Youth N Asia 8/3 Warped Tour recap

[Guest Youth N Asia]

Went to the Warped Tour yesterday. It was held in the parking lot at the Pontiac Silverdome (home of Wrestlemania 3). Since I have nothing to do right now I'll recap my day.

 

I don't care if you read it or not, it's probably going to be a little long, but I've got nothing better to do.

 

My brother (17) took me (almost 22) as an early birthday present. Show started at 11am. We stoped at a Burger King near the dome which was filled with others going to the show. The bathroom was flooded and I made some remark about a raging emo kid going nuts and flooding the place. Got a good response from most...but not the kid in a Simple Plan shirt who looked at me funny.

 

Anyway, we got in the Silverdome gate and checked out a few of the stands. I got an Alternative Press mag subscription for $5 (normally $9.99 if you mail in for it, plus the cost of shipping and a money order). Wasn't overly impressed with the booths...but then I saw it...The Andrew W.K. table. He wasn't listed as being on the show, but the booth was there. And sure enough he was slated for 8pm at the Brian Stage. Sets were 30 minutes each.

 

The Hot Flashez, 11:20 AM

The Ernie Ball Stage...tiny stage that's set up in a little truck thingy. I usually don't like ska, but these guys were really good. (And short girls look cute doing that ska dancing thing) I had never heard of them before, small crowd, but a good sound. I picked up 2 cds by them later in the day

MY SCORE: 8 out of 10

 

The Starting Line, NOON

First "major" act to take a stage. Brian Stage. Saw them right after The Hot Flashez. They put on a pretty good set. But the lead singer sounded funny overusing the F word for a cheap pop. Some guys can pull it off...but not this half pint. And that bugged me a little more then it should of. They had a pretty big turnout.

Like I said, good set, good energy.

MY SCORE: 7 out of 10

 

Caught a little bit of Rise Against, but not enough to really judge. They sounded good though. And then the rain hit. Stormed like a bastard for about 15 minutes, everyone was soaked. I thought about ducking into a porta-potty to avoid getting drentched. But I figured I'd rather get wet then to stand in a closed off space with poo for 15 minutes. Checked out a few other things till Yellowcard came on.

 

Yellowcard, 1:45 PM

At the Maurice stage, one of the smaller ones. By now everyone was wet and pissed off. So when these guys played the people went nuts. Great mosh pit, everyone was either slamming, jumping, or leaving. More then a couple people left cause of injuries. Great set, although I don't know any of the song titles. Everyone was talking about that set for the rest of the day.

MY SCORE: 10 out of 10

 

Caught a little bit of the Mad Caddies on the Brian Stage. They were alright, but I wasn't there long enough to seriously comment.

 

And I lost my brother in the pit there and wouldn't find him for a couple hours later.

 

I stopped by and checked out the wrestling ring. Mr. Insanity and N8 Mason were the only real notable names there. There didn't seem to be much in the way of official matches, just guys goofing off.

 

I was walking around the Maurice stage and there was some shitty rap group on a smaller stage next to it. They were just bitching at the crowd cause they wouldn't make any noise for them...but then after listening to them for a few minutes I could see why. They sucked pretty bad.

 

The Ataris, 3:00 PM

Brian Stage. Good set, I knew all the songs and liked them well enough. They had a weak ass mosh pit though. While I like the band something just seemed to be missing, dunno what it was. Maybe Yellowcard burned me out more then I thought they would.

MY SCORE: 7.5 out of 10

 

Heard a couple people going on about how the crowd this year just dwarfed last years.

 

Bowling for Soup, 3:45 PM

Ernie Ball Stage, came on shortly as The Ataris ended. Had a lot more fun at their set then I though I would of. Not hard rockers, but they're a fun band. And they got big pops with "Girl All the Bad Guys Want" and "I Wanna Be Sedeated." Small crowd, but good enough.

MY SCORE: 7.5 out of 10

 

Overheard a couple of kids bitching at each other "Why do they keep sayin' 'Detroit?' Don't these dumb fucks know it's Pontiac?!" And the other guy was just telling him that's always how they do it and not to take it so personal.

 

The Used, 4:30 PM

Teal Stage, which is the #2 main stage after the Brian Stage.

I like The band's singles. But the rest of their album tracks suck. I wasn't too impressed with these guys. I was pretty far in the back and I don't think being any closer would have helped. Although I did see 3 people getting carried out for injurys, there was a rumor that one was a broken neck, and another guy damn near swallowed his tongue. This lead singer dick just talked and talked forever about the dumbest shit, didn't help their so-so set any. He almost won points back by taking a jump off a high amp and into the crowd. And from the top of the amp to the crowd was probably a legit 15 feet high.

MY SCORE: 5 out of 10

 

I learned something durring the Starting Line set and it held through the entire day. If you're wearing sandals you will lose them and they'll get thrown away from you. I'd constantly see people crowd surfing barefoot or one shoe. Saw lots of sandals without mates while walking around.

 

I was used durring the Used set. Girl asked to sit on my shoulders so she could take a couple pictures (since it was far away)...and it seemed like a line formed behind her cause I had to do it for 3 other girls...not that I minded though.

 

Found my brother at the Yoohoo stand. A I would viset 6 times that day for free refreshment. You got about 1/3 of a can every time you went up. Good stuff.

