VANS Warped Tour – at Home Depot Center – Carson, CA – August 23, 2009

The final stop for the 2009 Vans 15th anniversary Warped Tour was situated at the Home Depot Center in the city of Carson. The Carson show included a few of the same acts that Warped Tour's first show in Pomona did, but the line-up was noticeably different. The concert opened its doors early before noon, and the crowd's excitement could be felt all around as many rushed to figure out which stage to migrate to, and which bands to check out. The last stop of the tour was about to blow up and end on a good note.



The Punk Rock Legends stage included the U.K Subs, and the band made their way to the stage shortly after 1:45pm. The U.K Subs had tremendous support from the crowd, and the area around the stage was filled with fans, both young and old. The circle pit saw its fair share of action, and it was pretty energetic for it only being a little after 12pm, which is probably around the time the crowd usually wakes up every morning. U.K Subs played well known songs such as, "I Live In A Car", "C.I.D", "Warhead", and "Tomorrow's Girls". When the U.K Subs played their last song, a few audience members could be heard screaming for an encore. Though none was given, U.K Subs fans all agreed it was a set that did not disappoint, and even surpassed their expectations.

Streetlight Manifesto hit the Hurley.com stage at 2:45, and rude boys and girls packed the area, ready to skank and get crazy. Streetlight Manifesto had a set filled with jokes, fast paced music, slow music, circle pits and skanking pits, and above all, trombones! The music was catchy and upbeat, and fans sang along to all their songs, holding on to each other and picking random invidiuals from the audience to dance along with. Streelight Manifesto played popular favorites like "Failing, Flailing", and "Here's To Life". Near the end of the band's set, Streelight Manifesto announced into the microphone how much they hate when bands play covers. They then played NOFX's "Linoleum", and NOFX fans all rushed into the pit to sing along and create a mess with their mosh pit. Streelight Manifesto finally left the stage, and the audience cheered and made a lot of noise for the ska band.

Around 3:45, many Punks present at Warped Tour commuted to the Punk Rock Legends stage to see Channel 3. Channel 3 was originally scheduled to play at 2:45, and D.O.A to play at 3:45. A last minute schedule change caused the two bands to switch places, causing a few fans to accidentally miss D.O.A. Nevertheless, Channel 3 played to a rowdy crowd that maintained a relatively wide circle pit for their set. The band played the majority of their most well known songs, such as, "I've Got A Gun", "You Make Me Feel Cheap," and "Mannequin". Channel 3 had a very dedicated crowd, which were all sad to see the band depart from the stage shortly before 4:30pm.

Pour Habit took the Kia Kevin Says Stage at 5:05, and only played a 20 minute set. Although their time on stage was short, the band went on to pour all of their effort and energy into their set. The crowd for the band's set was a relatively good size, and the mosh pit got started between all their bigger and brawnier men. Pour Habit toured with NOFX earlier this year, and as a result, many of the people in the crowd checking them out sported NOFX shirts. Pour Habit is definitely a band to check out, and the audience definitely left in good spirits after their set.

Less Than Jake's performance was already in progress upon Pour Habit's departure. Less Than Jake took over the Vans Main Stage at 5:15pm, and the area around the stage was massively packed. Less Than Jake had spunk, and the band's overall personality was perfectly conveyed during their set. At one point, the band made the crowd look at two different streetlights in the crowd, both which were on opposite sides. The band singled out two individuals which were each standing at each separate streelights. A male in a purple shirt stood at one streelight, and a female in shorts stood at the other one. The band then ordered the crowd to lift both individuals up, and force them to crowd surf and switch places. The audience willingly did so, and both individuals swam above the crowds to reach their designated streetlights. With antics like these, it was impossible to not have a good time and appreciate the stage presence of Less Than Jake.

