The Vans Warped Tour 2006
Raceway Park, Englishtown, NJ
August 6th, 2006
The spectacular Vans Warped Tour has been around for many years and entertained many up-and-coming bands. As the years went by, each venue became way too small to hold the ever-growing crowd. In 2006, the tour had to be held at Raceway Park, which holds well into the thousands. This year needed it, with more than nine stages-including a battle of the bands stage. This is the first time we attended, and what a fantastic day of bands that were amazing. The Vans Warped Tour was primarily a punk tour, but as years went by it evolved in a great mixture of hard rock, punk and alternative. One thing for sure: you will never get to see everything at the show. There is just too much going on, and there are so many good bands that you can’t see them all. Our goal for the day was to see as many bands as possible, so as we walked around passing the media booths and skateboard ramp, arriving front and center to the Hurley Stage. We entered the press area and were two feet from the stage at the huge barrier holding the crowd back.
Each band has a 30-minute time slot to incite the crowd and get their blood pumping. The first band we saw was Academy is… who didn’t take long to have the fans in the palm of their hands. Academy is…are a like a new age Led Zeppelin gone alternative, with awesome charisma pouring out of their barefoot lead vocalist, William Beckett. After their set, we headed over to the Shiragirl Stage, where they feature female-fronted bands. To start things off were the Harletts, with their raw punk power and fast riffs with raspy vocals. As we hung there waiting for The Vincent Black Shadow, the small petite Cassie Ford entered the stage as Robbie Kirkham did some stand-up to gather the crowd, asking for someone to buy him a hamburger. All Cassie did to steal the spotlight is to walk to the front of the stage as passersby stopped dead in their tracks. You would not believe the pipes on this little minx as she did two songs, “Bullets on My Tracks” and “Metro”. In comparison, TVBS is like a mold of Blondie meets No Doubt. After all the guys wiped the drool off their faces from gawking at Cassie, she tells them “I don’t even have a vagina-it’s flat down there!” Damn, did my dick go limp, but she is amazing!!! This is another band that gives its all. Robbie is also an attraction, doing his best David Lee Roth jumps and splits.
After we came to our senses we headed back to the Hurley Stage to see a band that I was really excited about -- Aiden. A hardcore, gothic alternative band, Aiden fucking blew me away. The energetic band flew on the stage, and those barriers really took a beating as it seemed like the Beatles coming to the States. Holy shit! What a band-and they WILL be big. Lead vocalist Wil Francis stirred the crowd into frenzy as “Die Romantic” started, and it was nonstop: running the stage, swinging the microphone in big loops, and every member giving a great performance. As their set grew to a halfway point at “The Last Sunrise,” bassist Nick Wiggins got so excited by the fans he jumped over the barrier into the crowd. Although Warped security was going crazy holding him back, they had no chance: in he went, still ripping his bass lines. Talk about wild! What a live show by these boys. I had a chance to talk with guitarist Angel Ibarra before the show, and I asked him what Aiden is all about. His answer was “We are just a family that plays rock ‘n roll at a high level.”
Next up was Britt Black back at the Shiragirl Stage. The Canadian beauty plays pure hard rock with some punk influence a la the Runaways. One thing I like about Britt is the shy, innocent-style person she portrays on stage while letting her vocals take hold of you. Britt is a dark-haired, voluptuous woman that knows how to rock, playing “Jet Black Heart” and one of my favorite tracks off her CD “Blackout” called “Speed of Light.” She put on one hell of show. It was starting to get late, so Rob and I went back to the press area to get a little bit to eat and meet up with publicist Rob Spinelli, who took us to meet The Vincent Black Shadow. We entered the bus and the band was awaiting our arrival to answer questions. Also on the bus was another person who I did not recognize, and as the band welcomed us they said “Meet our good friend Johnny Z.” I almost shit peas! Back in the 80’s, this was the man who brought Metallica to light. I worked on various project with his label MegaForce Records. I wanted to get on my knees and say “I’m not worthy,” but Mr. Johnny Z is a stand-up guy, and I don’t think he would appreciate it.
What a fucking day. This was a first for our writer Rob Benaquista, being backstage or even on a tour bus. Can’t wait for next year’s tour… One thing I must mention in ending is the security for the venue and the show in Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey. You hear all the bad things about security overreacting and abusing their authority: well, I must applaud the people on the Vans Warped Tour and their security- they were outstanding and very professional. With the crowd being that huge, they treated the attendees with respect: even with the crowd surfing and fans coming over the barrier, I did not see one person being hurt, punched or abused by security. APPLAUSE!!!
Special thanks to The Vans Warped Tour Promoter, Rob Spinelli, Aiden, The Vincent Black Shadow, Bodog Music, The Mitch Schneider Organization, Britt Black, Johnny Z, my co-worker Nicole for scaring the shit out of me at the show, the security and the fans.
Dozens of photos from the show can be seen here!
Look for interviews with Aiden, The Vincent Black Shadow and Britt Black coming soon!
Official Vans Warped Tour 2006 website: http://www.warpedtour.com/ |