 

The Fags, 5:15 PM

Ernie Ball Stage. I almost put my hands in my pockets, started whistling, and walked away. I'm not a homophobic or anything, but I almost left based on the name alone. Glad I didn't though. The Fags fuckin' rocked! Which is 4 words I never thought I'd stream together. They didn't have a punk sound or anything, but it was just great rock. They had feedback problems on the mic, which kept it from being a perfect score.

MY SCORE: 9 out of 10

 

Sure enough I lost my brother again. He left the set early to go to Pennywise. Which I also meant to do, but didn't want to leave The Fag's set cause it was great. People in the Simple Plan crowd got boo'd by random people at the next stage, thought it was a little harsh.

 

I caught a little bit of a band I'd never heard of. Still don't know who they are, but I wasn't impressed.

 

Caught up with my brother again at the 6:45 Brand New set. My head was pounding and I didn't feel like sticking around. Which I regret cause I actually like Brand New. Only stuck around for 2 songs.

 

They got me...for $3. My bottled water finally ran out and I made myself shell out $3 for a cup of lemonaid, but it was pretty good and the cup was big. And later when no on was looking I dipped my cup in a big bucket of ice water that was holding Gatoraid, so I was set.

 

Rancid, 7:00 PM

I stayed near the back for Rancid, headache was killing me. Good set, but it seemed like every goddamn song started out with "And this one's off the new album." Near the end I tried to sneek closer to get in the pit (which was pretty good), although I only managed to get in for the last song.

MY SCORE: 7 out of 10

 

And as soon as the set ended I pushed my way to the front (as nicely as I could)...cause in 30 minutes Andrew W.K. was coming out. Sure enough I was dead center on the rail.

 

Andrew W.K., 8 PM, final act

I had been wanting to see AWK live since I got the cd after it came out. And he did not disapoint. It was the coolest thing I've ever seen live. The crowd was nuts not much in the way of a mosh pit, but it was still lively and fun. Songs played: It's Time to Party, Girls Own Love, Better Get Ready to Die, She is Beautiful, Take It Off, I Get We, We Want Fun, and closed with Party Hard.

The crowd loved AWK, and he played off them much better than anyone else. His music is dumb and cheesy, but it's also more fun then 99% of the other shit out there. He even had his dad on stage singing along with "She is Beautiful." The guy's just cool and you can tell he loves what he does. And I've never had so much fun.

MY SCORE: 10 out of 10

 

Found my brother after AWK's set. He didn't see it cause he went to the All American Rejects instead...I could of hit him.

 

My ears are still ringing after being right up front at W.K.'s set. But it's a little better then it was last night.

 

Wished I would have seen: Dropkick Murphys, Less Then Jake, and Pennywise, but I'll have it planned out better next year, cause I'm sure as hell going back.

 

I guess that's that...over all I give the show a big thumbs up.

 

[Guest shlidgn90]

i was born and raised in pontiac michigan. most of my family still lives there.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

I lived there my first 12 years. Till I moved to Flint

[Guest shlidgn90]

did you attend local schools there?

i attended pontiac central for three year before leaving town.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

I went to Webster and Washington Jr high (for a year).

 

I would have gone to central. I lived right behind Central for a year or so on the corner of State and Sanderson

[Guest shlidgn90]

my mother lives in that area now. i went to washington jr. high too. but it was in the eighth grade.

[Guest lomasmoney]

thats great guys one of my lasting memories happened at the silverdome. I watched my school play in the state title game for football this year. Even though we lost it was just amazing seeing some of my best friends play in the fucking silverdome.

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

Friend of mine couldn't go to Warped Tour when it came around here. Had to work an all-day shift, and he was very disappointed that he wasn't gonna get to see AWK.

 

His friends met up with Andrew after his set, and he called the kid at work to apologize for not having Warped Tour on a different day. I love this man.

 

5 more weeks till I see him again!

[River City Rocker 0]

i was born and raised in pontiac michigan. most of my family still lives there.

I was also born there in 1976. My family had moved away for good by 1982 (my dad's job usually transferred him all over the place), but I still have plenty of relatives in the Pontiac area.

 

I'd love to move back someday...

 

-Ben

[Guest Youth N Asia]

I'd love to move back someday...

 

-Ben

Why? It's a shithole. Believe me, I go back there often.

[Guest shlidgn90]

me too, my mother still lives in pontiac and i can only visit that place for only a week before becoming depressed. well at least the great lakes crossing is there now. btw, do any of you guys remember this old wrestling show that aired on channel 20 with dick the brusier and scott rechsteiner?

[Guest Youth N Asia]

me too, my mother still lives in pontiac and i can only visit that place for only a week before becoming depressed. well at least the great lakes crossing is there now. btw, do any of you guys remember this old wrestling show that aired on channel 20 with dick the brusier and scott rechsteiner?

Great Lakes is actually in Auburn Hills. Pontiac has the Summit Place Mall...which is pretty much deserted

[Guest shlidgn90]

summit place mall was, is and alway will be an sorry ass mall. when i lived there, i never shopped there. i always went to oakland mall or northland. btw, i heard that due to the lions moving to ford field, the silverdome will be torn down.

[Guest TheArchiteck]

Not really my type of music...but pretty cool review.

 

I went to Baker College in Flint for like a couple semesters....till I realized I wanted to changed majors.