VENTURA, California - If you happen to be a lover of alternative music, Warped Tour is inevitably destined to be part of your summer. The festival needs no introduction; with over 150 bands ranging from the relatively unknown to the best-loved artists in the independent scene, if you haven't heard of Warped, you've clearly been living under a rock.


[The Higher perform in Ventura, California on Sunday.]

This may sound sacrilegious, but I sometimes wish I could crawl under a rock for the summer. I have a love/hate relationship with Warped that my fellow music fans often fail to understand. While they only see all the amazing bands and great merchandise vendors, I see crowds, short set times, dust and 100 degree heat. Or I usually do. This year the crowds were significantly thinned out (bad news for Kevin Lyman, good news for me) and dust and heat weren't an issue since the date I went was held right on the beach, at Seaside Park. Nice!

Another benefit this year was the lineup: I had almost no feelings about any of the bands one way or the other. While one might think this would be a drawback, it was actually a bonus. There was no reason to be upset over short set times when I didn't care about hearing specific songs. This gave me the chance to let go of my Warped rage and just enjoy the festival, which to my own surprise I really did.

The first band I saw was Cobra Starship, whom I would normally avoid like the plague. Sacrilege again, I know, but generally speaking I just don't like their music. However, so many of my friends who love them told me I needed to see them live before judging. I’m not going to lie; I still don't like their music. But their live show was a lot of fun, very energetic, and the crowd was so into it. I've seen performances by bands I actually like that were less enjoyable, and a good performance counts for a lot. They definitely got the day off to a bouncy start, and in my mind were a Warped highlight.

Another band whose music I personally dislike but who also puts on a great show is the Family Force 5. This band makes me go ... WTF?! Their official genre is "Christian crossover crunk rock." How did they even happen? I have no clue, and I don't necessarily think they’re a good idea, but the crowd loved them and they were definitely a fun time. I feel dirty just typing this. Please don’t tell anyone I enjoyed them. In my defense, one of their members (Derek Mount, guitar) goes by the name Chap Stique. That’s gotta count for something.

But for me the day didn't only consist of enjoying, against my will, bands I dislike; I went to see Jeffree Star, which gave me the chance to not enjoy a band I dislike. Maybe I'm too old, maybe I just don't get it. Or maybe I'm just jealous; (s)he looks so much better in a skirt than I do.

I'm not going to lie, I sulked about that for a bit. But then I got over it and went to check out yet another band. One of the first punk bands I ever heard was Pennywise, and for some reason they're on the tour this year. I saw them for the first time toward the end of the evening. They're the kind of band I love because of what they were to me; without them and a few other older SoCal punk bands, I'd still be listening to *NSYNC or 2008's equivalent. During their set they played a lot of old favorites, and hearing them live put me right back into junior high in a good way. There didn't seem to be any sign of the anger and frustration that almost led to a breakup in Pomona; there was just good old-fashioned hardcore punk energy.

Strangely, this punk energy was followed up by FBR darlings The Academy Is …, and even stranger, it worked somehow. I'm not sure if all the punk fans kind of rotated out and all the FBR fans rotated in between the sets, but the crowd seemed just as enthused (OK, maybe more enthused) about TAI. They knew the words to almost every song, and the band clearly fed off the fans' enthusiasm. Like many of the other bands I saw on this year's tour, they didn't just play their songs; they put on a genuine high-quality performance that was only enhanced by the brisk weather and the beautiful sunset taking place in the distance. The perfect end to a ... well, not quite perfect day. But it was definitely more perfect than I expected, and enough to make me look forward to future Warped dates.

Of course, Warped isn't just about music. It's about buying stuff! I made a list of the fun things I bought this year ...

Top 5 Things I Bought At Warped Tour

1. an almost $5 bottle of water
2. some chicken on a stick
3. a huge pair of bright pink plastic sunglasses
4. a Glamour Kills hoodie
5. a year's subscription to AP magazine at the Warped discount price of $5

All in all, a Sunday well spent.

Don't miss our nonstop Warped Tour 2008 coverage:

