This was a special show to kick-off the beginning of Warped Tour. We were told that there would be some super special guests, but no one really delivered on that. It was a tad over-hyped. The surprise headliners were supposed to be The Transplants, but due to their bassist Matt Freeman being sick and in the hospital (so said Kenny from The Starting Line) they were not there.

Before entering the venue, there were people handing out bags of free stuff. Sponsors from the likes of Takeover Records, SmartPunk, Ernie Ball & Playstation were giving out their goodies in big plastic Playstation bags. Oh and free Warped Tour shirts. I snagged myself a few items but holding them throughout the night would end up being a pain, as you can imagine.

Street Drum Corps

Normally 3 dudes banging on trash cans isn't so impressive. But this performance trio definitely kept the crowd entertained using practically anything you could find around your house or garden, including metal trash cans, plastic trash cans, hoes, plastic buckets and a fire extinguisher, amongst other items. Along with that, they had some actual pieces normally found in a drum kit, except totally brutalized and warped to make their unique sounds. They kept the beats going and were a great way to open up the party.

Near Miss

Greg Hetson, guitarist of Bad Religion, joined the trio that is Near Miss for their powerful punk (some daringly close to being "pop-punk") tunes. The leader singer of Near Miss mentioned they had been a trio for quite some time, but "Greg is joining us for tonight!" I've also heard this band referred to as "Greg Hetson's side project" so I am unsure as to whether Greg will be making appearances with Near Miss for the tour. They sounded decent, but there was the usual bitching about 'lack of crowd movement.' That's just the way it is for opening bands that aren't nearly as popular as the headliner. They were not bad, just not anything special.

Bedouin Soundclash

Definitely a band I wouldn't associate with Warped Tour, but I guess there must be a place for mellow, reggae-folk-rock on one of the many stages. All around it sounded okay, though the vocals got on my nerves around the third song. Singer, Jay Malinowski's voice irritated me the same way vocals from My American Heart & Saosin irritate me. The echo effect was overused for my liking, but it was interesting. They did at least two cover songs, one of which was "Electric Avenue," originally by Eddy Grant in the 80‘s. The other cover was introduced as being by "one of the best bands ever" and sadly I did not recognize it at all. They were okay, but I won't go out of my way to see them again.

Gogol Bordello

This band played after The Starting Line, but I'm reviewing them first. It makes no sense for them to have played in the headliner’s spot, as they were probably the worst thing I have ever wasted 5 minutes of my life on (I walked out before being scarred). The "original gypsy punks" were a sight to see, but their sound was horrific. Clashing noises made my ears want to puke. Unless you are very open minded, stay far far away from this monstrosity of "music" makers.

The Starting Line

“I want you guys to know Jesus Loves You...[crowd is dead silent]....And this song is about fucking!”[crowd cheers]

Super duper awesome. The energy was rocking, the crowd was feeling it, and best of all, the tune-age was fantastic. Lead singer Kenny Vasoli was sporting a Weezer shirt, which I find to be some nice support seeing as TSL & Weezer's latest albums were released on the same day (May 10th).

Their set was a pretty good length, but everyone wanted more, of course. I definitely plan on checking them out at Warped Tour. Here are just some of the songs, and not necessarily in order:

"Best Of Me"- Quite possibly everyone in the room knew all the lyrics to this song. A microphone was stuck towards the crowd to help make it louder, but it wasn't needed; the crowd was rocking the song plenty loud.

"Given The Chance"- Instead of the lyrics "say hello to Jersey," we got a "say hello to L.A." version. I predicted this happening, so that was awesome.

"A Goodnight's Sleep"- A favorite of mine on their "Say It Like You Mean It" album, and a favorite of mine performed live. It was completely rocking, just like every other song they played.

"Ready"- The 12th track of their latest album, it's a slow song that lets you simmer in the lyrics and mood. You could just feel the emotions in the song. The whole stage was lit up blue during this song, and I can't think of a better fitting color for the song. It's a lovely song live.

"Left Coast Envy"- A song all about California for us little Californians! Hah, so yes, like the rest of the songs the energy was just amazing.

"Leaving"- This was the last song played, and fitting.

Review by: Candice