VANS Warped Tour – at Ventura Country Fairgrounds – Ventura, CA

Sunday the 27th of June marked the third California show out of many set for this year's Warped Tour. The weather was a little overcast and high's reaching only the Mid-70's with a cool breeze. Ventura's Seaside Park is a great location for an all day outdoor event of this magnitude, especially during the summer.

Upon arrival, everyone instantly heads for the board to check out set-times. Panic set in as we looked at the giant ledger and it was void of any old school Punk bands. Quickly our attention was directed to a small spot under the board where a piece of cardboard was duct taped and the names of everyone's favorite Punk rock legends were sloppily written with a sharpie.
Someone had misspelled The Adolescents' name, and half of it was scribbled out and rewritten above it. How appropriate! Lee Ving joked around saying he kept checking to see if Fear was still on the bill, because he didn't see their name up, then he added that all joking aside, he was proud to have their name scribbled on the duct taped piece of cardboard. That is truly punk rock!

When we arrived at the Punk Rock Legends stage one of the first things we noticed that was quite different than the other stages was the line of cops that stood ready to handle any situation that might arise from the hardcore group of people that would be making this stage their home for the entire day. The Casualties had just finished up, and while some people left to get a beer or rest after the pit, many people stayed in front of the stage to make sure they had the best spot during The Swinging Utters.

The Swinging Utters came on and the crowd formed a half hearted pit while other people danced around. They put on an energetic set and Johnny jumped and jerked all over the stage keeping all the spectators and fans thoroughly entertained; he even praised the four people in the crowd who were singing along to their songs.

Meanwhile the beer garden was filled with happy drunk people and some very Pat Bennatar sounding band was playing near the drinking area, reminding us of the diversity that the Warped Tour brings to the plate. As always, there was a half pipe with talented young skaters ranging from ages five to twenty rippin' it up for onlookers as their older more experienced counterparts commented and cheered them on with a microphone from the sidelines.

Back at the Punk Rock Legends Stage, Angry Samoans were about to come on, and the first dilemma of the day ensued: Face to Face was playing on the main stage at the same time as The Angry Samoans. Angry Samoans opened up their set with "Right Side of my Mind". Metal Mike appeared on the stage sporting the words I heart Ke$ha on his arm, further confirming his almost creepy obsession with female pop singers.

At one point during the show, he held up an Angry Samoans poster with Ke$ha on it, then said "Oh, wrong side!" he turned it around to reveal a 2010 European Tour Angry Samoans poster. The crowd was pumped, and for the first time since we had arrived at Seaside Park, a decent circle pit was in motion. In true punk rock fashion they played over 20 songs in about 40 minutes, during the song "You Stupid Asshole" Metal Mike took over the drums and Bill Vockeroth sang. Later on during the set, Metal Mike invited two kids up and introduced them as Keith and Greg, and allowed them sing as the band played Black Flag songs "Wasted" and "Nervous Breakdown". Then they kicked the kids off the stage and finished their set with "My Old Man's A Fatso". Everyone seemed pleased and exhausted from the hardcore pitting during their set.

Next up was The Dickies. Everywhere you could hear people talking about how great they are, and the crowd of people grew larger as their set rolled on. They played a great show as anticipated , including songs such as "You Drive Me Ape (You Big Gorilla)", "Waterslide", and "Gigantor". Leonard ran around the stage with a blow-up doll and snorkeling mask and the fans went nuts.

On the Main Stage Alkaline Trio was up. They had the largest most diverse crowd of the day. Young kids and old school punks alike gathered with a common respect and appreciation for Alkaline Trio. They played a great mix of newer and older songs. While there wasn't a pit, there was a sea of people so smashed together that it was hard to even move. The exchange of energy from Alkaline Trio and their adoring fans was intense. The whole audience seemed to be united and on the same page as they swayed back and forth and sang every lyric in unison.

Next on the Punk Rock Legends stage the time had come for "Fear" to play. As soon as the music started, the pit broke out and carried on with intensity throughout the entirety of their time on stage. They played all the classics such as, "I Love Livin' in the City", "Fuck You, Let's Rodeo", "Lets Have a War", "I Don't Care About You", and "Have a Beer With Fear". Fear is a true legendary, All American Punk Rock Band. And while many were pitting, a large group of people pressed against each other towards the barricade trying to get the best view of the band while screaming along with Lee, they seemed completely enthralled by what they were experiencing.

When Fear left the stage, they had the crowd primed and ready for GBH. By this time the head count had gone from the hundreds to the thousands at the Punk Rock Legends Stage. The police were in full force. Colin Abrahall's stage presence is nothing short of amazing. A true performer, he used his mic stand as if it were an instrument. At one point he grabbed the mic stand and swung around it, his feet completely leaving the ground and landing perfectly without missing a beat. The rest of the band may not have moved around as much as he did, but the sound they put out was clean and precise, and as a whole, the band vibed together perfectly.

Colin dedicated the song "Big Women" to all the California girls. The band played a wide variety of songs from their old albums and from their newly released album, "Perfume and Piss" GBH delivered a performance that only a band with over 30 years of experience could pull off.

It was nearing the end of the day. One would assume that people would be tired, but quite the contrary, the crowd seemed more energetic than they had been all day long, and it was no surprise why. Headlining the Punk Rock Legends stage was The Adolescents. If you have ever experienced a live Adolescents show, you would know that they incite the largest rowdiest circle pits ever. Tonight was was no exception! As they played, the whole place went crazy. The crowd sung along through the whole set while wildly smashing into each other. There were people of all ages and genders beating the crap out of each other and loving every minute of it. They played "Kids of the Black Hole", "Amoeba", "Creatures", "I Hate Children" and many more.

There were no fights that broke out during the day, but you couldn't tell by the ripped shirts, black eyes, and bloody noses people had as they were making their way to the exits. Once again Warped Tour was a success and offered a huge day of old school Punk for people of all ages to enjoy.

 

-J. Moncrief-
Big Wheel Staff Photographer

More photos of the show can be seen HERE
 
              See the other report of the 2010 Warped Tour at Carson HERE

 

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