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ROCKZONE.COM presents you with this years Warped Tour roundup. We sent 4 reviewers out to get a complete analysis of what the bands put forth. Back they came, soiled, dehydrated and critical. Here we have a rundown of the bands they saw. How did your favorite band do?
The Reviewers:
Alex Rud, Steve Bozzone, Meredith Goldberg, David Maffei
| High Scorers | Who Failed |
|
Rancid
Morgan Heritage Less Than Jake H2O Dropkick Murphys |
Rollins Band
Fenix TX The Vandals AFI |
| Rouge's March | Very good, just wish I could have seen their whole set. A | |||
| AFI | I thought they were kinda weak. Their set was mostly boring, and the crowd didn't really get involved. C- | They didn't have the energy they normally carry in-doors, but were solid regardless. B+ | Not my kind of band, but the crowd seemed to love them. C- | some dude who looked like maynard screamed and a bunch of kids in anti-flag shirts appreciated it. but any band that keeps that horror punk vibe gets my approval. wear more black, nancy boy. B- |
| Jimmy Eat World | Tight sounding but the mellow nature of the music made for a boring set. B | missed part of their set trying to abuse my press pass and sneak an old friend inside. i hadnt seen them in about 5 years and i was amazed at how well they could pull off their newer, more intricate material(sans their performance of Sweetness). jamming out in the sun (on Call it in the Air, i believe) at a festival pleased me, but left thousand of punkers bewildered yet intrigued.A | ||
| No Motiv | They were ok, for what they were. C | Playing on the smaller Maurice stage, they carried a good sound but could use more energy. B- | They're a pretty good band. I enjoyed the little bit of their set that I saw. B- | |
| Good Charolotte | 3 young ladies with good charlotte shirts on, no less, begged me for autographs and pictures of the band. they were such fans they even asked me for my autograph while i was waiting for thursday, who followed them. this band had purple hair and they played pop punk. needless to say that equals a D | |||
| Fenix TX | Crowd was into them but their set did nothing that impressed. B | Wow, they got even worse than they were the last time I saw them! D- | ||
| Madcap | Great energy and crowd response. B | |||
| Dropkick Murphys | They were amazing, need I say more? A+ | To tell you the truth, I don't even like this band anymore, but they put on an excellent show. Fans were waving enormous banners and flags throughout the set. Their following was quite extraordinary. As is their bagpiper. A+ | They rock hard & the crowd rocks harder along with them. What a great live band! B+ | not being a drunken irishman or a fan of fighting, i dont really see the appeal of this band, especially with the new singer. their set today didnt really do much to change my mind. C- |
| Flogging Molly | Amazing set, played all my fave songs, but too bad the dust was so freaking thick. A+ | |||
| Thursday | They are a band that I have seen many, many times and they get better and better every time I see them. No band gets a crowd going like they do. A- | probably the most fun band to watch, however their music doesnt really do it for me. weak singing, even weaker lyrics (retarded play on words) and the hardcore/emo/generic formula gets them a C | ||
| Now Serving #38 | They were on a small stage by the merch tables and they were a great ska/reggae band. They were a refreshing change to the punk rawk of the rest of the bands playing. B+ | |||
| Pennywise | Whipped up a lot of their old songs, which were great. Did a cover of "Blitzkrieg Bop" with Lou from SOIA, which made the set for me. B+ | They played the songs well, but their songs haven't changed much in the past decade. B+ | i usually find myself liking music better live than on record; taking it for what it is, in its immediacy, you get the idea. something about summertime and hanging out with your best friends smoking a j made me feel like i was 13 again. C+ | |
| Kool Keith | One man DJ act. Excellent stuff here. Had the crowd going and got creative with his spin moves. A | |||
| Vandals | They are always great. Always a wacky bunch to see live. B | The Vandals are great, but they weren't today. They played the songs with little enthusiasm and the vocals were simply awful. They looked very tired. The rhythm section was good, however. B- | nah brah.just stop. | |
| H2O | Still got it. They just put on a great set, which reminded me of them 4 years ago. A- | Although I was quite concerned after hearing bad things about their performance on Conan O'Brien, I witnessed good old-fashioned NYHC H2O. A | One more band that just can not be bad. They are an amazing live band. It's impossible not to get into their music. A- | quasi-nyhc. i enjoyed watching the steakheads in the pit though. yes,they have breakdowns, but no, i didnt enjoy them. C- |
| Bouncing Souls | Great set, not too many complaints here. B | Played mostly stuff from their new album, which happens to be good as well. A | They played an awesome set. Opening with "Here we go" is so smart! B+ | note to band: re-write "the good the bad..." and just keep getting drunk. B |
| River City Rebels | They know how to entertain the kids, and play good music while at it. B- | |||
| BigWig | Didn't catch too much of them, but they didn't have the energy of an indoors show. C+ | They are such a great band. I didn't think it was the best performance I have ever seen by them. B+ | please stop | |
| Morgan Heritage | Wow. They showed those little punk kids a thing or 2. A+ | The first Reggae band I've witnessed in the past 4 warped tours. They brought forth a grooving rhythm along with lessons from Jamaica for the punk rock crowd. They knew the kids were there to see punk rock, not reggae. Based on this, they played exceptionally well and worked hard for the audience's attention. A | ||
| Rancid | Amazing band live. I like them even more now that I saw them live. A+ | Rancid never fails to please at a live show. They play what the crowd wants to hear, which included songs mostly from And Out Come the Wolves.., despite the fact that they've had a few releases since the release of that album. A- | I enjoyed them a little more the last time I saw them. By the time they went on, I was just too tired to fully enjoy them. B+ | |
| Less Than Jake | It's hard to rate this band because they're always very good live, this show being no exception. I do know they are capable of more, but a damn good show regardless. They are a very smart tour band, they don't waste their time talking on-stage when they only have 30 minutes to play. Many bands could take a lesson from them. A- | I love Less Than Jake, they just can't be dissappointing to me. They ruled. A- | ||
| The Ataris | The Ataris are simply a good live band. They carry an awesome charisma with each song. B+ | |||
| Jersey | Found on the Volcom stage, this band caught my attention while walking by. Their sound was tight and the crowd, albeit small in size, was incredibly into them. A | |||
| Me First & The Gimmie Gimmies | I'm not sure if it's because they don't play any originals, but this band just seems to lack a lot of passion. They were completely decked out in Hawaiian shirts and had an on-stage open bar. All on their tab. They looked quite tired, which is understandable considering their members are from other full-time bands. B | |||
| Miracle of 86 | i shit you not, the BEST band here today, but unfortunately played the DIY tent. emotion, energy, smashing equipment, nirvana covers, dancing. yeah, i bet you missed them. you suck. A+ | |||
| Rollins Band | Henry had the energy, but the music was bad. C- | Henry Rollins is impressive-with his ideals, beliefs and public opinions. On stage, he can bend and twist like no other. But his band lacks the beef that would complement Henry's well-inspired vocals. B- |
