Purists will complain (“Too many emo/screamo/metal bands!” “Too much corporate sponsorship!”), and the media will continue to pimp it as a perfunctory Look What Today’s Kids Are Doing touchstone (“Mohawks, piercings, eyeliner—oh my!”), but the 11th annual Vans Warped Tour is still just what it’s always been: A good time at a cheap price ($25 for over 70 vital, relevant bands—how much did you pay for those Rolling Stones tickets again?).





The punk is still there, fortified with an infusion of the harder stuff and a stronger presence for female rockers and underground hip-hop—evolution, plain and simple. Beyond that, it’s the same Warped Tour your older brother or sister (or creepy uncle) got sunburned at in the ‘90s, spending a single hot summer day soaking in more music, X-sports and like-minded cultural interaction than they’d usually see all year. As traditions go (11 years—c’mon, it’s a tradition), you could do worse. Let’s not bring up the Stones tickets again …





Eleven don’t-miss bands at Warped 2005 (see sidebar as to why):


1. The New Transit Direction


2. Gym Class Heroes


3. Horrorpops


4. Dirty Pink


5. Hanger 18


6. Day Two


7. Transplants


8. Dirty Mary


9. Eternia


10. Valient Thorr


11. Billy Idol (you know you’re curious)





Eleven conversations never overheard at a Warped Tour show:


1. “You’re wearing a black T-shirt! I said I was wearing a black T-shirt! Faux pax!”


2. “Play the acoustic set! I just drank six Monsters and I’m ready to get unplugged up in here!”


3. “Sure, they’ve got skateboards and BMX—but what about Xtreme Segway?”


4. “When we met at last year’s Warped Tour, I totally knew we’d still be together for this one, baby.”


5. “So, you graduated high school 18 years ago, you spend all your money on tattoos and cigarettes, and you live in a van as a merch guy for the Dropkick Murphys? I found you, dad!”


6. “Hey, didn’t I see you at Coachella?”


7. “Have you heard about Scientology? Would you like to know more?”


8. “The radio station I won my tickets from has actually played songs by a couple of these bands! No, really!”


9. “Yes, you’re right—it certainly is a good thing there’s no beer here.”


10. “I don’t need no instructions to know how to rock!”


11. “The Warped Tour preview in the paper this week? Surprisingly accurate and not at all condescending.”





Eleven Warped Tour 2005 sponsors explained:


1. Elle Girl (Presenting the Girlz Garage tent, along with Tampax and Garnier, because you still need reminding that girls like music ‘n’ summer fun, too)


2. Dodge (Because you only buy your first crappy car once)


3. America Online (Because you only subscribe to your first crappy Internet service once)


4. Trojan (See No. 1)


5. MasterCard (After your one allowed carry-in bottle of water runs out, you’ll need it)


6. Cingular (If your parents try calling, you don’t want a service that actually works)


7. America’s Army (Just a videogame about the Army, so it’s not technically recruiting)


8. Lazer Tag (Enter to win a match against My Chemical Romance! Squeal!)


9. Mad Magazine (Alfred E. Neuman: Original Punksta)


10. Ernie Ball (Because Dean Markley guitar stings are for hippies)


11. Circuit City (Because all the electronic gear you had this morning became outdated while you were waiting in line)





Eleven somewhat useful Warped Tour Websites:


1. WarpedTour.com (The official site; freebie features galore)


2. MySpace.com/WarpedTour (The official site you can “Friend” with)


3. WarpedTour.net (The unofficial site that’s nowhere near as good as 1 or 2)


4. HotTopic.com (In case you need to know how to dress for the show)


5. Fuse.tv/WarpedTour (Free multimedia and giveaways from the music channel that kicks MTV2’s ass)


6. WarpedTour.atspace.com (Extensive guide for attending parents—yeah, they’re allowed in)


7. WalMart.com/warpedtour (Get punked at low, low prices)


8. RUCingular.com/Warped (Cell phones with mohawks = funny)


9. HCMagazine.com/content/articles/0,3,0000222,00.html (Speaking of mohawks …)


10. MySpace.com/StopHardcoreDancing (Panguitch-based site dedicated to stopping flailing idiots in the pit)


11. Crazewire.com/features/20040918450.php (Great Warped survival advice from Army of Freshmen)





Eleven (some fake *) features of Warped’s Reverse Daycare tent for parents:


