For the past ten years, as the sleepy days of summer rolled out, roadies have loaded up a caravan of trucks and barreled on down the highway - at-the-ready - to unleash the "Warped Tour" on die-hard fans across the Nation.
The "Tour" was created in 1994 by Kevin Lyman, who got the idea while working on skateboarding shows such as Vision Skate Escape. The moniker "warped" comes from the short-lived Warp Magazine which covered surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and music.
The fledgling festival started out small - 10,000 heads or so in the halcyon days - but soon mushroomed into a gargantuan event that now attracts about 1 million Americans throughout the course of punk season each year.
Essentially, the festival is an eclectic mix of spunky punk bands, extreme sports, and an endless parade of colorful die-hard punkers who dive into the fray head on each season with great machismo.
There's the occasional human cannonball thrown in for good measure, too.
"We love to surprise the fans. Each year, we come up with something novel," noted the savvy festival producer, who has been at the helm since day one.
The carnival-like grounds are comprised of booths in a flea market-like setting where proprietors in canvas tents sell merchandise, independent record labels flog their artists, and magazine publishers and non-profit orgs ply their way.
The "Warped Tour" benefits upstart bands looking to gain recognition. After all, the tour provides a direct market so the musicians may obtain or extend a fan base.
Recently, I was in for a treat when a documentary - shot on a tour in 2004 - was unveiled.
Although a bit ragged around the edges, in its context - "Warped Tour" - not only resonates, but thoroughly entertains.
The range of - um - anti-music is far-reaching; from heavy metal to anarchistic, in nature. And, in a take on the surreal, a non-stage offers up out-in-the wild fringe bands for the far-reaching punk ear.
When queried about the bands, one fan cackled,
"Punk musicians don't know how to play instruments, that's the idea."
Ah, so that accounts for the ear-splitting explosions of sound - the strident rhythmic clashing - and the smattering of jolts and jangles that jars the musical sensibilities now and then.
Tickets have remained at $25.00 per head over the years. And, while corporate sponsors have tried to muster up a presence into their cozy fold, the show organizers have resisted their purse-strings, in an effort to stay "pure".
In keeping with tradition, there is no "star" billing here, either. Although major acts have appeared over the years, they wipe their a**es in the bushes along with everyone else, I'm assured.
Actually, the documentarians didn't take much of a foray into the musical roots of the phenomenon, which rendered a big hole in the doc.
So, here goes...
Punk rock is an anti-establishment rock music genre and movement that emerged in the mid-1970's. For those in the know - the Ramones, Sex Pistols, and The Clash - are recognized as the vanguard of the musical movement. And, by 1977, punk was spreading around the world.
The pioneers of punk created a furious, hard sound, with stripped-down basic instrumentation, and lyric themes of a political or nihilistic nature. Essentially, the true punk note expresses youthful rebellion and is characterized by an audacious style, hinged to anti-authoritarian ideologies.
A big draw at the "Warped Tour" festivities?
The fans; after all, they're an eyeful!
Throughout the event, the punksters strut their hard-core plumage, and exalt their rabid style.
And, as the stage musically rages, endless streams of tangled bodies - for the most part all tatted up and strung with rings - are inclined to surf over the throngs. A punk sport, that is a mainstay of the proceedings and awesome to watch.
And now, Punkers have somethin' to crow about. Punk has been inducted into the "Rock 'n Roll" Hall of Fame.
Part of the philosophy?
"Punk accepts everyone," one leather-clad fan noted.
The throngs reflect that; festival-goers are young and old, costumed and not. Either way, they're at the ready for a blast of punk enthusiasm to come their way full throttle for the duration of the carnival-like extravaganza.
Surprisingly, there wasn't a lot of colorful footage on teen space-outs or much focus on the use of recreational drugs. Odd, given the milieu.
Since "Woodstock" was rife with reefer madness, I was inclined to ask the producers if the younger generation was just sober, or if there had been a deliberate effort to edit those parts out.
At first, the director asserted there weren't any problems of that nature. But, I expect when they caught the look of disbelief on my face, they quickly re-thunk that one!
"Well, we've experienced some problems in a couple of the larger cities, but that was about it," he noted, almost under his breath.
Ah, I had an inkling.
As much as I found the doc entertaining, it appeared that something was amiss.
And, when the ads for this year's "Warped Tour" starting up in the local press just recently, it hit me like a mac truck.
Quite simply, "Warped Tour" is a squeaky-clean full-length promo, calculated to boost tickets sales and lure fans in the gate.
That's cool, man!
But, I wasn't born yesterday.
Kids will be kids...
