Warped Tour 2006 Review

Vans Warped Tour '06 Midwest Bank Amphitheatre (Tinley Park, IL.) 7/30/06 Reviewer & Photos: Maggie Solum

Welcome to Warped Tour 2006! And what a hot fucking year it was. What was once a purely punk rock festival has turned into a traveling circus of insane emo and alternative rockers who really know how to party. The day began enjoyably when my best friend fell on her face on the way to the entrance gate and that started one of our best trips to Warped Tour yet. Scene kids, preps and punk children were everywhere and of course, the gates were surrounded by mobs of teenagers in colorful clothing or black robes. Warped Tour, next to OzzFest, brings in some of the most interesting individuals, which allows you to have fun even if you don’t enjoy any of the bands!

EVALINE: Richard Jonathan Perry (Vocals and Keyboard); Christian Lewis (Guitar); Steven Forrest (Drums); Dominic Di Ciano (Guitar); Steve Pederson (Bass)

While exploring the stages, Jaime and I wondered down to the, I believe, Volcom Stage that was located inside the arena’s amphitheatre where babies Evaline were desperately trying to make their mark on the Warped Tour landscape. We stayed for their last two songs, and I did take some pictures but the horrible lighting situation of the stage made their faces white washes and the photos turned out horribly.

Tiny vocalist Richard Jonathan Perry (always use his full name, haha) resembled Underoath’s Spencer Chamberlain in the way he knocked his knees together and sang directly to the people in the front of the crowd. He was short and skinny, and dressed in old vintage-type clothing complete with a chimney sweep’s hat that covered his thin black hair. The band seemed to have it together and the vibe they created onstage and the glances they sent each other shows that they really did enjoy one another’s company. I was relieved to see this; it is never an enjoyable sight when you see isolation and hostility between the members in a band. Evaline and new and young to the music scene, but they have it together more so than some groups that have been jamming on Warped Tour forever. (Because of my lack of attendance, I did not get a setlist)

Hellogoodbye: Forrest Kline (Vocals and Guitar); Jesse Kurvink (Keyboards); Marcus Cole (Bass); Chris Profeta (Drums)

I caught about half of this set in the crowd, and even in the short period of time I felt like I was going to pass out from the body heat and dancing chicks. If you have seen this band in pictures at least, you’ll notice they either dress like nerds or just all out crazy. Vocalist Forrest Kline was clad in his bright yellow shirt, blue short-shorts, knee socks and thick-rimmed glasses, his guitar hiked up higher than usual as he sang. Bassist Marcus was the most casually dressed, though his huge airline-flyer headphones did make him look a bit out of place. They did fairly well performance-wise, though Hellogoodbye has never had good live quality because Kline has a hard time mimicking the vocal tones recorded on their CDs (they’re very clear and almost computerized at points). But musically they sounded great and I think I even danced at some time during Here In Your Arms, they catchy new single from their debut Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!. They make you feel that way; this band is dancey and they make you feel like you want to jump around. Various llama-haired girls around Jaime and I were already flailing their arms and giggling, most likely hoping to get a glance from Kline.

The only thing negative I noticed about Hellogoodbye’s set was the fact that they all looked fairly unhappy. My friend suggested it was the heat, but being California residents, I didn’t really think that would be a legible answer. Whatever it was, it upset me and most of my excitement to see them was diminished by the momentary scowls that sometimes appeared on their face.

Hellogoodbye Partial Setlist: Touchdown Turnaround, Here In Your Arms, Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn, Call And Return, Bonnie Taylor Shakedown.

SENSES FAIL: Buddy Nielsen (Vocals); Garrett Zablocki (Guitar); Heath Saraceno (Guitar); Mike Glita (Bass); Dan Trapp (Drums)

This was the second time I had seen Senses Fail on Warped Tour. Last year was a disaster waiting to happen because my friend had demanded we watch the band from their crowd. What a sad mistake. We were smashed 30 seconds into the song and had a hard time getting out through the net of people. I knew better this year and decided to take pictures instead of testing the quality of my ribcage. The New Jersey natives always put on a good show because they’re energetic and know what makes their fans happy. Vocalist Buddy Nielsen did make one mistake this summer in cutting his hair; I was never told the benefit of looking bald. Then again, heat does suck and hair just makes you hotter...in more ways than one. Hahaha.

