On Tuesday, I was sitting at a restaurant and picked up a newspaper. I saw "Warped Tour Calgary: July 5!". Two of the bands playing were:
Bad Religion -- One of my absolute favorite bands, for many many years. I'd blown three chances to see them live, for different reasons.
Killswitch Engage -- I'd seem them live three times already, but they're my favorite live band. They're also the first metal(-style) band I saw live, so it brings back memories.
I instantly knew I had to see them, so I rushed out (metaphorically) and got tickets. Unfortunately, I had no way of getting there or anything, but who cares? Things will work themselves out!
Then on Wednesday, I got a phonecall: my grandparents were in Calgary and wanted to see me. Awesome! A ride! I already had a ticket on the assumption that things would work out, and they did!
So I went there yesterday at about 1:30pm, just in time to see Tiger Army. They're pretty good, so I was happy I saw them.
Before I list the bands, I should say: it was 36C (98F) here, with absolutely no shade. Thankfully, I brought sunscreen and water was free. I have a cool sunburn caused by my hat, though, you can probably tell exactly which way I was facing by measuring the angle.
. Also, it was a mixture of punk people, metal people, and a few emo guys. Nobody really bothered me, so that was good.
All the bands I saw, in no particular order, were (and forgive me if I get some wrong, I jotted down the names in my cellphone, but it limits me to 20 characters or so):
Bad Religion -- Fantastic! I loved them so much. It's too bad they could only do a half hour set. They have 14 (or so) albums, and I love just about every song they've done! I could watch them for hours.
Killswitch Engage -- Also fantastic! More later
Cute is What We Aim For -- This was like 4 hours in and my feet were sore. They just happened to be playing where I found a spot to sit. Didn't much care for.
Waste the Day (I think? I wrote down 'Haste T Day') -- I don't remember
Paramore -- Crappy
Pepper -- Crappy
Pennywise -- Really good
Red Jumpsuit -- Crappy
Tiger Army -- pretty good
Vincent Black Shadow -- Crappy, but they were on the Lucky Stage right before Bad Religion, so I stayed through the whole set just to get a good spot
For the two main bands (BR and KE), I was right at the front. For the rest, I was generally wandering around.
My favorite quote of the night was from Killswitch Engage (and he did it in a growling metal-type voice): "I want you to all do something for me. Turn to the emo kid next to you. Grab his Blackberry, and text his mom to come pick him up. But tell her to wait, since he just got punched in the nuts. Then punch him in the nuts. Twice!"
Another band (I forget which) said, "Thanks to everybody who brought their girlfriends. The problem is, I can't tell you apart half the time!"
A lot of other bands also made fun of Emos, which was pretty funny.
