Warped Tour 2014

Most stages included a no moshing
posting with a brief explanation why

After all of these years, I finally made it to Warped!  There were a few things that surprised me about the day as a whole.  The first of these was that, officially, Warped Tour has a no moshing or crowd surfing rule.  After some brief thoughts, it's probably for legal reasons that they do this since no one really seemed to be enforcing it.  Another was that there were garbage cans placed where crowds of people were going to stand.  Seriously, no one wants to stand next to a garbage can full of garbage and watch a band.  More severely, no one wants to get their head dunked into a garbage can when the moshing inevitably starts.  However, what probably frustrated me the most about my first trip to Warped was that schedules cost $2 to purchase.  This would be one thing if they posted schedules online and expected you to print them out to save money on paper.  However, they don't announce the schedule until the morning of!  Sure, $2 isn't a lot.  But the idea of having to spend $2 for the most bland schedule I have ever seen is ridiculous.  The schedule is on an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper, printed in black and white, has a map of the layout that's hardly legible, and, most annoyingly, the schedule is not set on a grid to easily see when certain bands will play at the same time.  Not $2 well spent but $2 you'll basically have to spend.

With all of that aside, I still generally had a fun time since I got to see some really cool bands play.  Let's break it down.

Lionize

Lionize is an alternative rock band.  The way I'm describing them is kind of boring but they really weren't that exciting.  If you're a huge fan of the genre, this is a good show.  Otherwise, you might start to doze off.  They sounded good for what they were but people certainly weren't moshing or crowd surfing.  All in all, I probably wouldn't see them again but they may be worth a shot if you're into bluesy rock and alternative.

To Trust a Liar

To Trust a Liar were a battle of the bands winner that barely made it on the tour.  Based on their apparel, you would suspect a Weezer cover band or something.  But To Trust a Liar, to my surprise, was actually a metalcore band.  They were on the heavy side too, dancing the fine line between metalcore and deathcore.  I haven't really checked them out beyond the one song I heard them play which did sound particularly good.  With their Facebook page at 15,000 likes strong, clearly someone is listening to them.

https://www.facebook.com/TOTRUSTALIAR

Beartooth

Beartooth were another band that I caught for one song.  They were mostly unmemorable.  However, I only caught them for one song so it's not really fair of me to say that I didn't like them.  Perhaps I will check more of their stuff out later on.

Parkway Drive

For a band that's pretty prevalent in the metalcore scene, I'm surprised that they played so early on in the day.  An 11:45am (if I recall) start time was rather surprising.  What else can I say about Parkway Drive other than they bring a ton of energy to a show.  For 11:45am, mosh pits were starting all over the place and they got a decently sized circle pit going.  I even saw a bunch of kids huddle up, put their hands in the center like a little league baseball team, and push out to form a mosh pit.  I can't say that I've ever seen someone attempt that before.

I was very impressed by their live show.  Even if you don't like metalcore, if you like mosh pits, this is a band that you cannot miss.

4 Year Strong

If you like loud guitars, screamo, and beards, this band is for you!  All I can think is metalcore ZZ Top when I think of 4 Year Strong.  They sound pretty good as well.  As far as personal preference, I think I enjoyed Parkway Drive's set a little more.  However, if I were you, I would make a decent effort to see 4 Year Strong if you happen to be at a festival with the band scheduled to play.

Motionless in White

The first thing you will notice is the straight up goth look of the band.  The aesthetic is done very well and meshes with the music as a good visual supplement.  Most notably, the bass player was wearing a Los Angeles Kings hockey sweater with the name "Ghost" on the back.  Never would I have thought that wearing a hockey sweater with goth makeup on would actually look good but it worked here.

More relevantly, the band sounded very good as a metal band and even reminded me of a darker Nine Inch Nails, at times.  I don't really know a ton about them beyond what I saw at Warped so I'm not sure how their live show stands up to their studio recordings but they sounded good here and, based on what I saw at this show, I am sure that I will check out more of their music in the near future.

We the Kings

While waiting for Yellowcard to come on, I was listening to We the Kings a stage over.  Their sound seemed very polished but also a bit lack-luster most of the time.  However, when they played their last song, I recognized it immediately as the song "Check Yes Juliet."  Pretty good song if you haven't heard it already.  However, I wouldn't go out of the way to see We the Kings in concert unless if you're really into the band.

Yellowcard

Although Yellowcard wasn't as good as they were at Riot Fest last year, they still put on a good show in the thirty minute time slot allotted.  The only major complaint I have about Yellowcard's set was the fact that they played no songs from the Lights and Sounds album.  This was very surprising and disappointing but I could still mostly overlook it since the show was solid.

I would recommend catching Yellowcard if you had the chance to see them.

