Warped Tour 2000 Review

WARPED TOUR
Ventura County Fairgrounds; Ventura, CA; 06/29/00

Reviewed by Pud

Armed with a backstage pass I went about the task of reviewing this year's Vans Warped Tour. Watching 30 bands play on a sunny day at the beach in beautiful Ventura, California is no easy task. Fortunately I was high and drunk and there were plenty of boobs and tattoos to be seen.

I could tell early on that this was definitely going to be a perfect day. I got to see a ton of good bands, but to save space I'll touch on the best ones of the day. There were 30 bands. 27 punk bands, one rap band, one rock band and one nerd band.

The nerd band, WEEZER, turned out to be hands down the best band of the show. They came on late in the day and just rocked out like no other nerd has ever rocked out before. They weren't just my favorite, they were also the crowd's favorite. Backstage, after their set, I got to talk to the boys, it ain't no joke - these dudes are dorks - but they can write a catchy ass song.

The other band that really stood out at this "punk" show was the heavy rock band SNAPCASE. This is a New York band that I never heard of before and they were forced to play early in the day, but they were tight and heavy! A clear choice for Rough Edge readers.

GOOD RIDDANCE was the best "punk" band of the day. They always shred and they even paid homage on stage to Ventura/Oxnard's famous punk scene by dedicating a song to Nardcore legends ILL REPUTE.

I got to the show early so I could check out THE DONNAS - four girlies who have listened to a lot of Ramones albums. They kept it simple and rockin' and - as a male pig - it was fun watching cuties with guitars.

NO MOTIV played one of the side stages. They are an up-and-coming punk band who seem to be touring nonstop and paying their dues. The had good hooks in their songs and, even though they were on a side stage, they still drew a very good sized crowd.

The last band that stood out was THE ARMY OF FRESHMEN, another up-and-coming band that does the ska/punk thing. They also had to play early but still managed to get the crowd on their side.

The "big" bands of the tour (GREEN DAY, MXPX, MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES and SUICIDE MACHINES) also kicked ass, as did PAPA ROACH and old schoolers TSOL.

All in all, a fucking awesome day to be alive. Catch the tour if you can!

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