1. Free water and soda


2. Air conditioning


3. Movie screenings


4. Magazines


5. Massages


6. Noise-proof headphones


7. Texas Hold’Em and/or Bingo *


8. All-you-can-eat hot wings *


9. Free stock portfolio analysis by The Offspring *


10. Advance kids’ reservations for Warped 2015 *


11. The Pfizer Xtreme Antidepressant Shooter® *





Eleven (some fake *) new attractions at Warped 2005:


1. The Amateur Skate Jam (Local skateboarders competing in front of pro judges for prize money)


2. The Energizer Encore (Vote online at WarpedTour.com for your favorite band to play an extra 10 minutes over their scheduled 30)


3. Warped Mobile Alerts (Performance schedules texted to your cell phone; sign up at Vibes.com/WarpedTour)


4. The Shiragirl Stage (Outspoken female-fronted bands; crashed Warped last year and were invited back proper in ‘05)


5. Punk Junk (Donation center to benefit local homeless shelters)


6. Tattoo Readings (Psychic/bouncer Chainsaw reveals what your ink says about you)*


7. Revisionist Punk History Exhibit (Confirms beliefs that punk actually did begin with Green Day in 1994 and the Ramones were classical musicians, among others)*


8. Screamo Poetry Slam (Entrant who yells unintelligible prose loudest wins a white belt and a throat lozenge from Hot Topic and Team Ricola)*


9. Antiques Roadshow: Warped Edition (Have the merch you bought from bands who broke up after last year’s tour appraised)*


10. Podcast Pit (Download the action to your iPod as your local conservative talk-radio station broadcasts live from underneath the Xtremely Safe Vert Ramp)*


11. MySpace Deprivation Booth (Be locked in a Port-a-John with no access to your blogs and comments for up to 10 whole minutes—for hardcore thrillseekers only)*





Eleven as-yet unregistered screamo band names:


1. Tomorrow Dies Today In the Blood of Forever


2. My Catered Funeral


3. The Day After Yesterday Bleeds and/or Burns Tomorrow


4. From Justin to Kelly


5. As I Lay Dead In the Flames of Never’s Revenge


6. Taking Back Sunny-D


7. Remembering My Tragic Romance In the Autumn of Vengeance


8. Bleeding Through the Flames of Tomorrow Next Week


9. Achoo!


10. Further Seems Like a Long Way So I’ll Wait Here & You Can Come Back & Get Me Thursday


11. Springtime for Hitler





Eleven excerpts from tour reporter Captain Dan’s “Monster Energy Pit Blog” at WarpedTour.com:


1. “Fan Rule No. 1: Do not wear the T-shirt of the band you are seeing at the concert. Don’t be that guy! Country and Metallica concerts are the only concerts it is OK to break this rule at, but neither will be making a presence at the Warped Tour.” (Columbus, Ohio, June 18)


2. “Number of people not wearing a black T-shirt while watching My Chemical Romance backstage: 1 (Me, I didn’t get the memo).” (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 19)


3. “A booth attendant with a megaphone acted as a traffic cop by instructing the kids to keep on the right side of the path when walking ‘just like the freeway.’ I am not sure if that metaphor even helped since most of these kids are not even close to being old enough to drive.” (Bonner Springs, Kansas, June 22)


4. “‘The hot girls are always at the end of the line because they take their time getting ready and arrive late,’ explained Zach. ‘The beat ones are always at the front!’” (Dallas, Texas, June 24)


5. “A crew of guys caught my attention in the catering dining area—they didn’t wear tight jeans or have long greasy hair, so I knew they didn’t play screamo.” (Houston, Texas, June 25)


6. “Today’s temperature hit the triple digits and, as my bus mate Mikey described, ‘The kids were dropping from dehydration as if a sniper was taking them out.’” (Phoenix, Arizona, June 29)


7. “When you are on tour, your ‘normal life’ routines will change or simply disappear … You’ll eat what you can, sleep when you can, and find yourself waiting in line for 45 minutes just to take a shower under a small drizzling faucet littered around with body waste and mildew. But don’t get me wrong. Everyone on the tour is having the time of their life—just not always a clean time.” (San Diego, Calif., June 30)


8. “I never knew fart jokes and songs about UFOs could be so strong … Blink-182 was the band that maintained hope for mainstream rock during the boy-band/pop-diva dynasty of the early ‘00s. It was Blink-182 posters that covered up Ricky Martin’s hips on the walls of pre-teen bedrooms …” (Long Beach, Calif., July 1)


