A Giant Half Pipe Too
Vans Warped Tour — the Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots of music festivals — attacksHouston
The Vans Warped Tour. Not since Chuck E. Cheese pizza parlors and Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots has an entity been created for the sole purpose of entertaining over-stimulated youth while simultaneously perturbing parents to the point of insanity.
Mom, dad ... imagine a world where pierced and tattooed rock bands growl and thrash on multiple stages set up in every direction you turn. The only thing to break the sound of volatile guitar gnashing and apocalyptic chorus growling is the spectacle of the occasional motocross biker or skateboarder (also very pierced and tattooed) launching themselves skyward from the lip of a giant half-pipe.
And in the middle of all this ... is your teenager learning all he need to know about rebellion, smart-alec, know-it-all eye-rolling and verbal vulgarities that they will use against you until they leave for trade school. It all takes over Sam Houston Race Park pretty much all day Friday, turning what's the first day of a long holiday weekend for many on its ear.
Awwww ... memories. How I wish I could do it all over again.
(Yes, the Vans Warped Tour is has been around long enough for even a 30ish guy like me to feel nostalgic. Launched in 1995, it is the oldest touring music festival to take to the road each summer without ever taking a year off. Take that Lollapalooza and Lillith Fair. )
This year's lineup for punk rock's premier annual festival does not have any superstar headlining heavyweight like My Chemical Romance or The Offspring of past tours. Even thrash granddaddies Bad Religion —-the Vans Warped Tour house band — has taken 2010 off. But with (at last count) 74 bands confirmed for Houston there will be endless strains of angst on showcase for all the emotionally suppressed, lost or downright angst-ridden to cling to.
Friday, July 2
Vans Warped Tour ( Alkaline Trio, Andrew W.K., Motion City Soundtrack, Sum 41, The All-American Rejects, and many ... many more), 1 p.m.-9 p.m. at Sam Houston Race Park
Tickets $40