Senses Fail decently dropped their old guitarist Dave and their temporary replacement (Heath Saraceno) ended up becoming their fulltime band mate. He resembled a chubbier Dave Grohl as he stood above everyone on the stage and his stage presence was impressive. Bassist Mike Glita was rather photogenic that day and attempted to get into every shot I was plotting. Speaking of haircuts, he was sporting a foxhawk this year and I suggest he keeps it. Maybe Buddy can learn from this example. Anyways, Garrett Zablocki is one of those band dudes that look like they could be a guitar god one day, and even as he just stood on right stage and shredded he entertained me. Drummer Dan Trapp was sporting the initial ‘what am I doing here and what’s going on’ expression that most drummers are wearing when they’re lost in the party of percussion.

Kids were crowd surfing and throwing their clothes onstage, and it wasn’t unlike another year on Warped Tour. But, unlike last year, Senses Fail played around noon, where in 2005 they played a rather late evening slot. Why that switch was, I am not sure. They also did not play their acoustic set, but Heath informed me that the intimate version of their performance was switched to every other day on the tour and Chicago had become unlucky.

Senses Fail Partial Setlist: Still Searching, Lady In A Blue Dress, Buried A Lie, Rum Is For Drinking Not For Burning, Let It Enfold You, You’re Cute When You Scream.

CHIDOS: Craigery Owens (Vocals); Jason Hale (Guitar); Pat McManaman (Guitar); Matt Goddard (Bass); Derrick Frost (Drums); Radley Bell (Keyboards & Vocals)

I choked all the way to the barricade during this set – Chiodos was apparently more popular than I had thought. Girls with their cleavage hanging out and mini skirts made it a goal to give my trek between them a hard time, and the band was halfway into their first song by the time I’d gotten in front of Craigery. If you didn’t know – vocalist Craigery Owens has been in the hospital a few times due to his lungs collapsing. Despite this, he has carried one of the highest pitched, most beautiful voices that Equal Vision Records has to offer. His skinny body was sort of frightening up close paired with the knowledge of his past illness, but I had to suck it up and snap photographs of his bow-headed self. Guitarist Jason Hale had his dreadlock-like hair spiking up everywhere and was sporting extremely short blue sports shorts; I was fearing at one point while he had his foot propped on an amp, that his junk would fall out of it. Sheesh.

I don’t even remember seeing Pat playing, for some reason. I do remember Radley’s curly hair blowing in the hot summer wind though, haha. Chiodos is probably under the second definition of energy – flailing guitars, drumsticks and microphones are key components of the band’s up-beat performance. My favorite part of the entire set was where Craig jumped into the crowd and one girl, whose face ended up being under his arm pit, was screaming her lungs out so hard her face was as red as a cherry. I love seeing fans happy, even if they love trying to make my life a living hell.

Chidos Partial Setlist: All Nereids Beware, One Day Women Will All Become Monsters, We’re Gonna Have Us A Champagne Party, Baby, You Wouldn’t Last A Minute On The Creek, There’s No Penguins In Alaska.

Every Time I Die: Keith Buckley (Vocals & Cowbell); Andy Williams (Guitar); Jordan Buckley (Guitar); Chris Byrnes (Bass); Mike “Ratboy” Novak (Drums)

If you have seen Every Time I fucking Die before, you really have no need to read this review because you’ve already witness their extreme intensity, and Andy’s barrel stomach that is always showing – Warped Tour’s performance that much more intensified by the unbuttoned vest he was wearing. Sometimes I almost get jealous of the band; fuck exercise when you’ve got running around a stage for 40 minutes straight. Half of the pictures on my disk turned out blurry due to the undying need to sprint left and right.

