Live Review And Photos: Warped Tour 2009 - July 10, Arrow Hall (Mississauga, ON)

Warped Tour
Friday July 10, 2009
Arrow Hall (Mississauga, ON)


Toronto has gotten spoiled for Warped Tour dates over the past few years, getting nothing but Saturdays. This year we got a Friday, but it didn’t seem to make a difference to all the punk fans that got there early in case their favourite band was playing first. The thing about Warped Tour is that you don’t know when the bands are playing until you get there, so you can make a wishlist and hope for the best. Well apparently I put together a good list because I was able to see every band on it, and a couple that weren’t. This year Warped seemed to be heading back to it’s straight up punk roots with bands like Bad Religion and NoFX on the mainstage, I don’t know if that had anything to do with it being Warped Tour’s 15th anniversary but it worked. There were of course the bands like 3OH!3, that to me have no business being at a punk festival, but it looked and felt more like you’d expect a Warped tour to feel after last year’s emo fest. With only one mainstage this year, it was easier to figure out where you were supposed to go and there really weren’t any tiny stages hidden in corners. This is how my day went.

There For Tomorrow
11:15 (Smartpunk stage)

I wasn’t planning on seeing There For Tomorrow since I’d never heard of them before. But playing on a stage just inside the gates 15 minutes after they opened, they were there, so I watched. And so did a good chunk of teenage girls who apparently love this emo-pop-rock band. They were decent enough with a solid set, but completely generic. So generic enough that we’ll probably end up seeing them come out with a massive headlining tour one day.

P.O.S.
11:45 (Hurley.com stage)



I first saw P.O.S. open for Gym Class Heroes a few years ago and I was really interested in seeing this talented rapper again. He has no qualms about saying what he’s thinking to seemingly anyone around him. What started off with a handful of people watching quickly turned into a good sized crowd, due in large part to P.O.S. himself. Standing in front of the stage, he called out all the people standing back or walking by and had them get in a circle around him. Eventually the circle got so big that he had to stand on a case just so you could see him. Doing songs like “P.O.S. Ruined My Life” and “De La Souls,” he made his audience so interested that he could almost get them to do anything he asked. He even had one guy beatbox for him. Definitely one of the highlights of my day.

Streetlight Manifesto
12:45 (Hurley.com stage)



Streetlight Manifesto regularly sell out shows in Toronto, so it’s no wonder that this ska band had a massive crowd for a small stage so early in the day. Playing songs like “Would You Be Impressed?” and “The Receiving End Of It All,” Streetlight kept their fans happy and moving. Since I’d never seen them before, it was easy to see why so many people love them and see them over and over again.

Westbound Train
1:45 (Hurley.com stage)



Westbound Train were one of the few bands I wanted to see that I hadn’t before. Their reggae/ska sound is completely perfect for summer and their recent album, Come And Get It has been getting a lot of play with me lately. This band definitely doesn’t disappoint live. Singer Obi Fernandez has one of those voices that’s completely calming yet interesting at the same time. It didn’t take long for the crowd to start dancing in a circle pit, probably the happiest circle pit of the day. I couldn’t stay for the whole set, but managed to see a great cover of “Stand By Me” before I left. I can’t wait for them to come back and play a regular show.

Less Than Jake
2:15 (Main stage)



Less Than Jake are probably one of the most fun bands to watch. There’s not one band member who doesn’t entertain at any given moment. Though singer Chris Demakes and bassist Roger Manganelli are the more recognizable members, trombonist Buddy Schaub and sax player Peter Wasilewski were the ones running around with water guns and t-shirt guns aimed at the huge crowd all there to get their fix of LTJ’s humorous brand of ska. Running through a set filled with mainly older songs like “Look What Happened,” “Sugar In Your Gas Tank,” “The Science Of Selling Yourself Short” (during which Chris asked the crowd to start a naked relay), “Plastic Cup Politics” and “Conviction Notice” off of their latest album GNV FLA. The crowd was definitely having a good time, though the naked relay never actually happened. Closing their set with “All My Best Friends Are Metal Heads,” LTJ definitely gave the crowd what they wanted, including lots of Canadian references.

