Beginning June 29th and ending August 25th, I was fortunate enough to travel across the U.S. and into Canada with the famous summer rock tour, The Vans Warped Tour. This is the largest and longest running tour in North America and often produces some of the top new bands soon to hit major fame in the future. The influences of these bands indicate where a lot of trends are headed in terms of the different subcultures of music, which also impacts a lot of trends in fashion styles, and influences on the marketplace. Here’s a round-up of some of the top bands you should know about and why.
This year, the director Kevin Lyman, gave international bands some spotlight. He brought over The Gallows and The Automatic (Automatic) from the UK, and Oreska Band from Japan.
The Gallows performed with such intensity it was almost impossible to walk away from the set once you stepped over to the Hurley stage. Singer Frank Carter would jump off of the stage and into the crowd, pouring his heart out off the stage and in the middle of his audience making instant fans with anyone he locked eyes with. This edgy punk rock band was not afraid to curse out or make fun of any of their audience members, which definitely added another level of entertainment. They play for sold out arenas in the UK, so to see them so up close and personal at the Vans Warped Tour, their first US tour, was a very neat experience.
The Automatic were another band brought over from the UK. They describe themselves as electro/punk/rock. Their music made you want to dance along, and keyboard player Pennie was a little fireball on stage. He had so much energy it exhausted me to watch him run around, do martial arts, climb all over things and break microphone stands on stage. Not to mention their fantastic cover of “Gold Digger,” complete with lead singer Rob playing the jazz flute and Pennie taking over the roll of lead vocals.
Oreska Band was probably the most surprising international band that played on the tour. This all girls Japanese J-pop/ ska band only played a few dates on the Kevin Says/Hot Topic stage, but boy did people react. Their audience would begin with about 20 or so eager fans, and as they continued to play the crowed grew exponentially throughout the set. They hardly spoke English and sang in Japanese, but Americans couldn’t get enough of them. Their audiences included skin-heads, punks, emo kids, parents, jocks, and whoever else happened to walk by. Chances are if you walked by and paused for a second, the second turned into a half-hour or however much time was left in their set. They were so charming and so fun and got absolutely everyone involved and smiling.
There were five American bands that whose sets I tried to catch everyday.
Bayside’s new album entitled “The Walking Wounded” (which has quickly become my new favorite album) provided most of the content for their sets. They brought one of the larger crowds to the Hurley stage and even got pushed up to the main stage and won the Energizer Band of the Day contest a couple of times, which means they were allowed to play an extra 10 minutes longer than any other band. With Anthony’s distinct voice and beautifully crafted lyrics, accompanied by Jack’s powerful guitar riffs, Nick’s booming bass and Chris’s fast paced drum beats, it’s no wonder their fans packed in so tight and sang every single word at the top of their lungs right back to the band (including me). My only regret is that I did not know about them from day one. If you missed them at Warped Tour, you can catch them headlining the Victory Records Tour this Fall.
The Starting Line has been around for years, and they just released “Direction,” their newest album this summer while they were on the tour. This is another record that I cannot take off repeat. With the intensity of the song “Direction,” their catchy single “Island,” and their older hit song “Best of Me,” The Startling Line set hooked me in everyday. They are a great pop-punk band, void of all the cheesiness associated with the term “pop-punk.” They create fantastic music and play a great live show that you can sing along and dance to.
Paramore began their Warped Tour career in 2005 on the small Shira Girl stage, were welcomed back in 2006 and hopped around on the larger stages, and finally came this summer as a main stage band, drawing one of the largest warped tour crowds out of any band on the roster. With the success of their new album “Riot,” their single “Misery Business” towards the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, it’s not hard to see why they attract so many fans. Boys (and girls) are in love with the young, stylish front woman Hayley Williams, whose charisma and charm keep people hooked in, as well as her colorful fashion and hairstyles which a lot of fans replicate. Not to mention the amount of energy the rest of the young band members pour into their set day after day. Paramore’s acoustic sets in the Myspace tent attracted crowds that spilled out of the tent and into the walkways, because people just can’t get enough of this band. And lucky for us, Paramore and The Starting Line will be touring together in the Fall.
I never quite got into the eccentric band by the name of Circa Survive…until this summer. Over the course of the summer, this main stage band turned me into a serious fan. Singer Anthony Green has a very unique voice and an even more unique way of “dancing” on stage. With their Myspace page categorizing them as “Other/ Experimental/ Indie,” I was surprised to find this band on the Warped Tour. They seem to tour with traditional Warped Tour type pop-punk / rock bands, but I believe this band can cross many musical boundaries. I am very excited to see how Circa Survive’s fan-base expands. If you didn’t have time to watch them this summer, look out for them on their headlining fall tour.
Envy On The Coast’s sets quickly became one of my regular stops for the day. This young band from Long Island, New York, has so much heart and so much talent on and off stage. You can almost see the music rushing through singer/guitarist Ryan Hunter’s body as he performs for his audiences. The bands young drummer, Dan, always had an audience of tour drummers and drum techs (and aspiring drummers like myself!) watching him knock out some amazing and intense drum beats, while the fans in the crowd were more apt to notice 19-year-old Sal effortlessly switching from guitar to keys to vocals, and guitarist Brian controlling some electric rhythms (when applicable) and backing vocals. And behind Brian and Ryan stood bassist Jeremy, who always looks so happy and so involved in his bass lines. You can see, feel, and hear the passion and talent this band has. Their new full-length album “Lucy Gray” was just release on August 7th, and it contains some high-energy tracks as well as some heart warming ballads. The band is touring in the States until mid-September, then they are headed over the UK, and are due back to the U.S. touring scene in mid-October for an East Coast tour with Alexisonfire, Saosin, and Norma Jean.
Overall, these bands have had tremendous influence this summer on young audiences across the country. So check them out if you want to know where things are headed next and the new influences of music on youth culture.