"Travis McCoy Reportedly Gives Katy Perry a Diamond Ring"
"Warped Tour '08 Weekend Kickoff: Cobra Starship Draw Huge Crowd, Pennywise Nearly Break Up"
"Warped Tour Founder Kevin Lyman: 'Ill Make Less Money' This Summer"
"Cobra Starship Drummer: 'Shake What Your Momma Gave Ya!' Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Classic Crime Promise 'Pyrotechnics': Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Relient K Guitarist Recalls Seeing Blink-182, Eminem: Warped Tour"
"Warped Tour '08: The 411 on Four Year Strong, Against Me!, Every Avenue, The A.K.A.s"
"As I Lay Dying Guitarist: Don't Wear Black Clothes - Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: Who Are You Most Excited to See?"
"Warped Tour '08: A to Z"
"Warped Tour '08: Hip-Hop Acts Might Give You a Reason to Leave Emo Alone"
"Norma Jean Considering Nirvana Cover, Fireball Dance: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Fall Out Boy's Andy Hurley Unveils Clothing Line; Plans For Warped Tour Booth"
"We the Kings Singer Saved Drummer's Life at Summer Fest: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: The 411 on Angels & Airwaves, Bouncing Souls, 1997, Devil Wears Prada"
"Angels & Airwaves Ditching Lasers This Time Around: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Race Through the Aisles of Virgin Megastore Phoenix With As I Lay Dying, Protest the Hero"
"From First to Last Call Themselves 'Romantics,' 'Fatties': Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Midnight to Twelve Want Some McLovin: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Motion City Soundtrack Extend Warped Stay; Fear Just on for One-Night Stand"
"Academy Is ... Bassist Prefers Leap Frog Over 'Halo': Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"All-American Rejects Drop Off Warped Tour"
"Warped Tour '07 Retrospective"
"Be Your Own Pet Talk Trash About Warped Tour: 'It's Like the New Hair Metal' "
"Every Time I Die on 'Punkguins,' GCH and Sitting in Pee: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: How to Meet the Bands"
"The Audition Buffing Up for This Summer: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Maylene and the Sons of Disaster Writing New LP on the Road: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: Last Chance to Be a Pit Reporter and Get the VIP Treatment"
"Pennywise Can't Get Enough of Warped Tour, Add More Dates"
"A.K.A.s to Be Joined Onstage by Gym Class Heroes? Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Forever the Sickest Kids Want 'A Monkey at Every Show': Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: Roll Call - and Dos and Don'ts"
"Charlotte Sometimes Wonders if She'll Blow Up This Summer: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: A Guide to Pit Etiquette"
"1997 Keyboardist Longs for the Slip-N-Slide: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: The VIP Guide"
"Protest the Hero Singer Says 'We Don't Roll Like Carrot Top': Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Set Your Goals Are Packing Extra Boxers: Warped Tour Warm-Up"
"Warped Tour '08: Top 10 Must-Haves"
"Two More Killer Bands Added to Warped Tour Main Stage"


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Also, feast your eyes on these pics of Katy Perry, Beat Union and more at the Warped Tour kickoff show on April 11 in West Hollywood, California – click on the image below.



Get psyched for summer with Buzznet's Warped Tour 2008 gallery:


[Click on picture to view the rest.]

See which females will be rocking out on Warped this summer:


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Check out these bands that will be playing Warped for the first time:


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Find out which Warped artists are out of their 20s:


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Warped Tour dates:

6.25: Phoenix, AZ @ Cricket Pavilion
6.26: Las Cruces, NM @ N.M.S.U. Practice Field
6.28: Salt Lake City, UT @ TBA
6.29: Denver, CO @ Invesco Field
7.1: St. Louis, MO @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.2: Kansas City, KS @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.3: Dallas, TX @ Superpages.com Center
7.5: San Antonio, TX @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.6: Houston, TX @ Sam Houston Race Park
7.9: Atlanta, GA @ Lakewood Amphitheater
7.10 : Orlando, FL @ Central Florida Fairgrounds
7.11: Tampa, FL @ Vinoy Park
7.12: Miami, FL @ Bicentennial Park
7.13: Jacksonville, FL @ St. Johns County Fairgrounds
7.14: Charlotte, NC @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.15: Virginia Beach, VA @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
7.16: Washington DC @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
7.17: Cleveland, OH @ Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City
7.18: Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park
7.19: Toronto, ON @ Downsview Park Allen Road
7.20: Montreal, QC @ Parc Jean Drapeau
7.23: Boston, MA @ Tweeter Center for the Performing Arts
7.24: Buffalo, NY @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
7.25: Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
7.26: Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
7.27: Scranton, PA @ Toyota Pavilion
7.28: Englishtown, NJ @ Raceway Park
7.29: Pittsburgh, PA @ Post Gazette Pavilion
7.30: Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
7.31: Indianapolis, IN @ Verizon Wireless Music Center
8.1: Milwaukee, WI @ Marcus Amphitheatre
8.2: Chicago, IL @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
8.3: Minneapolis, MN @ Canterbury Park
8.5: Saskatoon, SK @ Credit Union Centre
8.6: Calgary, AB @ Race City Speedway
8.8: Boise, ID @ Idaho Center Amphitheatre
8.9: Seattle, WA @ George Amphitheatre
8.10: Portland, OR @ Columbia Meadows
8.13: Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
8.14: San Diego, CA @ Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
8.15: San Francisco, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
8.16: Sacramento, CA @ Sleep Train Amphitheatre Lot
8.17: Los Angeles, CA @ Home Depot Center

Win Warped tix on Buzznet right here!