The Devil Wears Prada

Unlike Yellowcard, The Devil Wears Prada sounded much better than they did at Riot Fest last year.  Though I'm not much of a Devil Wears Prada fan, I'm starting to wonder if there was a sound booth issue at Riot Fest when it came to this band.

Less Than Jake

In my opinion, Less Than Jake stole the day.  Their live show was fantastic!  Less Than Jake certainly knows how to get a crowd moving and involved in a show.  With t-shirt guns, toilet paper guns, and inflatable hammers with monkeys on them, the crowd was having a hell of a time.  They also played all of the songs you would expect them to play within a short 30 minute set.  They even fit in "The Last Ones Out of Liberty City" for those of you that enjoy Hello Rockview.  Less Than Jake will certainly leave you with nothing short of spectacular.   

Saves the Day

I managed to catch the last couple of songs of their set.  They generally sounded good and kept their fans interested.  They ended up finishing by covering Weezer's "El Scorcho," which I found a particularly interesting way to end a show.

I don't really know a ton about this band but they may be worth checking out if you're into alt rock.

Bayside

A stage over, Bayside overheard the way Saves the Day ended their set and decided to open theirs with a cover of Weezer's "My Name is Jonas."  I thought this was pretty neat of them to do and was certainly an attention grabber.  Other than that, Bayside's set was surprisingly unmemorable.  They went up there, played the songs, and were done.  It wasn't bad but I felt they could have done a bit more to turn it into a show instead of a recital.  It actually made me regret the decision to see them instead of going to see Teenage Bottle Rocket.

Teenage Bottle Rocket

Due to being at Bayside, I caught about half a song from Teenage Bottle Rocket's set.  Like I said, I wish I was there.  Next.

The Protomen

It's truly a grand concoction

I had never even heard of The Protomen before I saw them at Warped but they sure do know how to grab your attention.  They dress in bizarre costumes that I couldn't even begin to describe along with their very electronic sounding metal/pop...I guess.  Also notably, The Protomen had a small army on stage including three keyboard players, a keytar player, two guitars, drums, and bass.  Most of their music was okay but it wasn't really jiving with me due to its very bizarre nature.  However, they did do a fantastic cover of Iron Maiden's "The Trooper."  I was very impressed how flawless the guitars sounded during that song.

If I were you, I would probably check them out if I had the chance just on the account that you really won't see anything quite like this anywhere else.

Bowling For Soup

The last band we saw was Bowling For Soup which is about as fantastic as you think it would be.  Bowling For Soup's set is very funny like their songs and will make you laugh in between just about every song.  They played just about all of their popular singles with the blatant exception of "No Hablo Ingles."  Instead they decided to play a cover of "Stacy's Mom" further adding to the confusion that they wrote that song instead of Fountains of Wayne.

Bowling For Soup was probably my second favorite act of the day right behind Less Than Jake.  Really a great show that you probably don't want to miss.




Bowling For Soup wasn't the last band playing that day but my friend and I decided to opt out of seeing Breathe Carolina, Of Mice and Men, or Anberlin due to lack of interest.  Overall, I would definitely consider going to Warped Tour again as long as there were at least one or two bands worth seeing because there will probably be some other bands that will pleasantly surprising.  One other thing about Warped Tour that's probably worth mentioning is that throughout the day, bands will hang out at their respective merch tents giving you a pretty decent chance to meet them without any kind of VIP or backstage pass.  You will probably end up having to wait in a massive line in order to meet them but if you're missing one or two bands you don't really care about, I imagine that it would probably be worth it.

Anyways, that's my two cents on Warped Tour this year.  I would highly recommend going if there's even one band that you want to see as there are plenty of other metalcore and punk bands worth checking out.  For all of the bands you get to see in one day, it is well worth the money.

My Summer So Far

This summer has been a busy one and lazy one all at the same time.  Since I haven't been writing very much this summer, I will give you guys some short reviews on some of the bands I've seen.


American English in Gilberts

American English are a Beatles cover band that's pretty well known in the Chicagoland area.  Most of the time, I've found myself skipping them on the account that they usually cost $20 or more to see.  However, I ran into them at a small festival in the very small town of Gilberts, IL which was a real treat since this festival was free to attend.

As far as cover bands go, you are hard-pressed to find a better one than this one.  Not only do they sound just like the original, but they dress and look like the original as well.  The first half of the concert included the earlier Beatles hits while wearing the suits and skinny ties while the second half they dressed up as the Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Band and played the later stuff.  They also changed the instrument models used to match the instruments that the actual Beatles used in the respective eras.

All in all, a fantastic show, especially if you are a Beatles fan.


The Last of Us

The Last of Us isn't a band but rather a video game I played through earlier this summer.  It seems like I am reviewing it kind of late since it came out last year but I was waiting for it to go down to forty bucks because I'm cheap when it comes to current (well I guess previous) generation gaming.

