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august 2 The annual summertime Vans Warped Tour is one of the best places to discover the young and the fresh in the world of rock ‘n’ roll. It’s pitched to older teens, but it’s good fun for any of you who, say, remember the fire of the Clash or Green Day and want another flame-up, live and in your face. It’s not all kids, though. This year, Warped’s 12th, you’ll see what has to be called a heritage act, Joan Jett (she really rocks), the pulverizing and headlining Helmet and punk vets NOFX. Check out the (perhaps) contrasting viewpoints of Amor For Sleep, touring behind their provocatively titled CD, “What To Do When You Are Dead,” Escape the Fate and their “Dying is Your Latest Fashion”’ CD. And there are about 70 more bands. The local stop is at Fitchburg Municipal Airport Aug. 2. “This year’s Warped Tour is a real turning point of where the Warped Tour will go over the next few years,” says producer Kevin Lyman. “Attendance is down a bit. I’ve talked to a lot of people in the business and they said, ‘No business can say they’ve grown for 12 straight years; none of our businesses have.’ Apple didn’t grow for 12 straight years. You’re now at a point of how you preserve your business and develop it over time. Our lineup is very is very relevant and very cool, and the crowd seems like a very Warped Tour crowd. “Last year, we ran into a problem. We book early, in October when a lot of these bands aren’t very well known – by summertime a lot of these bands were being played on heavy pop radio, so we drew a different audience.” Those bands would include Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance. “That sent our numbers up a bit, but caused a lot of compounded problems. I looked at them as the kids who are sitting around looking at the computer all summer watching TRL. Our medical, we had so much medical last year. We’re down 60-80 percent this year. This year, it’s a hardcore music fan.” A few of Lyman’s picks: Aiden, who’ve moved from the small to the main stage, Rise Again, Underoath. You feel the power of the tour, picking up momentum. By the end, we will be what the tour’s known for, breaking artists.” In the past, those have included Blink-182, Deftones, Sugar Ray, New Found Glory and Taking Back Sunday. Expect 11,000 or so fans at Fitchburg. Runs from 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. General admission tickets: $26.50 (Beware the ticket agencies: They’re selling them for $55-$85.) Bonus info: The Warped Tour starts a six-month exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next January. Then, it will come back after a 35 – yes that’s right, 35 – year layoff so today’s kids can tell their kids: “Son, I got my first broken arm moshing to Helmet back in ‘06’’ 567 Crawford St., Fitchburg warpedtour.com |