9. “Opiate for the Masses vocalist Ron tore the crotch out of his skin-tight oriental-rug-patterned pants during today’s show. Unfortunately for today’s OFTM audience, this did not prevent him from jumping around or bouncing his pelvic region while onstage.” (San Francisco, Calif., July 2)


10. “Number of days Bert McCracken [The Used; guesting on some dates with percussion group Steel Drum Corps] has gone without showering: at least 5.” (Ventura, Calif., July 3)


11. “Soccer mom Deborah emphasized how she also enjoys the music on the tour … [and] thinks the Vans Warped Tour is a great experience for her daughter, since she is an aspiring drummer. However, as ‘cool’ or ‘hip’ Deborah may appear to me, Michelle does not agree as she only allows her mother to communicate with her via cell-phone text.” (Fresno, Calif., July 4)





Eleven text messages likely to be sent over the course of Saturday:


1. “My mm kps tryg 2 drg me 2C = ;9 grs!” (“My mom keeps trying to drag me to see Billy Idol! Gross!”)


2. “Lts g ovr 2 th MCR stg ;) grls wl shw us tr bbs!” (“Let’s go over to the My Chemical Romance stage—girls will show us their boobs!”)


3. “Lts g ovr 2 th = ;9 stg ;) grls mms wl shw us tr bbs!” (“Let’s go over to the Billy Idol stage—girls’ moms will show us their boobs!”)


4. “Wrs th Yhoo trk ths yr? Im nt gng 2 drnk wtr!!! >:0” (“Where’s the Yoo-Hoo truck this year? I’m not going to drink water! Yuk!”)


5. “Fk! M kdz R hre!” (“F--k! My kids are here!”)


6. “Th lcl tv nwz is hre! Lk pnk! =>: |” (“The local TV news is here! Look punk!”)


7. “________” (Cingular service outage)


8. “Wts wth al th scrmo?” (“What’s with all the screamo?”)


9. “Wts wth al th hphp?” (“What’s with all the hip-hop?”)


10. “Wts wth al th wnrs?” (“What’s with all the whiners?”)


11. “I think we’ve made a huge mistake” (Someone who thought they were in line for the Farmer’s Market)





Eleven post-show chow possibilities near [venue here]:


[11 local restaurants open late near the Warped venue in your town; you’d have to fill this in yourself, sorry]





Eleven nicknames for the Warped Tour:


1. The Tour That Won’t Die (currently in use)


2. Punk Incorporated


3. Your Ozzy-Free Alternative


4. The Heatstroke Humdinger


5. Eighty Bands, Eight Bathrooms


6. Monsters of Mohawk


7. Lollapawhat?


8. Like MTV—But With Music


9. Our Promise to You: No Hippies


10. If It’s Too Loud, You’re Too Dehydrated


11. [Your Logo Here]





Warped Tour 2005 Bands [Vary by City]





A CHANGE OF PACE


Screamo/Rock: Arizona teens with good hair, catchy choruses and too much energy: “Live shows are a lot of fun … We end up breaking stuff and getting ourselves hurt.”





ALL OR NOTHING HC


Hardcore/Rock: Cali hardcore with a woman up front and Kerrang! to back ‘em: “Lunachicks meets Sick of It All … metallic hardcore conveying positive messages.”





ARCANE


Hip-Hop: Two indie emcees (JB and Timmy Grins) from the backwoods of New Jersey: “Mobb Deep meets Sage Francis … No distro, no publicist, no radio, no video, all dope.”





ARMOR FOR SLEEP


Emo/Rock: Teaneck, N.J. emo-poppers who went a few shades darker with this year’s What to Do When You Are Dead and songs like “The More You Talk the Less I Hear.”





ASG


Metal/Punk: Stands for “Amplification of Self-Gratification,” sounds like Fu Manchu leg-wrestling Monster Magnet in North Carolina, smells like Camels and Keystone.





ATREYU


Metalcore: Non-smiling Orange County angst-guitar enthusiasts who nonetheless metaled-over Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” for Mr. & Mrs. Smith.





AVENGED SEVENFOLD


Metalcore: Insane riffage, hyper-violent drumming, zillion-note guitar solos, shredded vocal cords, delusions of prog, Hot Topic expense accounts—and yet still SoCal cuddly.





BEDOUIN SOUNDCLASH


Reggae/Rock: If Sublime drank Moosehead instead of Bud and somehow relaxed even more, they might have turned out like British Columbia’s Bendouin Soundclash. Or not.