The only thing I don’t like about Every Time I Die’s sets is the fact that when Keith sings, he stands in the exact same position each time. Not that it’s that big of a deal, but it doesn’t prove to be very awe-inspiring, haha. ETID’s cabinets were plastered with their name and a woman in her panties, flames licking to cover up her nipples – definitely the Brooklyn bangers’ idea. Musically they did a fantastic job and they seemed to bring a good-sized crowd – Warped Tour is by far the festival they seem to fit in with best.

I have to add this because I thought it was hilarious – my best friend’s cousin’s boyfriend Rick came with us to Warped Tour, wearing a giant hotdog costume. We’ve always told him he sounds and looks a lot like Jordan from Every Time I Die. Well, when Jordan was passing out flyers for their set at 3:30 that day, he just happened to hand Rick a flyer. Jordan said, “Come see us tonight!” and while he was still in earshot, Rick asked my best friend, “Who was that guy again?” and I guess he received a dirty look for it. Priceless.

Every Time I Die Partial Setlist: Kill The Music, Bored Stiff, The New Black, Ebolorama, Floater, I Been Gone A Long Time.

EMERY: Toby Morrell (vocals); Devin Shelton (vocals, bass); Matt Carter (guitar); Josh Head (keyboards, screams); Dave Powell (drums)
 

SILVERSTEIN: Shane Told (Vocals); Neil Boshart (Guitar); Josh Bradford (Guitar); Billy Hamilton (Bass); Paul Koehler (Drums)

I was yet to see Silverstein until this moment. And it was a beautiful moment worth waiting for. Besides getting hit in the shoulder blade by someone’s flying shoe, everything was amazing. They didn’t have as much young-blooded energy as Chiodos, but something about their set made everything enjoyable. Guitarist Neil Boshart’s extreme focus on playing his chords was distracting and hypnotizing, Billy Hamilton’s beard persuading eyes, at least my own eyes – I’m a big beard person. Speaking of facial hair, everyone in Silverstein at the time had a nice beard excluding Told and Koehler – though Paul barely ever has facial hair and it makes him look like a 12 year old.

The sun was setting as they played and it cast long shadows across their stage, but each one of them kept their stature despite the still gnawing heat. The kids in the crowd sang every word to every song and didn’t let their reaching hands drop for on moment.

Silverstein Setlist In No Order: Smile In Your Sleep, Fist Wrapped In Blood, Discovering the Waterfront, My Heroin, Smashed Into Pieces.

THE CLASSIC CRIME: Matt MacDonald (Vocals); Justin Duque (Guitar); Robbie Negrin (Guitar); Alan Clark (Bass); Skip Erickson (Drums)

At this point I was very glad to be the only member in the photo pit. No one else was trying to get in my way, and the band seemed to love it so I gladly took a shitload of pictures. Vocalist Matt MacDonald has an amazing voice that is one of my favorite elements of their music, and it floated across the crowd like a breeze of delicious perfume or something like that. It seemed like the members’ favorite thing to do was mount themselves on the front line of amps like they owned each and every soul in that crowd, and their serious facial expressions made their appearance that much more awesome. The crowd, on the other hand, seemed as though they were waiting for another band and really didn’t give The Classic Crime the attention they deserved.

The Classic Crime Partial Setlist: The Coldest Heart, Blisters & Coffee, The Fight.

ARMOR FOR SLEEP: Ben Juergensen (Vocals & Guitar); Anthony Dilonno (Bass); PJ Decicco (Guitar); Nash Breen (Drums)

I only had about two seconds to get pictures of the band before I had to run half a mile to the other side of Tinley Park to get footage of Moneen, so I don’t have very much to comment on their performance other than the fact that there was a hell of a lot of people there to see them.

GREELEY ESTATES: Ryan Zimmerman (Vocals); Dallas Smith (Guitar); Brandon Hackenson (Guitar); Josh Applebach (Bass); Brian “Booger” Champ (Drums)

I barely knew any of Greeley Estates’ music before I saw them play at Warped Tour. They were fast-paced, crowd-dedicated and barely stood still for any pictures – but in the midst of all of this they didn’t miss a beat in their performance and impressed the hell out of everyone watching or listening. Vocalist Ryan Zimmerman’s dirty black t-shirt and faded white jeans made him one of the most decipherable vocalists that day, considering almost nobody wears white jeans and something about them made his body formidable. Hahaha. Orange and pink rays of sun were spreading across all of the bands’ faces and made it an amazing way to end an absolutely awesome day at Warped Tour ’06.

