Jul. 28, 2010 - Issue #771: Young at Heart

Prevue

Not straightening out

Warped Tour is in no danger of forgetting where it came from or where it's going

Celebrating 16 years as a roving, youth-oriented festival, Warped Tour is now the same age as the very population it hopes to attract year after year to the wide-open spaces necessary for the festival's multiple stages, mini ramps and merch tents. What began in 1995 as skate punk and ska festival has grown to encompass a range of genres from the street punk of the Casualties to the glib-pop of Katy Perry, who performed on last year's tour.

A subtler change for Alberta festival-goers this year is the festival's relocation; ever since Warped Tour began rolling into the land of wheat and beef it has been located in Calgary, necessitating the exodus of young music fans from the province's capital to its southern neighbour for a fix. This year, however, the festival has shifted from its longtime home at Calgary's Race City Speedway to Edmonton's Northlands.

"We'd talked about going to Edmonton for a number of years," recounts festival creator Kevin Lyman. "This year when we had an opportunity to go we did it and we're looking forward to it. I guess for the Calgary kids who want to come it'll be their turn to drive up and see it. So many people have driven down from Edmonton over the years."

For Lyman, who began putting on shows while he was still in school and has come to be known as the go-to guy for touring festivals such as Warped and Taste of Chaos, among many others, the festival's age means that it now has the ability to cycle its fans into its performers. And while such a scenario can sometimes remind the punk rocker of his advancing age, the balance the tour strikes between its history and a new generation of music fans is one Lyman's proud of.

"We have a lot of kids on the tour that grew up going to the tour and now play in bands, but then we also have bands like Face to Face, who played in 1995, coming back to the tour. You've got basically two generations out here," he says. "I feel old some days. These kids are getting closer to my daughters' age out here that are playing in the bands. It's hard for me to talk about the old days when so many of these kids were in diapers at that point. Or not even born."

Warped has also excelled at being able to ride out the ups and downs of the economy and the music business better than many of its counterparts. As Lollapalooza and Edgefest shut themselves down, and Lilith Fair struggles to regain the following it had in its original incarnation, travelling festivals seem to be on the wane as a whole, but Warped Tour continues to motor.

Lyman chalks up this ability to keep going to the festival's ongoing pursuit of new bands and an ability to change with the times. Whereas Lilith Fair's recent return focused almost exclusively on its past glories—perhaps to its detriment—Warped melds the new with the old, combining youth cultures across generations in order to stay relevant to newcomers as well as longtime participants.

"Always connecting the past and the future [is how] I look at it," says Lyman. "We try to connect to the history of where the tour comes from but always try to be cognizant of the future—listening to the kids, going online, learning about music early, booking bands like Never Shout Never or I See Stars, taking gambles on young bands early and seeing what we can do to try to move their careers forward."

What keeps Lyman coming back every year, however, is the exact same thing that attracted him in the first place. Headed down the road to being either a school teacher or a freelance production manager on arena rock shows, Warped was the curve ball he was looking for, the right mix of punk rock and experiences that are out of the ordinary.

"I probably could have become a big production manager or worked my way into the U2 worlds, those kinds of bands—I was heading in that direction—but to me those things are kind of predictable," he says. "They're great shows—don't get me wrong, they're fantastic—but for the production manager they're routine. There's very little routine out here for me." V

Survival Guide

Being out in the hot sun for nine hours isn't the easiest thing for your body to handle. When you add all the moshing, skateboarding and excitement that goes along with a Warped Tour stop you've got a recipe for a potential bummer. But never fear, the best way to avoid a bummer is by planning in advance, so Vue's got you covered:

Drink water
Dehydration is your worst enemy and will ruin your day faster than some bad acid. Drink plenty of water the day before, plenty of water the day of and—oh, what the hell?—plenty of water the day after Warped Tour to make sure you stay hydrated. Seriously, aim for drinking your own weight in water—your pee should be crystal clear.

Wear sunscreen
It might not make your day-of experience particularly unbearable—because the effects won't show up in time—but forgetting sunscreen will make the weeks after Warped Tour excruciating every time you sit down, stand up or move in any way. Or think about moving. Also, that orb of light that gives us life can also give you cancer, so cover up.

Wear shoes that fit
This one comes directly from the mouth of festival founder Kevin Lyman—"No flip flops ... Don't decide to be a hippy that day." Proper footwear is the basis of any good day—if your feet feel good, you feel good.

Bring what you might need
Plastic poncho in case it rains, camera, note pad and pens for autographs, a hoodie in case it gets cold. Bring what you need to bring to make sure that whatever happens you can keep on keeping on.

Don't bring what you don't need
Trying to bring drugs, alcohol or weapons onto the festival site will get you kicked out and you will be searched so don't do it. If you've got to do it, just smoke up before you get there. V

 

Thu, Aug 5 (11 AM)
Warped Tour
Northlands Grounds
 

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