Concert Reviews
Warped Tour '98
"I hope this is better than last year," Brandi said to me, Sarah and Justin as we rode the subway to RFK stadium that morning. Little did we know how much was in store for us. As we arrived, we could already see it was going to be a big show, bigger than last year's. We walked out onto the parking lot and immediatley started looking at the booths they had there. We walked around for about 45 minutes, collecting free stickers, pamphlets, magazines and what ever else we could find. By the time we stopped to get something to eat, all of us had at least 25 free stickers, 4 free magazines, a whole bunch of pamphlets and just about anything else we could get. If you ever want a momento from a good show, but don't want to spend any money, go to the Warped Tour. They have so much free stuff you won't believe it.
We caught our first band, The Aquabats, around 1 o'clock on the main stage. This is the band to see if you are in need of a good laugh as well as some good music. They came out wearing blue spandex pants, an Aquabats belt, a red Aquabats spandex t-shirt and one of those really old (1920's old) football helmets. They had some intresting themes including a magic chicken (hehe) and the evil Z-dude who was later challanged to a dance concert by Prince Adam. I strongly suggest buying their new CD "The Fury Of The Aquabats".
The second band we saw on the main stage was Save Ferris. As always, they were awesome. They did a really great ska cover of "Com'n Eileen". Hey, whats better than Grease on Olivia Newton-John? What? Cum On Eileen. Get it? The third band we saw were the Royal Crowns. Their mix of hillbilly rock and 90's ska made for some really great swingin' music, so me and Sarah boogeyed down with our little dance routine. Of course there were some proffesional swing dancers right in front of us , so everyone watched them, not us. Its okay though, because they worked hard and they deserved it.
After that we went over to the booths because Sarah wanted to get the Aquabats cd. As we came closer to the booth we could see they (The Aquabats) were signing autographs. So, I got Prince Adam, The Professor and the evil Z-dude to sign my shirt. Then, we went over to the next booth and got autographs from the Pietasters, a local band who played with the Royal Crowns. After that we walked around some more and then went to see The Reverend Horton Heat. It was a great show, but we weren't paying that much attention because the minute we sat down, Steve Perry (the lead singer from Cherry Poppin' Daddies) walked by. We ran over to him and made total fools of ourselves, but it was certainly worth it. After that, I didn't feel too good (a combo of dehydration and overheating) so I stayed behind while Justin, Brandi and Sarah went to the Cherry Poppin' Daddies show. While they were gone, I shook hands with the lead singers of Rancid and The Def Tones.
After my friends had come back we all just sat around talking and waiting for people to come by. The Rancid show was good and everyone sang along to "Time Bomb". After Rancid, The Def Tones rocked the house with "Shove It". After The Def Tones, NOFX put on a really good show with their 90's ska-punk stylings. The Specials, the original ska band from Australia, kicked ass with their show. The definite highlight (or should I say highlights) of our day was getting to meet Steve Perry and taking a picture with him. Other highlights included getting the autographs of such bands as Rancid, Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Monique from Save Ferris, The Specials, NOFX and who could forget The Aquabats. In conclusion, this concert was better than the WHFStival, better than Tibetan Freedom and definetley one of the coolest days of my life. I recomend it to anyone who likes ska, punk, swing or just anyone who likes to have a good time.
Email: Rave2001@chickmail.com