This is part two of a three-part series on the 2008 Vans Warped Tour. Part one can be found here and part three is coming soon.
Well so far it was shaping up to be a pretty good day. It was only 1:30 in the afternoon and I had already seen three pretty awesome bands, taken a ton of pictures, picked up a couple of CDs and had a couple of beers. And as a nice breeze started to come in off the bay to cool things down a bit—I wasn't even close to slowing down.
Deciding that I still had enough time to catch one more band before I went back to the Main Stage Left to see As I Lay Dying, I figured I hit the Hurley.com stage to check out Evergreen Terrace, a band I heard more than a few people talk about earlier in the day. And as I walked up to the front of the stage, I quickly found out just why people were so excited about seeing them. This band easily had the most energy of the day so far. It only took singer Andrew Carey a couple of songs before he jumped from the stage, over the barricade and into the crowd, which pretty much proceeded to freak out. While Andrew screamed out his lyrics in the faces of the crowd, his band behind him just chugged away with their metalcore riffs. I really wish I knew more about this band and had heard some of their music prior to seeing them, but it looks like they to are on the entire tour, so I will make sure to catch them again when they return.
Before making my way over to the main stage I met up with a friend of mine and we both agreed it was time for a beer, so back over to the beer garden I headed. While talking about our day so far and what we had done and seen, this friend of mine (who had a few "connections") asked if I would be interested in watching As I Lay Dying from the stage. I don't think I need to tell you what my answer was.
Standing at the back of the stage, as As I Lay Dying completely OWNED this entire show, I was in total awe. Say what you want about this band and their Christian faith, but there is no denying what a fucking awesome band they are, especially live. Realizing that I should probably get some pictures of them, I made a mad dash back to the front of the stage, took a few hundred pictures, and headed back onto the stage to watch as they completed their ass kicking of the crowd. The entire band executed their set with machine-like precision, but it was guitarists Phil Sgrosso and Nick Hipa that blew me away. The two of them just totally shredded. Perhaps the finest moment of the entire day came when vocalist Tim Lambesis instructed the kids in the "pit" to expand the circle around the soundboard. The result was probably the biggest circle pit I have seen since Slayer at The Cow Palace in 1986. This was without a doubt my favorite performance of the day thus far.
With a few minutes to spare before the next band I had come to see (The Aggrolites) I happen to pass by the Hurley Music Stage while Atlanta's Family Force 5 were in the middle of their set. I had absolutely no idea about this band, but their stage antics and crazy wardrobe was enough for me to take notice. Singer "Soul Glow Activatur" was all over the stage, and I have to admit that his silver oversized Hulk gloves were pretty damn funny. The Keytar of "Nadaddy" was also a nice touch. The kids watching them seemed pretty fanatic about them. While the music was a bit too "light" for my tastes, Family Force 5 put on a pretty damn entertaining show, and for that I give them an "A" for effort.
It was now about four in the afternoon, and as I looked at the band schedule once again, I realized that there were still plenty of bands that I needed to see….
Artists:
www.myspace.com/evergreenterrace
www.asilaydying.com
www.familyforce5.com
Download:
Evergreen Terrace – “New Friend Request” – [mp3]
Evergreen Terrace – “No Donnie” – [mp3]
Evergreen Terrace – “Mad World” – [mp3]
As I Lay Dying – “An Ocean Between Us” – [mp3]
As I Lay Dying – “Within Destruction” – [mp3]
As I Lay Dying – “The Sound of Truth” – [mp3]
Warped Tour Information:
www.warpedtour.com
