Reviews

For a while on Thursday, Warped seemed to be wiped.

JASON JANIK/Special Contributor

Travis McCoy and his band, Gym Class Heroes, disappointed in their Vans Warped Tour set.

The summer heat asserted itself quickly as the Dallas stop of the 2008 Vans Warped Tour commenced at 11 a.m. at Superpages.com Center. Traffic tie-ups around Grand Avenue and on at least three major downtown highways made reaching the site a lethargic task.

For 2008, the tour adjusted the layout of its small tent city so that concourses were wider, but the new layout also made it more awkward to navigate from stage to stage. Its text- message-delivered set-time bulletins didn't arrive on time, if at all.

Photos by JASON JANIK/Special Contributor

By 3 p.m., a tipping point had arrived. Before then, most of the acts and the crowd appeared solemn and lifeless compared with the youthful giddiness that recent Warped Tours have generated. Then a switch toggled on, almost as if the collected collectively realized that it wasn't going to be all that hot (it wasn't), and the bands weren't all that bad (they weren't, though overall the quality was down from '06 and '07). The VIP platform between the two main stages was also a great idea, as was placing a half-pipe for skateboarding next to one of those main stages to rubber-stamp Warped's pedigree as a traveling haven for alternative-punk precociousness.

The performers woke up, too. Set of the day: Every Time I Die's dragon-slaying, mosh-demanding metal-core turn (it even had members of Paramore and Norma Jean transfixed). Biggest crowd: either Paramore (deserved, and singer Hayley Williams has never sounded better) or current pop-single queen Katy Perry (not quite deserved).

Oddity of the day: MC Chris' set of comedic musical gobbledygook, so unabashedly juvenile it's good. Major disappointments: Greeley Estates for controllable reasons (horrible, deplorable noise) and Gym Class Heroes for uncontrollable ones (Travis McCoy's injured knee limited his mobility, but the band's short cover of Lamb of God's "Laid to Rest" took everyone by surprise).

Overall it was a calm, serene Warped Tour: no downpours, no fights, little blood and few heat-related problems. It wasn't exactly dangerous, but it was welcome. LOG ON for more

from the show.

musicblog .guidelive.com

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