If you own a Playstation 3 and you haven't bought this gem yet, you must go and get it right now.  I mean, stop reading this and go out and buy it.  This game lives up to all the hype I heard prior to playing it and went above and beyond every expectation I had for it.  The story is deep and memorable.  The gameplay is fun and geared towards both beginner and hardcore gamers with appropriately set difficulty levels.  The music fits perfectly without being cliche like every other survival/horror game.  The graphics demonstrate the fullest abilities of the Playstation 3 as cutscenes and gameplay are virtually seamless.  If you enjoyed the Tomb Raider reboot, this game has a lot of similarities as far as the general gameplay.

I would also recommend the Left Behind DLC.  It's a short prequel to the main story.  It's a little pricey at $15 since it only takes a few hours to play through but it's still very interesting and very fun to play.  The multiplayer is about what you would expect.  There's a bit of an added element where you collect supplies during deathmatch/team deathmatch rounds to keep your colony alive but it really isn't anything to write home about.  This game is definitely about the singleplayer.

Overall, this game is a trend setter for the survival/horror genre in the future.  I feel that it really puts any of the Resident Evil games to shame with it's fluid controls, exciting gameplay, top-notch graphics, fantastic voice acting, memorable story, and unique combination of human and infected enemies.  If I had any complaints about this game, they were long forgotten as the pros well weigh out the cons.

If you have a Playstation 3, buy it now.  If you have a Playstation 4, buy the definitive edition now!


Rome the Ruins at the Bartlett Arts Festival

Rome the Ruins are a five-piece pop-punk group from the Hoffman Estates area.  Their first show was played at the Bartlett Arts Festival and it was pretty decent.  Since they have a female lead singer, they played some covers that were more geared towards female lead vocalists like Paramore's "Misery Business."  Probably most noteworthy was their cover of Lorde's "Royals."  No one in the band does backup vocals so they did the backup vocals on the lead guitar instead.  It was a pretty cool spin on the original.

All in all, not a bad band to see, especially if there's nothing else going on Saturday night.  The power drumming and finger tapping lead guitarist will keep you interested.


Jaded State at Riverfest and Glendale Heights Fest

I saw a local band called Jaded State at two different festivals.  Both times they put on a solid show and both times I had a pretty fun time.  They play a lot of Green Day and blink-182 covers.  However, I could do without the Fall Out Boy Covers (ha ha).  They're a pretty young band with most members being in high school and their drummer being only eleven (he's pretty good to).  Most notably, one of their originals is actually really good.  They ended both shows with it.  You can give it a listen on their website here.  It's called "You've Got Guilt."




I'm going to try and write reviews and blog posts more regularly.  This past Saturday, I went to Warped Tour's annual stop in Tinley Park so there's a lot to talk about there.  I am also going to be seeing some bands at Pub Yahoo this Saturday along with Jaded State on Sunday in a battle of the bands competition so I'm sure there will be plenty of interesting local bands to write about at those.  Until then, stay tuned because there's a lot coming up.

Cosmo and Foghat at the Arcada

This review has been delayed quite a bit and meaning this concert had happened quite awhile ago.  Therefore, I probably don't remember much about it.  However, I don't think there was really a lot to talk about anyways.

This concert was pretty okay.  It wasn't spectacular but it wasn't terrible either.  Unlike Paul Revere and The Raiders who I saw the weekend before this concert, it was a solid rock and roll show.  I'm not really that knowledgeable as far as Foghat's discography goes but the song variety was pretty run of the mill for a rock band.  A lot of the songs started to sound the same and it got kind of boring in that way.  There were also some pretty lengthy solos which I'm not a fan of unless if I'm watching Joe Satriani or something.  This guitar player wasn't half bad as long as he wasn't using a guitar slide.  For some reason, about half of the concert all of his solos were played with a slide which he didn't seem to be particularly good at.  He certainly wasn't George Thorogood.  As soon as he put the slide away, the solos sounded a lot better and more interesting to listen to.

Although Foghat was the headlining band, I actually much preferred the warm-up band's show.  The warm-up band, Cosmo, was a band that had a few of the former members of the legendary rock group Boston in it.  None of them were the original members of Boston (I don't think) but a few of them were members of Boston at one point or another.  Particularly, the lead singer of the group Fran Cosmo, and his son, co-lead guitarist Anthony Cosmo, lead the band.  They played mostly Boston songs and did quite well at it.  In my opinion, Cosmo playing Boston songs was much more entertaining than Foghat playing Foghat songs.  Cosmo really owned the stage.  Although they weren't officially Boston, they did a hell of a job being Boston anyways.  If I ever got the chance to see Cosmo again, I would definitely make the effort to go see them and would encourage you to go see them as well.