BIG D & THE KIDS TABLE


Ska/Punk: Seven-piece blue-collar Boston skank machine, snottier and more pissed-off than the average horn unit: “F--k your f--kin’ L.A. bars/ You’re all wannabe superstars.”





THE BLED


Metalcore: Whine-to-a-scream therapy-rawk with melodic tendencies, from pleasant Tucson to Vagrant Records to The Road: “Be prepared for new jams, and longer hair.”





BLEED THE DREAM


Screamo/Rock: “Last-chance kids” from Los Angeles, cranking angsty anthems through the tears: “It’s 50-percent aggressive, 50-percent passive … F--k you, here’s what it is.”





BOYS NIGHT OUT


Emo/Pop-Punk: Canadian boys (and a girl) full of surprising musical twists and influences; stopped screaming so damned much and landed a designer jeans sponsorship.





BREATHLESS


Hip-Hop: Female rapper from the hip-hop hotbed of Omaha, Neb. Not to be confused with the same-named glitz-pop Bollywood stage revue—as if you’ve ever heard of it.





CIGARETTE


Punk/Rock: Classic Los Angeles street-rock foursome, fronted by ballsy blonde Heather Naylor. Good hooks, lame name, claim to fame: Band’s van appeared on Pimp My Ride.





CLOSE TO HOME


Emo/Pop-Punk: Cincinnati indies with MySpace feelings: “We do not like to label the music we make … So telling us we are too soft or not punk-rock enough means nothing.”





DAY TWO


Screamo/Hardcore: Hard-touring/harder-rocking Salt Lake City fivesome; still pimping their scorching 2003 Outline Records release, Never Come Home; prepping a new disc.





DIRTY MARY


Punk/Rock: Female New York City band with token male drummer and serious rock chops: “We were four drunk friends without a mission … Don’t steal our moment!”





DIRTY PINK


Punk/Rock: Los Angeles trio who tear it to experimental shreds like Kathleen Hanna fronting NoMeansNo; their gnarly cover of “Milkshake” is the least of anyone’s worries.





DOROTHY SANCHEZ


Punk/Rock: Loony Frenchmen likened to “Dead Kennedy’s baby with Jane’s Addiction and System of a Down” (not so much), with tunes like “Motorcycle Party F--k.”





DR. NEPTUNE


Punk/Rock: Says Westword of Dr. Neptune: “The world probably doesn’t need another hardworking Bad Religion sound-alike, but Denver just might.” And Warped, apparently.





DROPKICK MURPHYS


Punk/Rock: Legendary Boston Celt-punkers nearing their 10th year as an all-inclusive brotherhood who still bring the party hard—even with Warped’s absence of pints.





EMERY


Emo/Rock: Seattle Tooth & Nail band with ties and a mission: “We want to show people that love is the greatest thing—not in a worldly way, but just a compassionate way.”





ETERNIA


Hip-Hop: Canadian female rapper with lyrical, verbal and stage skills that have earned international press raves and talk of the Next Big Thing—not the Next Big Female Thing.





THE EXPLOSION


Punk/Rock: Boston rockers with anthemic Clash-y grit and major-label connections (Virgin Records) more about action and volume than whining and makeup.





FAIL TO FOLLOW


Punk/Metal: Salt Lake City band who pride themselves on being faster, harder and more qualified than the rest to “bring punk rock back to the scene where it belongs.”





FALL OUT BOY


Pop-Punk: Jumped from the indies (Fueled by Ramen) to the majors (Island), Illinois humor intact—see “Champagne For My Real Friends, Real Pain For My Sham Friends”





FROM FIRST TO LAST


Screamo/Rock: Los Angeles five-piece who treat playing onstage like an extreme sport, replete with broken arms and guitars, concussions and surgery-prone throat mutilation.





FULLY LOADED


Punk/Rock: Hard Hollywood foursome who really must have a hate on for Disney, Herbie and Lindsay Lohan right about now. Not that they probably didn’t before …





GDB


Reggae/Ska: Las Vegas sextet with sweet female vox and cited influences from “Bob Marley to Pink Floyd, Chili Peppers to Soul Coughing, Alkaline Trio to Ani DiFranco.”





GOGOL BORDELLO


Gypsy-Punk: Manic New Yorkers (led by Ukrainian transplant Eugene Hutz) blending world music into Technicolor anarchy—think The Clash beating down David Byrne.





GREANS


Hip-Hop: “Fresh-ass original hip-hop” crew from San Francisco, heavy on funky beats and “the first rap group featured in a Marvel comic book (X-Men Evolution).”





