Jake Cline was working for XS Magazine 15 years ago and had been assigned to review the very first Warped Tour. The Edge, holding 1,200 people, was the first home  of the now-huge music and skating festival in South Florida, and is now known as Revolution Live in Fort Lauderdale.
“The Edge smelled like a dead foot when it was empty, so just imagine what it was like to be there during an all-ages, hardcore-punk show in the summer,” describes Cline, editor of City Link. “I probably spent more time worrying that the skinheads would overhear my smart-ass comments and kick my ass than wondering if the Warped Tour would change the world.”

The 16 bands, including Sublime and No Doubt, played on the two stages available for roughly half-hour sets. Quicksand, Seaweed and L7 were some of the most underground punk-rock bands on the tour.
“Sublime’s set was certainly memorable. The band’s drummer and bassist didn’t make it to the venue on time, so [lead singer] Bradley Nowell came out and performed solo on acoustic guitar,” Cline adds.

Nowell died of a heroin overdose less than a year later.

Now, 15 years later, Warped Tour is one of the biggest summer tours in North America, with over 50 bands playing at West Palm Beach’s Cruzan Amphitheatre on July 25. Graduating from the smaller venue known as The Edge, the growing tour has made its stops at the Pompano Beach Amphitheatre, which holds 3,000 people, then moved south to the outdoor lawn area known as Bicentennial Park in Miami.

This year, the venue known for holding most Buzz Bake Sales, an annual all-day concert put on by The Buzz 103.1, will be the new home to the Warped Tour. The Cruzan Amphitheatre may be quite a drive for those living south, but with a stage with seating and two ground stages, this venue may be its best bet.
“Bicentennial Park is pretty awesome and really big, but having it at Cruzan will definitely be better,” former FAU student Andrew Uihlein, whose major was music, states about the new venue. He says that “having a huge lawn makes concerts really awesome.”

Not only has the venue changed, but the music is incredibly different. While some punk bands have been around and are still playing, like sixth-year Warped Tour regulars Less Than Jake and Bouncing Souls, the newer bands seem less punk due to their mainstream exposure.
“It’s really cool to see how the tour has remained fluid in terms of the bands it invites to perform, while retaining the original vibe it was founded on,” says FAU alumnus Josef Palermo, who majored in communication and is currently on the tour. “I think my first Warped Tour was in 2001, and I believe it was still over at the Pompano Beach Amphitheatre. That was the last one I’d been to before this year. I started college shortly thereafter, and we all know how being a broke college student really impedes the fun of going to concerts.”

Palermo joined the tour thanks in part to FAU’s Amnesty International chapter. After graduating, he landed a job working for Greenpeace in Washington, D.C., and has now been on the first half of the tour publicizing Greenpeace alongside activist band Anti-Flag.
“This year sees old-school punkers like Bad Religion and Anti-Flag share set times with acts like Jeffree Star and The Millionaires — two examples of musicians who broke through via online social networks like MySpace,” Palermo adds.
“The best thing about these shows is that there  [are] so many bands and things going on all day,” states Uihlein. “Everyone there is just there to forget their normal days and troubles and just have a good time enjoying music.” Uihlein decided not to go to the 2009 Warped Tour because he’s “not too into most of the bands there.”

While the music has changed and the venues are getting bigger, the Warped Tour seems to never want to back down. This is one tour that can be expected to fill seats every summer at every city.
 

If you’re attending the Warped Tour… don’t be stupid.

1.Bring unopened bottles of water! You will be forced to pay about $4 a bottle inside the gates.
2.Bring cash. If you find a vendor who takes credit cards, feel lucky.
3.Wear shoes. Flip-flops don’t count, unless you don’t mind walking out of the show barefoot.
4.While you stare at the stage enjoying a show, don’t forget to look up every once in a while. The Warped Tour is known for having projectiles, such as flip-flops, wet T-shirts and bottles of “liquid,” thrown during the audience’s adolescent rage. Also, watch out for the crowd-surfers. They seem to think they’re light as air.
5.If you bring or wear sunglasses, expect them to be lost or broken. Hit up Wal-Mart or Target for some cheap $5 glasses for the day.
6.Suntan lotion. Suntan lotion. Suntan lotion. Girls, don’t forget to put some on that part in your hair. Otherwise, you’ll regret it when you brush your hair the next morning.
7.You’ll get wet. It’s summer, people; it rains everyday regardless. Make sure you have plastic baggies for cell phones or digital cameras. You may want to consider bringing extra dry clothes.
8.Prepare to be searched and patted down. Cruzan security doesn’t joke around. The chances of you losing something are pretty high, so the less you carry the better off you are.
9.Guys, wear deep pockets, and girls, zip up your purses. Things will fall out throughout the day.
10.Leave towels and clothes in the car, so that when you leave, you don’t have to destroy your buddy’s interior. It also gives you the opportunity to hit up a late-night Denny’s or McDonald’s run with more comfort.

Bands Playing July 25, 2009

3OH!3
A Day to Remember
A Skylit Drive
Aiden
Alana Grace
Alexisonfire
All Time Low
Anti-Flag
Attack Attack
Bad Religion
Bayside
Big D and the Kids Table
Black Tide
Bouncing Souls
Breathe Carolina
brokeNCYDE
Cash Cash
Chiodos
Dear And The Headlights
Dirty Heads
Down With Webster
Escape The Fate
Every Avenue
Forever The Sickest Kids
Gallows
Gator Face
Hit The Lights
I Set My Friends On Fire
ice  nine kills
In Thi s Moment
InnerPartySystem
KIA Kevin Says Stage
Less Than Jake
LIGHTS
Longway
Madina Lake
Meg and Dia
Mercy Mercedes
Middle Finger Salute
Millionaires
Missiles And Markers
P.O.S.
Saosin
Say Vandelay
Scary Kids Scaring Kids
Senses Fail
Settings
Shad
Shooter Jennings
Sing It Loud
Streetlight Manifesto
Switchblade Killers
‘TAT
The A.K.A.s
The Architects
The Devil Wears Prada
The Maine
The Mission Veo
The White Tie Affair
There For Tomorrow
Therefore I Am
TV/TV
Underoath
Valencia
VersaEmerge
Westbound Train
You Me Everyone We Know

Source: www.warpedtour.com