Eugene: It would be impossible to write about opening day of Warped Tour without mentioning the intense heat. By the end of the day, my hair was too hot to run my fingers through and my loins were radiating. Shade and sitting room became a commodity, causing us to stand for most of the day. My feet haven’t felt this way since the last time I visited Disneyland. But in all, my sixth straight year of Warped was one of my all-time favorites due to all the amazing talent.

Mike: This year’s Warped Tour was in our own backyard…Pomona! It was also the place where our friend, Andrew, popped his Warped Tour cherry…and boy did he have quite a first experience. He barfed before noon, nearly fainted from heat exhaustion, and lost his wallet during the New Found Glory set. And yet, he still had a great time. We all did.

SET YOUR GOALS

E: I am such a fan of positive music. As much as I loved listening to songs back in high school about wishing a radio would fall into your bathtub or running an awkward saw against your thigh, I have been presently craving positive bands. Set Your Goals is one of those bands.

Because SYG was the very first band to play, they gave me such a positive mood for the rest of the day. Their performance was incredibly energetic and their crowd interaction was outstanding, notwithstanding the barricade that separated the stage from the audience. When they played “Work In Progress”, it was heaven. Imagine a hundred kids, with their fists up in the air, yelling together: “My life–a constant work in progress and I wouldn’t have it any other way!” Beautiful.

M: I was a complete stranger to Set Your Goals upon attending this year’s Warped Tour. I’m glad that these guys were the first band we checked out because it was a tremendous joy to watch them perform on stage. They reminded me of everything I love about going to the Warped Tour year after year. The enthusiasm and energy with which they performed was infectious and their loyal fan following was equally impressive. “Work in Progress” was my favorite song hands down. Definitely check them out if you get the chance, you won’t regret it.

AS CITIES BURN

E: I have such fond feelings towards ACB. Not only are the members incredibly good-looking (no homo), their music reminds me of a hardcore Further Seems Forever. But when I learned that their lead singer and bassist had left the band, I couldn’t wait to see the newly reformed ACB at Warped.

It was so amazing seeing Cody play double duty as lead-singer and lead-guitarist. His screams were intense while his guitar playing was still complex. My favorite part was when they played their newer songs. Unlike most of their older jams, the new songs had a lot more singing than screaming but the rock was still constant (check it out on purevolume). To end their set, they played “Bloodsucker Pt. II” and the crowd went bonkers. No matter what the newest trends in music will be in the next few years, I don’t think I could ever outgrow this band.

M: I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing ACB in person, but I’m glad I finally got my chance at Warped ’07. Energy is the word I’d use to describe these guys. They brought plenty of it. It took a while for the crowd to warm up to them though. I even remember a group of girls leaving early with a disgusted look on their faces. Boy did they miss a great show. It seemed like the band got better and better as they progressed further into their set. By the end, they had finally hit their stride and were firing on all cylinders. The crowd was definitely feeling it then. They formed a modest circle pit, much to the shock of our friend, Andrew (the first time he witnessed one). After they had finished their set, I even had the pleasure of meeting guitarist Colin Kimble. If you get the chance, stop by their booth after their performance and say what’s up.

BOYS LIKE GIRLS

E: To tell you the truth, I never really gave this band a chance before. I remember seeing their music video once and that’s about it. If I wanted to listen to a pop band I could be listening to a ton of other bands already out there that could do it even better. But when I saw them live, their credibility went up a little. I’ll admit they’re good, especially their vocalist. And the amount of people they attracted—they should have been on the main stage. I guess by expecting a poor performance, BLG only surprised me.

M: Unbeknownst to me, Boys Like Girls looks like they’re going to be one of the big draws on every Warped stop this year. I guess that just goes to show how far one radio single can carry you (“The Great Escape”), which isn’t a knock on the band. I’m sure they’ve worked hard for their success and after seeing them perform, they definitely deserve a spot on this year’s Warped Tour. They play with great pop/rock sensibility and have a sound reminiscent of Jimmy Eat World and vocals jarringly similar to Yellowcard’s Ryan Key. It’s always a testament to a band’s talent and musicianship when they sound just as good as (or even better than) their records.

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND

E: By this point the heat was getting the best of us so we just needed to sit down. When we sat down at the far end of the stadium, I overheard a familiar song. Coincidentally, FFAF was just starting their set on the main stage in front of us. After they played “Out of Reach” from their new album I was anxious to hear their older songs. Then over the loud speakers I heard the sound of someone dialing a number. My face immediately went from to :D. If you have their Hours album, you know exactly what I’m talking about—if not, they played their greatest song, “Streetcar.” Though they were as small as ants from where we were sitting, FFAF put on an awesome live show and the vocals were spot on.

M: It was nice to finally sit down and listen to a band without having to battle a sea of sweat monsters. It’s always different observing a band from afar instead of being in the thick of things down in the pit. I’ve always enjoyed FFAF, but until this year at Warped, I never really appreciated them. They played a good mix of old and new songs, but my favorite was definitely “Streetcar.” The cohesion of instruments and vocals was superb. Even Andrew, who has the voice of an angel (no homo), really enjoyed FFAFs vocal styling.

YELLOWCARD

E: I lost track of this band after “One For the Kids.” Oh man, that album was good. Since they didn’t play any songs from it, I was not pleased. Sean didn’t even do a back-flip off the guitar cabs. Screw that.

