The Vans Warped tour rolled into Sydney and kept the ska lovers, punk rockers and hardcore kids entertained on a sunny (and douche-free) Sunday afternoon, MARK GIBBONS reports. Photos by DEXTER CORNELIUS.
1. Everything Reel Big Fish touch turns to brass
Looking at the Warped set times I was genuinely surprised to see Reel Big Fish playing so early; but it turned out to be a masterstroke of scheduling; their cheesy ska was the perfect soundtrack for a Sunday afternoon session. They blended the classics and newer tracks well, leaving smiles across the crowd and even the most ardent ska haters cracking to have a dance. A mix-genre medley of ‘Suburban Rhythm’ stole the show, with the band proving they’re equally as proficient in metal, punk and disco. Their now infamous cover of A-Ha’s ‘Take on Me’ closed the set and got the whole crowd up and singing along. As a side note, the amount of BASEketball quotes that were being thrown around during the set was superb.
2. Warped proved that festivals can indeed sound great
As someone that’s watched some of my favourite bands suffer from a poorly mixed festival sound, I was really impressed with how well Warped coped. With the music making it all the way into the CBD, it was more than evident that organisers hadn’t skimped on production. The harbourside site at Barangaroo proved it was more than capable of hosting Warped as well. It’s just unfortunate that Sydney’s second casino – James Packer has one planned for the Barangaroo site – will prevent the festival from being hosted in such pleasant surrounds next year.
3. Swedish and Floridian punks were the flavour of the day
After No Fun At All impressed many last month at Hits & Pits festival, fellow Swedes Millencolin were a great variant from the standard Americana-focused lineup. They breezed through their back catalogue, with the obvious stand outs being ‘Fox’, ‘Kemp’ and ‘No Cigar’. They were also responsible for some of the best stage banter of the day – but admittedly their accents helped. They were also joined onstage by pro skater Steve Caballero for a song who proved that while not ripping up ramps, he can flex some solid bass chops as well. Alongside the Swedes, Florida five-piece New Found Glory were the other stand-out, performing their major label debut album Sticks & Stones in its entirety. They were super tight, with big hitting drummer Cyrus Bolooki stealing the show (if not the festival).
4. Oakley sunglasses leave a pretty hilarious sunburn tan (and nothing beats a Pennywise t-shirt)
Shade came at a premium, and with Sydney turning on the A+ weather much of the crowd were left a little charred and “raccoon eyed” when, come dusk, the sunnies were peeled off to reveal some hilarious burn lines. And surprisingly the most popular clothing item of the day wasn’t a band on the bill, but Pennywise. I counted over 50 versions on all shapes and sizes throughout the festival.
5. Nothing is funnier than metalcore dudes singing every word to Simple Plan
Surprisingly, there was a lot of positivity in the air throughout the day. The fact the festival was held on a Sunday meant that that the drunken moron element was minimised, and made way for the most serious of music listener to shake along to Simple Plan’s ‘Welcome to My Life’ and bust out their best whiney pop punk vocal rendition of ‘Perfect’. A duet between the Canadians and Jenna McDougall from Tonight Alive was a highlight, with the Sydney pop-punker’s voice perfectly synched with Simple Plan frontman Pierre Bouvier’s.
6. Who the hell was that nine-year-old girl who skated better than the most of the touring pros?
The festival footprint lent itself really well to the music/skate set-up, allowing fans to saunter over to the skate ramp while bands sound checked. Crowd commentary made it all the better with everyone suddenly becoming an expert on how best to land each trick. The largest cheers went to gnarly nine-year-old girl who wowed the crowd exhibiting skating ability well beyond her years. The looks of admiration from the other skaters were hard to miss.
7. Parkway Drive make every other metalcore band look a bit silly
Despite its rather miniscule size the heavier stage hosted some of the biggest names on the bill, and consequently was heaving all day. Parkway Drive proved class is permanent, smashing out an energetic and tight performance that highlighted why they’re the biggest Australian heavy band kicking around, and why they more than hold their own on the world stage.
8. The Offspring are still pretty fly
The Offspring closed proceedings with an absolute bang. Kicking off with arguably three of their biggest live songs – ‘All I Want’, ‘Bad Habit’ and ‘Come out and Play’ – it seemed difficult to imagine they were leaving themselves with anywhere to go. However, testament to their long career they kept finding more singles to play, and kept the crowd there right until the end. No encore – the business was done.
Warped Tour dates and venues
Friday, December, 6 – Exhibition Park, Canberra
Saturday, December 7 – Birrarung Marr, Melbourne
Sunday, December 8 – Adelaide Showground, Adelaide
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