I would like to thank Amanda Moore big time for helping get all the press organized, Biggie at Every Time I Die’s camp, Sal at Chiodos' camp, Kenny Bridges of Moneen, and Steve Forrest of Evaline.

Warped Tour 2006 Lineup

VAN'S WARPED 2006 TOUR DATES

6/15 Columbia, MD (Merriweather)
6/16 Columbus, OH (Germain Amphitheatre)
6/17 Milwaukee, WI (Marcus Amphitheatre)
6/18 Minneapolis, MN (Metrodome)
6/19 Kansas City, MO (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot)
6/21 Nashville, TN (Starwood Amphitheatre)
6/22 Jacksonville, FL (Jacksonville Fairgrounds)
6/23 Tampa, FL (Vinoy Park)
6/24 Miami, FL (Bayfront Park Amphitheatre)
6/25 Orlando, FL (Tinker Field)
6/26 Charleston, SC (Exchange Park)
6/27 Raleigh, NC (Alltell Pavilion)
6/28 Atlanta, GA (Hi Fi Amphitheater Lot)
6/30 Houston, TX (Reliant Center)
7/1 Dallas, TX (Smirnoff Music Center Lot)
7/2 San Antonio, TX (Amphitheatre Lot)
7/3 Las Cruces, NM (N.M.S.U Practice Field)
7/5 Phoenix, AZ (Peoria Sports Park)
7/6 San Diego, CA (Coors Amphitheatre)
7/7 Pomona, CA (Fairplex Park)
7/8 San Francisco, CA (Pier 30/32)
7/9 Fresno, CA (Save Mart Arena)
7/11 Ventura, CA (Seaside park)
7/12 Los Angeles, CA (Dodger Stadium Lot)
7/13 Sacramento, CA (Sleep Train Amphitheatre Lot)
7/14 Boise, ID (Idaho Center Amphitheatre)
7/15 Seattle, WA (Gorge Amphitheatre)
7/16 Portland, OR (Columbia Meadows)
7/18 Vancouver, BC (Thunderbird Stadium)
7/20 Calgary, AB (Race City Speedway)
7/22 Salt Lake City, UT (Utah State Fairgrounds)
7/23 Denver, CO (Invesco Field)
7/25 St. Louis, MO (UMB Bank Pavilion)
7/26 Cincinnati, OH (Riverbend Music Center)
7/27 Pittsburgh, PA (Post Gazette Pavilion)
7/28 Indianapolis, IN (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot)
7/29 Detroit, MI (Co-America Park and Street)
7/30 Chicago, IL (Midwest Bank Amphitheatre Center)
8/1 Buffalo, NY (Darien Lakes Fields)
8/2 Fitchburg, MA (Fitchburg Airport)
8/3 Camden, NJ (Tweeter Center at the Waterfront)
8/4 Scranton, PA (Montage Mountain)
8/5 New York, NY (Nassau Coliseum)
8/6 Old Bridge, NJ (Englishtown Raceway)
8/9 Charlotte, NC (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot)
8/9 Virginia Beach, VA (Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Lot)
8/10 Washington DC (Nissan Pavilion Lot)
8/11 Cleveland, OH (Tower City)
8/12 Toronto, QC (Park Place)
8/13 Montreal, QC (Park Jean Drapeau)

All photos Copyright © 2006. Pictures may not be used without the written consent/permission of  FourteenG

Related Links of Interest

• Photos / Review 2005 Warped Tour

• Interview with Keith Buckley of ETID from The Truth Tour

• Photos / Review of ETID from The Truth Tour

• Photos / Review of Silverstein from their headlining tour

• Interview with Shane Told of Silverstein

• Interview of Ryan Zimmerman of Greeley Estates

• Interview of Spencer Chamberlain of Underřath

• Video Moneen playing “Don’t Tell Locke What He Can’t Do”

• Video Armor For Sleep playing “The More You Talk The Less I Hear”