GREELEY ESTATES


Screamo/Rock: Not a Craigslist real estate listing, but a Phoenix band with market-tested haircuts and screams, and a fascination with oatmeal pitchmen: “Wilfred Brimley-core!”





GYM CLASS HEROES


Hip-Hop: Upstate New York hip-hop band with deep live instrumentation on the verge of going huge with The Papercut Chronicles, one of the hottest indie debuts of 2005.





HALIFAX


Emo/Rock: From Thousand Oaks (nowhere near Nova Scotia), a literate Drive-Thru Records band with no use for label classifications: “It’s just f--king rock & roll.”





HANGAR 18


Hip-Hop: Unstoppable New York City underground hip-hop crew from the every-release-kills Definitive Jux label; also known as “the greatest power trio since Rush.”





HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS


Screamo/Rock: Three guitars blazing from Dayton, Hawthorne Heights’ angsty “Ohio Is for Lovers” is a crowd favorite but unlikely to boost tourism back in the home state.





HER CANDANE


Metalcore: Salt Lake City hardcore experimentalists with dramatic guitar layers, convulsive breakdowns, schizophrenic vocals and a promise: “We will make a mess.”





HIDDEN IN PLAIN VIEW


Emo/Rock: Melodic power-anthems about death, suicide, addiction and rape from a New Jersey band who “try to keep it catchy … we play what we think we’d want to hear.”





HOPESFALL


Emo/Rock: North Carolina quintet who, like everyone else, “do not wish to exist within confining genres and subgenres of particular scenes,” and yet do so quite well.





HORRORPOPS


Punk/Rockabilly: Surf, punk, rockabilly, pop, ska and more rolled into a foamy-sexy keg party, with singer/standup-bassist Patricia Day popping out of the black-icing cake.





BILLY IDOL


Punk/Rock: The Buff Geezer of Snarl, on the comeback trail with a new album (Devil’s Playground), guitar foil Steve Stevens and trademark leather-pants summer wear.





INTRO5PECT


Punk/Industrial: Like Rancid given a pissed-off techno remix, California’s Intro5pect want their punk back: “There is only so much bad music that you can listen to.”





KANE HODDER


Screamo/Rock: Washington State riff scientists with experimental ADD and seriously crushing tunes like “I Think Patrick Swayze is Sexy” and “Aboard the Leper Colony.”





LEFT ALONE


Punk/Rock: Veteran California punkers and mohawk enthusiasts now signed to Hellcat Records after 10 years; fronted by Elvis Cortez, who sings in both English and Spanish.





LONGSHOT


Hip-Hop: Young Chicago emcee with much critical cred. Says Urb Magazine, “Longshot exudes blow-up potential … The rapper’s everyday reality tales are intoxication.”





LTOKA


Hip-Hop: Californian with hard-hitting beats and lyrics, no pretense: “I didn’t arrive to bulls--t you and tell you I’m doing it all for the love … Money makes the world spin.”





MATCHBOOK ROMANCE


Emo/Punk: Poughkeepsie, N.Y. computer geeks who whipped up an Internet buzz, signed with Epitaph and released Stories & Alibis, to the delight of teen girls everywhere.





THE MATCHES


Pop-Punk: Oakland purveyors of catchy tunes, sincere sarcasm, unironic afros and “more energy than a runaway nuclear reactor.” How a reactor runs away remains unknown.





MEST


Pop-Punk: Critically-unloved Chicago mall-punkers currently working on their fourth major-label album, which will likely receive more of the same distain. They don’t care.





MIDTOWN


Punk/Rock: New Jersey rockers who survived a falling out with Drive Thru, extracted the sugar and recorded the impressive and well-titled Forget What You Know for Columbia.





MONTY’S FAN CLUB


Rock/Ska: Unusual mind-meld of heavy rock riffage and ska horns and upstrokes that actually works—especially live. And from Rhode Island, no less.





MXPX


Pop-Punk: Veteran Washington State trio who escaped the Universal Music Group after six years and returned better than ever last month with Panic for Side One Dummy.





MY AMERICAN HEART


Emo/Rock: San Diego Jimmy Eat World worshippers with Coheed & Cambria helium vocals and confoundingly perfect haircuts, due to debut this fall on Warcon Records.





MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE


Screamo/Rock: New Jersey drama-club rockers My Chemical Romance are Warped 2005’s It Band; so oversaturated, even your mom knows them … and wants them.





