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2005 Warped Tour
My Chemical Romance
Simple Plan
HorrorPops
My American Heart
Day Two
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Utah State Fairgrounds
Salt Lake City, UT
7/16/2005
By: Caz* Bevan
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My Chemical Romance
Perhaps it's their larger than life stardom and their brilliant,
up-close-and-personal music videos that bring you to expect
My Chemical Romance to somehow be larger and in your
face. But no, they take the stage like porcelain rocker dolls
dressed in their own sense of a prestigious manor, and
probably too much black for the 100-plus-degree weather.
However, I'm sure their foundation is SPF friendly in order
for them to keep that iconic, doll-like porcelain
skin.
Dosed in mild makeup, they appear to be calm and
contained. At first thought you would think that just getting
ready had worn them out. They come across, at first, almost
shy - like the crowd only deserves as much as they
themselves put into it. Delicate, you expect to be able to pick
up each figure of this band and move them around in
various positions. They just seem well placed. There is no
other way to describe it.
Instantly, the crowd went wild. With good friends from The
Used standing by and watching, I halfway expected a
surprise performance of their combined cover song "Under
Pressure," originally performed by Queen, but we were not
so lucky. My Chemical Romance gradually fed the crowd the
entertainment they were craving. By the third song one of
the security barricades fell and dozens of people followed. I
stood to the side watching the security swarm; there was
yelling and crying that seemed almost random. Some came
from diehard fans and the others came from the vertically
challenged and most hardcore fans of all who spend year
after year crushed among the mass of bodies. Everyone
leans forward. Everyone has the need to be closer,
somehow. The band played harder and became almost too
much of a distraction as I barely noticed the injured standing
up with various scrapes and gashes. Then there was the girl
whose leg had literally snapped in half. I didn't know skin
tore so...literally. She was carried away with her little
brother after being pried from the barricade, and the party
went on.
Overall, it was a performance most entertaining. Despite
such youth delinquency and excessive injuries I would
speculate that every fan left like excited and addicted
four-year-olds saying, "Let's do that again!"
Simple Plan
Simple Plan is definitely the epitome of the MTV pop punk
generation. Fashioned with pinstriped jeans, lead singer
Pierre Bouvier was all business as the bass player, David
Derosiers, worked the crowd. As they took the stage, my
first thought was to tuck and roll. That alone proves that I
too am part of this shameful popularity - the MTV addicted,
trained for ultimate survival at the very instant I hear that
undeniable roar of fifteen year old, brace-faced drama
queens. If this is my civic duty, bring it on! It's no
stereotype. I did actually see a young girl, braces, freckles
and proper Hot Topic attire (appropriately bought the day
before), and there she was, crying her little heart out while
reaching for the lead singer. It was the best moment of her
life as far as she knew it. In three years she'll never tell the
story again.
These boys are definite heartbreakers. They have a plan.
They are there to instigate. There purpose is to get you, the
crowd, involved. Their mission is successful. I imagine up
there, they have it all. I have never seen a livelier, yet
friendly crowd at the Warped Tour. Everyone was jumping in
a wavelike succession. Simple Plan is all business about their
rock stardom. They are a hundred percent energy. They
seem concerned about the crowd's reaction - almost uptight
and definitely over anxious. Hyper is probably the most
appropriate description of Simple Plan. Hyper, practical boys
who don't just have a dream; they have a goal. All in all,
they put on a good show.
HorrorPops
HorrorPops was one band I actually did not plan on seeing or
reviewing at the 2005 Warped Tour, but I simply could not
resist. Walking from one stage to the next their fetish-
friendly go-go dancers caught my eye. In their punked-out,
frilly, modern-type lederhosen and knee-high socks, I was
shocked. But what entertained me even more was the
female lead singer playing an upright bass - painted in a
girly fashion. The rest of the band was straight up
psychobilly. They dressed it. They looked it. They obviously
lived it.
I found myself flipping through every bit of Warped Tour
information I had to try and find out more about them. But, I
found nothing and their website is of no real help. They are a
mystery. They are a psychobilly band that seems to have a
strong following in the UK. They are exactly what they
say...horror pop; scary pop; psycho pop or whatever you
choose to call it. It's sinful to watch and addicting for the
same reason.
My American Heart
My American Heart debuted on the Ernie Ball stage at this
year's Warped Tour. Even though they call San Diego home,
they are definitely at home on stage. I felt like making them
a sign to hang from their guitar cabs, "Home is where the
rock is." Maybe it's just me, but I found it kind of
heartwarming that a young band calling themselves "My
American Heart" would be so ethnically diverse. I tend to
take notice of these things having grown up in the
South.
My American Heart had such raw energy. You would not
expect such energy and such emotion to be belted from such
petite boys. The lead singer seems sweet and almost shy -
the kind of guy you'd smile at in passing and nothing more.
But if you were to hear his voice alone, you'd be cautious of
ever getting on his bad side. The lyrics are emotional. The
performance is passionate. People from all directions
stopped in their tracks to watch them rock out - gunslingers,
breakdowns and technical jams. They were well practiced,
tight and extremely entertaining. Unlike other side show
bands, people seemed to really take notice.
I would not be surprised if My American Heart would be
featured on one of the two main stages within the next two
years of Warped Tour.
Day Two
Home to Salt Lake City, Utah - that gives Day Two enough
reason to find their passion for touring. They hardly ever
play their hometown. Their local scene cannot keep up with
their passion and purpose. Touring this year's Warped Tour
with a new drummer, Joe Arrington, nothing slows them
down. Within just the first few shows of the Warped Tour,
Joe was offered a drum sponsorship. If that doesn't impress
you, how about the back flips featured at nearly every show
by their lead singer.
Day Two plays a set that is tight. It has the perfect amount
of silence as Debussy once said, "Music is the space between
the notes." Day Two has mastered this. Their silence, their
time changes and their breakdowns are the types that leave
you standing at the side of the hardcore pit with your jaw
slightly dropped. You almost can't understand it at first, or
maybe that's just me since I am part of the hometown
they've so generously left time and time again with a great
big, "Eat my dust!"
Dust indeed, Day Two is a whirlwind of energy. They feature
strong melodies. They don't scream the whole time. The lead
singer does take a break and let the rest of the band back
him up with blood curdling screams.
A band full of young men with metal hair, who can resist?
They live to entertain. They need not beg the attention of
their fans. They own their attention. They have a way of
schooling you in their ways without being pig-headed or too
in your face. But don't take that for granted, because as I
said before, they seem to have little patience for those who
think twice about joining this bandwagon.
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