Anti-Flag
3:15 (Hurley stage)



I’m generally not an Anti-Flag fan, but I do appreciate them live. Giving up their spot on the main stage in Canada so that Alexisonfire could play to a larger hometown crowd, the band still had a large, rather rabid crowd to play to. Starting their politically charged set with “Turncoat,” Anti-Flag definitely has their live show down to an art. With singers Justin Sane and Chris #2 both jumping constantly, they had their fans in a super fast huge circle pit before the end of the second song. During “Die For Your Government,” #2 took a dive into the pit which only got the crowd more excited. After an energetic cover of The Clash’s “Should I Stay Or Should I Go?” I left with the feeling yet again, that I wish I loved Anti-Flag.

The Flatliners
3:55 (Kevin Says stage)



For some bands having only a 20 minute set could result in a total of 4 songs played. With The Flatliners we got more. Within the first 30 seconds there was a circle pit going and by the time they were halfway through their set, a large crowd had formed. Going through a set that had “Mother Theresa Chokeslams The World,” “Fred’s Got Slacks,” singles “This Respirator” and “Eulogy,” the band also played a new song “Filthy Habits” from the album they’re in the middle of recording. Closing with “July! August! Reno!” The Flatliners managed to fit more than most into their short set. And since this was the first time in a very long time that I’ve seen the band when they were all healthy, it was nice to be able to watch a set that didn’t involve a puke bucket or a singer with no voice.

Alexisonfire
5:15 (Main stage)



For the rest of the tour, Alexisonfire are playing the Hurley stage, but when they get home the main stage is where they need to be and considering they had what felt like the biggest crowd I saw all day, it was a good thing Anti-Flag switched with them. Playing almost the exact same songs they did at Edgefest a few weeks ago, only in a different order AOF went through almost all their hits “Boiled Frogs,” “To A Friend” and “Young Cardinals,” the new single off of their new album Old Crows / Young Cardinals, which is already a sing along song to their fans and had vocalist George Pettit in the crowd. Singer Dallas Green was completely in his element sounding so much stronger with AOF than he does with City And Colour. “This Could Be Anywhere In The World,” had Chris #2 from Anti-Flag joining the band and closer “Accidents” had George taking quite possibly the most perfect leap into the crowd that I’ve ever seen. Alexisonfire now have a big enough catalogue of songs that I always wish they could play longer sets so we can hear more of the favourites. We have to wait for the winter for a headlining tour though.

VersaEmerge
6:00 (Ernie Ball stage)



VersaEmerge aren’t the typical Paramore sound a like band. Though they have a girl singer, Sierra Kusterbeck, they’re a little darker and have more of an edge. I’d heard their recent EP and wanted to check them out. I’m happy I did. With songs like “The Authors,” it was clear that the band has picked up some fans from their recent tour with We The Kings by the way the crowd was singing along. I have a feeling we’ll be hearing more of them.

Bad Religion
7:15 (Main stage)



I’ve been waiting for years to see Bad Religion and every time they were in town something came up. Well my curse is broken and I have to say, they were exactly what I was hoping for. Greg Graffin’s voice just seems to get better with age. Considering this is the Warped Tour’s 15th anniversary, having Bad Religion on board makes perfect sense, since without bands like them, there would’ve probably never have been a Warped Tour to begin with. Though the crowd wasn’t quite as massive as I was expecting, especially after Alexisonfire’s, the large enough audience was happily singing along to older songs “Do What You Want,” “Suffer,” “American Jesus” and “News From The Front.” Newer songs off of New Maps Of Hell like “New Dark Ages” and “Requiem For Dissent” were equally met with sing alongs and screams. Though the band isn’t as young as a lot of the other bands on Warped, they also don’t try to be. They play their songs the way you expect to hear them and they seem happy to be doing it. The one thing I wish they had done was play more of the popular songs that you’d expect like “21st Century Digital Boy” or “Los Angeles Is Burning,” but since they closed with my favourite song “Sorrow,” it’s really hard to complain. Oh yeah, and it didn’t rain.

For more Warped Tour pics click here...

- Alyssa Caplin