THE NEW TRANSIT DIRECTION


Hardcore/Rock: Salt Lake City’s rightful candidates for Next Big Thing-ism, despite thoughtful melodic complexities, actual singing and dire lack of marketable trendiness.





NO USE FOR A NAME


Pop-Punk: San Jose three-chord wonders practically begging for the “no use for a descriptive blurb” treatment, were they not so competent at always delivering the goods.





THE OFFSPRING


Pop-Punk: Shockingly, the 20-year Orange County punk stalwarts’ first-ever appearance on a Warped Tour—just in time to pimp their new Greatest Hits album. Coincidence?





OPIATE FOR THE MASSES


Metal/Rock: Phoenix-to-L.A. throwback to ‘90s rock with an electronic edge, subtly seething anger and stick-in-your-head metallic hooks—hard drives and hard rock.





REGGIE & THE FULL EFFECT


Emo/Rock: Tricky comic/rock mix of new wave, death metal, emo, punk and whatever the hell else tickles mastermind James Dewees’ (Get Up Kids) twisted fancy.





RELIENT K


Emo/Pop-Punk: Wacky Ohio Christian-punkers who jumped from the indie leagues to the Capitol majors last year with Mmhmm and got a little more serious—but only a little.





RUFIO


Pop-Punk: Rancho Cucamonga punks who are “stoked to have come so far from playing coffee shops and backyard drunk-fests … Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”





SENSES FAIL


Emo/Rock: Screamo-leaning New Jersey-ites who read books and stuff, hence songs like “Rum Is for Drinking, Not for Burning” and “The Irony of Dying on Your Birthday.”





SHIRAGIRL


Electro/Punk: Shira—21st century fox, cyber-funkstress, full-on riot grrrl: “These songs are just the soundtrack to something bigger … Things in the mainstream need to change.”





SILVERSTEIN


Screamo/Rock: Broody-moody Canadians who pulled the not-very-rock career move of naming themselves after a children’s book author, but still rock fairly adequately.





SIMPLE PLAN


Pop/Punk: Ubiquitous Montreal band still cruising on last year’s kinda serious Still Not Getting Any and this year’s very serious anti-drunk-driving single “Untitled.”





SINGLE FILE


Emo/Punk: Los Angeles players of “the finest in bittersweet indie-pop” who somehow evolved from a Colorado jazz combo without becoming hippie-jamsters. Congrats.





SKINT


Punk/Rock: Ogden punkers full of raging rage, bilous bile and general hatred of lies, authority, the media, the rich, the music industry—you know, pretty much everything.





THE STARTING LINE


Pop-Punk: Pennsylvania major-label kids on full Cute Band Alert, but still in touch with The Fans: “We do signings every day at the merch tent—ours is the hot pink one …”





STRIKE ANYWHERE


Hardcore/Punk: Virginia old-schoolers who wear their antifascist politics as proudly as their white-guy dreadlocks; extra props for covering Dag Nasty and Gorilla Biscuits.





STRUNG OUT


Punk/Rock: Thirteen-year SoCal vets who hit a career high with last year’s Exile in Oblivion, though frontman Jason Cruz’s favorite is still “the one we haven’t written yet.”





SUBURBAN LEGENDS


Ska/Punk: Horn-tastic California seven-piece with metal riffage, fizzy tunes and irrepressible goofball charm (see the animated “Skazilla” clip for “Up All Night”).





THRICE


Screamo/Rock: My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way loooves Cali’s Thrice: “My favorite band ever … an amazing live band. I plan to watch them every single day.”





TRANSPLANTS


Punk/Rock: California side dish featuring Rancid’s Tim Armstrong and Blink-182’s Travis Barker that’s ultimately way more interesting and eclectic than either’s own band.





UNDEROATH


Screamo/Rock: Tampa sextet who once lost a singer at a Warped (wasn’t misplaced; he quit), returning melodically sleeker with this year’s They’re Only Chasing Safety.





THE UNSEEN


Punk/Rock: Longtime Boston true believers who don’t just look hard, they are hard—check their bristling Hellcat Records debut State of Discontent for the hard proof.





VALIENT THORR


Metal/Rock: Shirtless Chapel Hill retro-rawkers, theoretical mullets flowing in the wind through a T-top Camaro with a cold case of Keystone in the back seat. F--king righteous.





YESTERDAY’S RISING


Hardcore/Rock: California quintet “unconnected in this physical plane here on Planet Earth, but connected by the spirit in higher frequencies unknown to most.” Deep.