M: I was totally raring to go when I saw that Yellowcard and New Found Glory were playing back to back sets on the same stage. Ahh…all those high school memories. It has been a while since there have been any rumblings from the Yellowcard camp after their disappointing “Lights and Sounds” release. It was nice to see the band back in action, but something was definitely missing. One for the Kids anyone? Instead the band opted to play their smash hits from Ocean Avenue and a few tracks from Lights and Sounds (boocakes). As much as I love the guys, their set was definitely the most disappointing of the day. Hopefully by the time they roll around to your town they’ve mixed it up.

NEW FOUND GLORY

E: NFG was the sole reason why I wanted to go to Warped this year. In fact, my first CD was their self-titled album. I even wore my “Shai Hulud” shirt in hopes that Chad will give me props.

One thing NFG is known for is incorporating their old songs into their live sets. From memory they played, “Something I Call Personality”, “Better Off Dead”, “All Downhill From Here”, “Hold My Hand”, “Hit or Miss”, and “My Friends Over You.” Even better, they covered “Kiss Me” from Sixpence None the Richer. It was definitely worth the thirty minutes standing in the sun to save our awesome view of the stage.

I couldn’t tell how many people were there, but going off of how many kids crowd surfed over my face, I’m guessing there were many. I felt like I was in high school again. Good times.

M: What can I say about NFG? They always put on a great show. The crowd absolutely goes nuts for Chad and the guys. I’m always assured to leave a NFG show drenched in mine and others’ sweat, and Warped in Pomona was no exception (especially with the near triple-digit heat). I was sweating like a prostitute in church. They played a lot of their hits, but most notably played their cover of Sixpence None the Richer’s “Kiss Me” which is going to be on their next cover album. The most touching moment came at the end of the set when Chad dedicated “My Friends Over You” to his departed father. And in his honor we all partook in a giant circle pit.

MEG AND DIA

E: Sometimes I wonder if I really like this band because they’re talented or because there are two pretty girls in the band. Regardless, Meg and Dia played a decent set although at one point it felt like a jam session. When you bring out a cowbell, it cures our fever for more cowbell. But when you bring out the claves, you’re a jam band. But in all, I think I concluded that they’re truly a talented band.

M: Meg and Dia had a gigantic line at the Energerizer autograph tent. It was unbelievable. But not more unbelievable than The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus’ line. Sorry, I just had to get that out there.

Onto the music…Meg and Dia seem to have a very humble, but strong, aura on stage. The whole rock star status seems lost on them, which is wonderfully refreshing nowadays. I absolutely love Dia’s voice. Musically everything seems to come with ease for the band. Nothing seems forced or rushed. The music comfortably flows. I know everyone loves a good cowbell breakdown, but it seemed strangely out of place when Dia was banging away on it during (I think it was) “Lessons in New Jersey”. Unfortunately we missed out on “Monster” because we had to jet over to see Paramore.

PARAMORE

E: It felt like everyone that attended Warped went to see Paramore perform. The band came out with a splash beginning with “Misery Business.” I also remember them playing “Born For This,” “That’s What You Get,” and “crushcrushcrush” from their new album. As for the rest of the performance I’m sure Mike will fill you in—I was too distracted by Hayley’s bright orange hair.

M: Not that the band needs me to toot their horn, as they are quickly becoming favorites across the country, but Paramore was the main reason I wanted to go this year’s Warped Tour. I was excited to finally get the chance to see this amazing young band out of Franklin, Tennessee in person…even if it was from behind the biggest crowd we’d seen all day. They opened with their lead single “Misery Business” (which, I believe is now in the TRL rotation) much to the crowd’s delight. They did a few numbers from All We Know is Falling but mostly stuck to songs off of their latest effort (“crushcrushcrush”, “Born for This” most notably).

In a genre flooded with bands that are impossible to tell apart, Paramore is able push beyond that invisible line of pop/rock blandness for a few reasons. They write songs that are catchy as hell and are able to bring the energy from their albums to their live show…oh, and having a cute girl on lead vocals isn’t a bad idea either. What guys (and girls too!) don’t have just the teensy-weensiest crush on Paramore’s little red-orange haired sparkplug Hayley Williams? With great enthusiasm Hayley led the crowd in a chant of “Riot!” to let the whole Warped Tour know the name of their latest release (shameless plug I know). She had the crowd in the palm of her hands. It’s hard to believe that a band this young is able to command the live show the way they do. They’re enthusiastic, talented, but most importantly, seem to love being on stage. You’d be doing yourself a great disservice to skip out on Paramore at this year’s Warped Tour.

E: So in conclusion, we didn’t see all the other buzz bands like Circa Survive (Taken lives), Chiodos, or Red Jumpsuit Apparatus because there were too many bands to catch. Maybe we’ll catch them again when Warped is comes back to Southern California on August 24th at the Coors Amphitheatre and on August 25th at the Home Depot Center.

M: All in all, Warped Tour 2007 was a success. A lost lunch and a lost wallet for our friend, Andrew…dollar bills flying out of our wallets in $3 increments for drinks…exhausted feet…insane Southern California heat…sunburned arms, legs, and faces…those were just some of the few sacrifices we gladly made for a day of great live music. After all, Warped Tour comes but once a year. So make it count everyone!

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