GIRLZ RULE !
Vans Warped Tour 2013
L. Paul Mann
Female vocalists and girl bands have always been a prominent part of the diverse line up that is the signature of the Vans Warped Tour, now about to commence its 19th year on the road. From the early days of the tour, with bands like “No Doubt” to last years surprise new hit group from Los Angeles, the female driven Dead Sara, the girls could always be heard loud and proud throughout the festival. But, at this years annual kick off party and showcase concert, held at Club Nokia, in the LA Live center, downtown Los Angeles, it was apparent that girls would be taking an even bigger role in Vans Warped Tour. 2013. As evidenced from tour founder Kevin Lyman's opening remarks, to many of the diverse performances of the evening, the girls may be taking over this years events.
While the Warped Tour may be more well known, for it's testosterone laden Screamo bands, dominating the main stages, it has always been the multitude of musical genres from multiple generations of music on the smaller stages, that have made the festival so unique. At his years Kick off party, eleven acts represented a wide array of musical genres, from dance music, to rock, and featured no less than five accomplished female singers, in the mix. Comedian Grant Cotter bravely took over the duties as MC, quelling the crowd between sets, with appropriate sophomoric humor. Taking a direct approach he singled out individuals in the crowd, like a laser in a nightclub. By keeping focus on standouts like the beaver head guy, wearing a fur cap, he kept the audience engaged, during down time in the near five hour marathon concert. Opening act, Echosmith played clean pop rock led by a young girl named Sydney. This young Los Angeles band has apparently been playing together since they were still in middle school and have huge potential to the upside. All members of this quartet play a tightly coordinated and passionately polished brand of pop rock. Brian Marquis, brought the tone down in the next set, with a smooth acoustic performance. The accomplished singer songwriter and guitarist, was a prominent member of the post hardcore band from Boston, “Therefore I Am”, when the group toured with the Warped tour in 2009. His short folksy set showcased his enormous songwriting talent. “New Beat Fund” turned the volume all the way back up for a spirited rock set that harkened back to the golden days of glam rock. The animated quartet played a tight set of hard and fast rocking music. The onstage antics included a beer drinking ghost mascot. Charlotte Sometimes, the first of three female alumni of the hit television series, “The Voice” who played the Kick off party, took the stage next with a more mainstream pop sound. This young singer songwriter sings with an old soul, shaped by life experiences full of extreme challenges. Her songwriting skills are matched by her immense vocal talents. The most unusual act of the evening followed with an emo rap set by wunderkid MC Lars. The upbeat and gregarious rapper played together with his laptop, and prodigious musical partner, a female singer and multi-instrumentalist, who played everything from an accordion to a violin. The young rapper brings a uniquely sophisticated, slant to the rap genre, often based on classic English literature. Another alumnus of “the Voice” brought girl power back to the stage next, with a folksy bluesy performance that channeled Janis Joplin. She covered songs by that Blues legend, as well as a host of other classic performers, including the Police hit, “Roxanne”. The music took a decidedly different turn when DJ Big Chocolate took the stage. At first, it seemed that the young band oriented audience didn't know what to make of the dance music set by the former singer for the death metal band “Burning For The Masses”. But after the animated DJ, curmudgeoned the audience into creating a mosh pit like the “ones he is used to” at his previous Warped tour shows, the crowd became enraptured in a dance craze fever. The third alumni from “The Voice”, young female singer Dia Frampton, then brought the pace back down again. The bubbly, young barefoot singer who has already made a name for herself on national television, played pleasant pop music and quickly endeared herself to the crowd. Gin Wigmore, a feisty female singer with a decidedly different vocal style led the next booming rock set. Fronting a polished and professional five man group of hard rockers, the New Zealand singer captured the crowd with the most brilliant set of the night. This band, (think No Doubt but with a more rockabilly and less ska sound), may be poised to be one of the next break out bands of the summer. Much like Dead Sara, at last years kick off party, this band set themselves apart from all the others with their pure musical ability to play classic explosive rock music. The final set of the evening was led by Craig Owens, who has returned as the front man in the post-hardcore band Chiodos. A well known veteran of the warped Tour, the charismatic singer led a trio of musicians in an acoustic homage to his musical talent.
You can see all of these fresh new performers, as well as dozens of other diverse musical acts, at this years Vans Warped Tour, set to begin its 40 date national tour, on June 15th. California shows include the popular Ventura stop, on June 23rd, two nights in Pomona, June 20th and 21st, Chula Vista on June 19th, and San Francisco on June 22nd.
To see the full lineup and purchase tickets visit the Vans Warped Tour Website: www.vanswarpedtour.com
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