The Warped Tour lineup was released yesterday afternoon, and while we were (foolishly) hoping that Kevin Lyman would have a change of heart and model the long-running festival after something like Punk Rock Bowling or The Fest, the lineup, unsurprisingly, still caters to Hot Topic tweens.
There are two noticeable improvements on the ticket sale page, the first being the drop in ticket prices. I don't mean to play the "back in my day" card, but I do remember tickets being right around $30 ten years ago. The second piece of good news is the change in venue. This year's festival will be held at Quail Run Park in Mesa, which is hopefully an improvement over last year's poorly arranged baseball stadium.
See also:
-Reality TV Show Warped Roadies Sweats it Out in Phoenix Tonight -Warped Tour 2012, Camelback Ranch Baseball Stadium, 6/28/12
MC Lars: how could you not love someone with an EP dedicated to Edgar Allan Poe?
In my Warped Roadies interview, I was informed by Warped sponsorship manager Kate Truscott that the festival's target audience was 16-24, officially making me too damn old to be interested in the festival. The age disparity is telling: I don't know who most of these bands are, but here is what I do know.
I've chatted with both The Story So Far and Man Overboard in the past. Both play fairly whiny run of the mill pop punk, but the ladies seem to love 'em.
Wallpaper. is cool and I genuinely have no idea why the rapper/multi-instrumentalist is on the tour, but the kids can finally get introduced to the "fucking best song everrr." Similarly, The Black Dahlia Murder is a weird stand out act since they are considerably heavier than the standard Warped Tour screamo band.
Apparently Warped Tour is going for hip-hop cred this year, as Mac Lethal and MC Lars are surprising additions to the tour. Plus, MC Lars has collaborated with Dead Milkmen and Nerf Herder, and that's pretty rad and plenty punk rock. The strangely titled RDGLDGRN (produced "red gold green") is off to an auspicious start with a little help from Dave Grohl. The trio plays a nifty mix of upbeat rock with random bits of hip-hop that sounds promising. A last.fm comment sums it up best: "It's like Gym Class Heroes, only not shitty."
We've got some Arizona love with Scottsdale's emo/power pop hybrid The Summer Set joining the tour as well. And for a dose of nostalgia, some of the biggest names on the line up include Big D and the Kids Table, Hawthorne Heights, The Early November, and Motion City Soundtrack. Is Big D and the Kids Table not enough ska for you? Don't sweat it: Reel Big Fish is also on the lineup.
Check out the full line up on page two. Woe Is Me, I See Stars, GO RADIO, The Story So Far, Like Moths to Flames, Big Chocolate, Wallpaper., The Black Dahlia Murder, letlive., Hawthorne Heights, Anarbor, Hands Like Houses, Stick To Your Guns, Oh, Sleeper, Action Item, Shy KidX, Architects, Upon A Burning Body, The Early November, VersaEmerge, Tonight Alive, Forever The Sickest Kids, The Chariot, MC Lars, The Amity Affliction, Mac Lethal, Attila, RDGLDGRN, Allstar Weekend, Man Overboard, While She Sleeps, Middle Finger Salute, Stephan Jacobs, Outasight, The Summer Set, New Years Day, For The Foxes, Motion City Soundtrack, Big D And The Kids Table, blessthefall, Goldhouse, Five Knives, Itch, Echosmith, Alvarez Kings, Young London, We Came As Romans, Chiodos, Reel Big Fish, Beebs and Her Money Makers, The Wonder Years, Sleeping With Sirens, Kairo Kingdom, Memphis May Fire, Handguns, Forever Came Calling, Mad Child, Never Shout Never, August Burns Red, Black Veil Brides, Bring Me The Horizon, Crizzly Warped Tour returns to Phoenix on Thursday, June 27 at Quail Run Park in Mesa. Tickets are available here.