Old school third wave ska band Fishbone began their performance at the Punk Rock Legends stage at 5:45pm. Ska junkies crowded the stage, and skanked along to every song the band produced. The music was fast, quirky, and even the slower songs had a lot of edge to them. When the band covered Sublime's "Date Rape", if you were in the surrounding area outside of the circle pit, you could see people rushing and running from all around the outside, trying to get into the circle pit to skank and dance to the well known cover. Fishbone's set was insanely fun, and a treat for all of the audience.

FEAR arrived to the Punk Rock Legends stage at 6:45, and older heads made sure to dominate the circle pits, and show the youngsters who's really boss. FEAR opened their set with, "I Love Livin' In The City", and played other favorites such as, "Rodeo", "Disconnected", and "Camarillo". The circle pit was nonstop, and seemingly vicious. Fans appeared to know every lyric to every song, and as always, vocalist Lee Ving made sure to provide good times and good laughs to the audience by including his often vulgar, yet tasteful jokes.

It was shortly before 7:15pm that many people ran and caused a scene trying to get to the Vans Main Stage ASAP. At 7:15, NOFX was finally going to play, and fans all over were eager to get a good spot for the performance.. When the band appeared on stage, NOFX announced that now that Bad Religion was off the tour, NOFX was officially the best band on the tour. Fans all around laughed and applauded at the comment. The band opened up with "Intro", and went on to play "Linoleum", "Murder The Government", "Green Corn", "Stickin' In My Eye", and even included "The Quitter", which is off their latest album, "Coaster". Vocalist Fat Mike made jokes with guitarist El Hefe the entire time, and included some pretty inappropriately appropriate jokes that were all made in good fun. At one point, NOFX covered Rancid and played "Radio", which audience members had a good time dancing to the slow and steady beats of the song. After an hour, NOFX decided they were tired of playing, and notified the audience that their set was finally over. The band then played, "Kill All The White Man", inducing one of the heaviest and most intense circle pits of the night. When NOFX departed from the stage, audience members chanted, "ONE MORE SONG", and others simply applauded for what seemed like 10 straight minutes. NOFX wasn't joking, they really were the best band on the tour, and the audience can attest to that.

Finally, after a long and hot day of waiting, all sorts of individuals made their way to the Punk Rock Legends stage to take part in the magic that an Adicts show delivers. Punks, Greasers, Preps, and even older people packed the area where The Adicts were performing. The Adicts did not fail to amaze the crowd; with vocalist Monkey constantly showcasing his talents and illusions with glitter and tricks, audience members were left mesmerized and in a happy sort of daze. The band played "Steamroller", "Chinese Takeaway", "Bad Boy", "Numbers", and many more crowd favorites.

It was ridiculous to see just how full the entire area was over The Adicts, and even the stage right next to them was halfway full with fans just there to see The Adicts. When the beachballs came out near the end of the band's set, everyone knew the band's time was almost up, and everyone made sure to fully indulge in the last minutes of the set. The band played "Viva La Revolution" last, and then played their "Ode To Joy" medley, and dismissed themselves the way that they only could: lights, color, sparkle, and fans cheering and screaming at their presence.

As the massive crowd left the stage area, it was clear to see that Warped Tour was pretty much done. The majority of the stands were gone, trash covered the floor, and even a few stages were in the process of being taken down. With only 3 bands left playing the night, the majority of the people made their ways to the exit, and exhaustion was a thing we all shared in common. As the dark night sky began to take over, a feeling of fulfillment seemed to sweep over us.

The 2009 Vans Warped Tour was finally over, and we had all taken part in the last show of the tour. Warped Tour was everything you expected and did not expect, and the experience of going to an all day music festival such as this one, adds a sense of accomplishment, mainly for being able to last through a whole day of sun, music, temptation, and circle pit after circle pit. Tiring, yet completely worth the exhaustion, Warped Tour provided everything that a music festival should always make sure to provide: nonstop music, culture, and a meeting ground for all the different scenes that foster our underground community. It's a brilliant idea.


 

-Stephanie M.-
Senior staff reporter

 

More photos of the show can be seen HERE

 
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