I was chaperone for 3 teens at Warped Tour, an all day music festival with multiple stages. This concert was aimed at the “Hot Topic” shopper demographic.
And…it was horrible.
I like all kinds of music. I like Sex Pistols and Misfits as well as I like Chris Isaak or Brian Setzer. Loud thrashy punk, hard soul crushing metal or even a Baja infused guitar ditty, I like it all.
At this festival, I set myself up in a shady spot with a book near two stages. I’d put the book down for each new band to give them a concentrated listen. I heard a great guitarist, an amazing bass player and a thundering drummer—too bad none of them were in the same band. The bands I heard were truly absolutely utterly horrible. Crappy McCrapperson and the Craptones. Just awful.
Lots of faux rage and rebellion that sounded hollow and fell flat…what the hell do these middle class white kids have to be angry about? Raging because you have an iPhone 4 but want an iPhone 5 isn’t raging; it’s a tantrum, and tantrums are not the stuff of memorable rock n roll. Yelling about legalizing pot just makes you sound idiotic.
These were only two stages of many at the festival. Maybe somewhere, someone had some amazing talent and kicked some ass. I didn’t see them or hear them…they were drowned out by the droning sounds of The Craptastics and The Crapinators.