unfortunate side effect of Thrice’s new direction is a less exciting stage show. For most of the new material, the crowd was much more low-key. The band ended their set with “Deadbolt.” Surprisingly, many were familiar with the older material and were shouting every word along with Dustin.
Grade: A-

Newcomers Street Drum Corps are exactly what their name says. It’s 3 guys who beat on things in rhythm. That is ok and kind of cool, but doesn’t it sound like another band? Maybe 3 guys who paint themselves blue and bang on things. Instead these guys were all goth and covered in black light reactive paint. It was a tad absurd and didn’t add to their show at all.

Grade: D-

The final band of the night, Deftones, finished the night off right. Judging from the reaction they got, this was the band most people came to see. They’re something both fans of metal and punk can get into. Chino was, as always, the best part of the show. The way that man can take over a stage is incredible. What’s even more amazing are the noises that come out of his mouth. If you’re a Deftones fan, you’re familiar with Chinos squeals and squeaks. Somehow, they don’t sound stupid or out of place. Chino also looks out for his fans. At one point during their set, he stopped the entire show, had the house lights turned on, and made sure someone wasn’t trampled. It’s good to see artists taking some responsibility for these situations. The Street Drum Corps came on stage to perform on one song. They weren’t as bad with a backing band. Maybe it was the fact that you could hardly hear them. The Deftones set covered their entire discography. Of course they played favorites such as “7 Words, Be Quiet and Drive, My Own Summer, and Change.” They also played one new song which sounded heavier than any material they’ve released recently. Overall, the veteran Deftones can still put on a show better than most, but their sound is definitely becoming dated. One has to wonder how long they will continue. Nonetheless, they’ve been around for over 10 years now and that experience shows in a live setting.

Grade: A-

Overall Taste of Chaos 2006 was a decent tour, but it could do better. Think about the things that make Warped Tour successful: low ticket prices, fun atmosphere, and lots of bands. Taste of Chaos tickets are more expensive, there are fewer bands, and you don’t get that outdoor atmosphere. It just doesn’t compare. Maybe it’s better compared to a standard arena tour. In reality, that’s all it is except they’ve gotten a number of smaller bands to fill in the time between the main acts stage set up and break down. The only second stage act that was enjoyable was Greeley Estates. In that respect, it’s not worth the ticket price unless there’s some artists you really want to see. The good part about having both stages was non-stop music for almost 6 hours. It would’ve been nice if that was 6 hours of entertaining music instead of 30 min on, 30 min off, but you can’t win them all. There was no set times posted anywhere around the venue. There were plenty of posters saying where to find merch and band meet-and-greet times though. A large Warped Tour style board would have been handy.
Overall Grade: C+

You might have wondered why I haven’t been posting reviews here. Well the truth is, I rarely write them. My role at Decoy has shifted to more coding and support rather than content writing, but I still find time to write once in awhile. I’ve gone ahead and added reviews for Sworn Enemy, Bullet For My Valentine, and If Hope Dies.

I’ve also been working on my new design some more. At this point I’m wondering if I’ll ever get this site relaunched, but I’m hoping I will be able to soon. I fixed a few CSS snags I was running into over the weekend and eventually I’ll get it up and running.