2009 Vans Warped Tour Part 2 – [Live]

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Wednesday, 22 July 2009

[This is part two of a four-part series on the 2009 Vans Warped Tour. Parts three and four are coming soon, while part one can be found here.]

After hanging around the Kevin Says Stage for an hour or so, I decided it was probably time to get over to the Main Stage and see what was happening over on the other side of the Pier. After making my way through the sea of kids and stopping off at the Ramones merchandise tent to say hello to Arturo Vega—who is just as much of an icon as any of the bands on the tour—I got over to the big stage and into the photo pit just Less Than Jake were about to hit the stage, and I'm not sure there was a band more suited to play on this day. With a nice mix of ska and punk, the band's feel-good party time songs were totally contagious, and I don't think I ever saw so many people smiling on stage at one time. Trombone player Buddy "Goldfinger" Schaub and Saxophonist Peter "JR" Wasilewski were a perfect contrast to the guitar of lead vocalist Chris Demakes, and along with bass player Roger Manganelli (who also handled some vocal duties) and drummer Vinnie Fiorello, Less Than Jake put on a thirty minute set of summertime punk rock fun. And just when the mood on stage couldn't get any lighter, Demakes invited up a dude from the crowd who, while wearing only a Borat-style mankini, pranced around on stage as the band egged him on and obviously had a blast with him. It was yet another "only in San Francisco" moments, and summed up the vibe of the set perfectly.

Thinking it was the perfect time for a beer, I once again braved the sea of hipster kids and traversed to the very back of the pier and into the booze tent area, which was conveniently located a few short yards away from the Old School Stage, where professional skateboarder and all around bad ass Duane Peters was just about to go on with his band, Duane Peters Gunfight. Needless to say I quickly downed my beer and got the hell over there.

As I stood there watching them, I was trying to figure out just who they sounded like, but it was kind of difficult because they seemed to draw from so many influences. It was like watching a three guitar version of The Heartbreakers, The Stones, Anti-Nowhere League and Zodiac Mindwarp, all built up into one big wall of sound. Never crossing that fine line between "loose" and "sloppy," the band put on a thirty minute set of good old punk inspired rock and roll, with Duane leading the way with both his raspy voice and strutting moves. It was yet another pleasant surprise blast of music, and I was stoked I caught them.

Since the sun was beating down on the asphalt and the temperature only continued to climb, I thought it was probably wise to remain close to both the booze tent and the old school stage and enjoy the cool breeze now coming in of the Bay. So after another quick beer I decided to stick around and catch TSOL, a band I had caught on the second leg of last year's Warped Tour, and one of the bands responsible for getting me into punk music many, many years ago.

Sounding a bit more rehearsed and looking a bit more comfortable on stage than they did last year, TSOL gave the surprisingly large number of kids who had gathered a glimpse into the world of O.C. punk rock circa 1983, and all I can really say is that it was pretty awesome. It was cool to see so many younger kids opt to watch the band instead one of the younger hipper bands playing at the same time on a different stages. Guitarist Ron Emory still hasn't lost a single step, and as he, Jack Grisham, Mike Roche, Greg Kuehn and drummer Tiny Bubz cranked out both "Superficial Love" and "World War III," I couldn't help but be impressed. They may not look like the same deathrock punk band that was in Suburbia all those years ago, but they still sound great, and that's good enough for me. If I had to pick one "don't miss" band on the Old School stage, TSOL would definitely be that band.

After TSOL's set I had about five minutes to make it over to the main stage for Anti-Flag, so I bolted over to the other side of the pier yet again, and made may way up to the front of the stage and into the photo pit with about a minute to spare. Looking back at the see of people behind me it seemed as though Anti-Flag was the band the kids had come to see, and when they hit the stage, it was pretty easy to see why. The band is without a doubt one of the most energetic I have seen in quite a while, and had the crowd pumping their fists and flying over the barricade halfway through their first song. With their homemade green "Free Iran" t-shirts on, and bassist Chris #2 (Barker) doing his trademark jumps, Anti-Flag ripped through a set of their politically charged anthems, and by the time they were finished I don't think there was one person who was not disappointed that they could not witness a full set by the band. They should be back soon, doing a proper tour in support of their just released record "The People Or The Gun," and I will definitely not miss them.

After Anti-Flag's set I realized that I had so far seen and photographed seven bands, and it was only about 3pm. I decided to check out the big board to see who I still wanted to see, and after making my list I headed back over to the booze tent for another beer, headed to the press tent to charge my camera batteries for a few, checked out a bit of merchandise and picked up a few CD's, then found myself back at the Old School Stage…

Artists:

Less Than Jake – www.lessthanjake.com
Duane Peters Gunfight – myspace.com/duanepetersgunfight
TSOL – www.truesoundsofliberty.com
Anti-Flag – www.anti-flag.com

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