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Warped Tour

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File:Vans warped tour.JPG
Warped Tour Logo

Warped Tour is a touring music and extreme sports festival. The tour is held in venues (generally parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures are erected) with capacities which range from 10,000 to 30,000. The skateboarding shoe manufacturer Vans has sponsored the tour every year since 1995 and it is often referred to as the Vans Warped Tour.

In recent years, the Warped Tour has featured as many as 100 bands per show. The bands play for up to 30 minutes over approximately 10 different stages, although the biggest bands generally play the two "Main" stages. A typical day would have bands starting at 11:00am and end at 9:00 p.m. with several bands playing at once. The area is set up to prevent music from one stage disrupting other active stages. One band, by fan vote, is allowed to play ten extra minutes at each show. Every year there is a "BBQ Band," which, in exchange for the privilege of playing on the tour, must prepare food for the bands and crew for the barbeque which is held most evenings.[1]

The tour started as a skate punk, and third wave ska tour, but in recent years has featured mostly Pop punk, emo, alternative rock, metalcore, and post-hardcore acts.

History

The Warped Tour was created in 1994 by Kevin Lyman, who got the idea while working on skateboarding shows—such as the Vision Skate Escape and Holiday Havoc—which included music with skateboarding contests. The Warped name comes from the short-lived Warp Magazine published by Transworld—it tried to combine surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and music into one glossy package.

In 1998, the tour went international—including venues in Australia, Japan, Europe, and the United States.

In 1999, the tour started off in New Zealand and Australia in the New Year. It then started up again in the United States for the northern hemisphere summer—before ending up in Europe.

As well as music, this tour brings many attractions including a half pipe for skaters and bikers, though the focus on extreme sports has declined over the years. In 2006, the only venue for extreme sports was a single half pipe; athletes wishing to use it were required to submit a signed release (by a parent or guardian if underage) and obtain a special wristband. The tour also features many booths creating a flea market like atmosphere, having tents for each of the bands to sell merchandise, independent record labels, magazine publishers, non-profit organizations, and sponsors looking to market their products to the tour's audience.

Sponsors are a vital part of the Vans Warped Tour as the revenue they provide subsidizes many of the tour's expenses—allowing ticket prices to be kept relatively low when compared to similar tours. The average ticket price is $25, considerably lower than the average $45 Ozzfest ticket.

As one of the most successful North American concert tours, The Vans Warped Tour continues to prosper selling over 500,000 tickets a year.

Band conflicts

A few bands have left the tour due to conflicts:

  • On the 2005 Calgary date, the singer of Calentura alleged that she had been raped. Her band quit the tour shortly after this.[3] No arrests have resulted.
  • In 2006, Underoath left the tour suddenly. The band announced the members "felt it necessary to take some immediate time to focus on our friendship, as that’s more important than risking it for the sake of touring at this time."

Criticism

Joe Queer of The Queers stated, "You play music because there’s something inside of you that says you have to play music. Now you get bands like Fall Out Boy that are basically created in the studio. The Warped Tour changed it. I just don’t like that shit. All the guys in the bands remind me of the jocks I hated in high school. Fuck it, I’m not going. To me a punk gig is a small sweaty club with the audience right in your face knocking over the mic stand and boogying off the energy."[1] The band Propaghandi lashes out at the tour in their song ""Rock for Sustainable Capitalism", which contains lyrics categorising the tour's bands as "shitty" and criticising the Vans sponsorship due to the Vans company's use of foreign labor.

In 2006, NOFX's Fat Mike commented on the number of Christian rock bands playing the tour, stating, "We’re on the Warped Tour this year, and if there is a prayer group, we are gonna destroy it. It really makes me sick to my stomach to have a big punk rock tour with a prayer group on it."[2]

Warped Tour 2007

Bands confirmed by warpedtour.com for Warped Tour 2007

See also: Previous Warped Tour bands, Warped Tour 2006 bands, and Warped Tour 2005 bands

All bands confirmed for the entire tour unless otherwise noted.

Bands confirmed by smartpunkonwarped.com for the Smartpunk stage

The Smartpunk Stage is one of the side stages featured on Warped Tour. The bands that play the stage are not decided by Kevin Lyman, but by smartpunk.com.


Bands not yet officially confirmed, but sourced to other websites

Tour Dates

The venues are not yet confirmed and dates may change but Vans has released these dates

Compilations

Every year, a record label draws songs released by many of the bands that perform during the Warped Tour, and release them in an Warped Tour Compilation. The compilations have been released by SideOneDummy Records. The 2006 edition started what will hopefully be a new trend: It was released before the Warped Tour actually started. This allowed people to buy the cd, listen to the songs, and choose which bands they would want to hear if and when they go to their stop on the tour. The following is a list of links to the individual Warped Tour Compilations:

  • A DVD about the experiences of a PETA representative while advocating for his organization on the Warped Tour, Wake Up Screaming[4], was created after the 2005 tour.
  • The Warped Tour is featured as a venue in the game Guitar Hero 2 in the location of Austin, TX -- which ironically has not had a Warped Tour date scheduled in several years.


References

  1. ^ http://www.wirenh.com/Music/Music_-general/Joe_Queer:_the_face_of_punk_200610241597.html
  2. ^ http://www.synthesis.net/music/story.php?type=band&id=330
  3. ^ http://www.punkbands.com/index.php?id=21988
  4. ^ http://www.warpedtour.net
  5. ^ http://www.myspace.com/familyforce5
  6. ^ http://www.myspace.com/iamghost
  7. ^ http://www.pedigreemusic.com/node/660
  8. ^ http://www.warpedtour.net
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