#21 – Warped Tour ’03 – 6/24/03

I would say considering the time this was somewhat of a risk for me to go to, I really wasn’t that sure going into this. It was really not my type of music but I was going with several friends and it ended up being a lot better than what I ever could have imagined. Didn’t know a lot of the bands here but it worked out very well for me anyway. First band I remember seeing is a fairly cool band called Tsunami Bomb. Never even heard of them before, they were very fun. I don’t know if I would have enjoyed them as much several years later but at that time I really enjoyed them.

The next band I was looking forward to seeing was The Used. Going on my 3rd time seeing them I already knew exactly what to expect.  And just as they did before they still delivered a wonderful performance.  The biggest highlight was Bert stage diving of the huge stack of speakers and I actually got a pretty cool picture of him doing it. They were really good though and I even knew a lot more of their songs this time around. Definitely one of those bands I have since grown out of but I was a big Used fan back at this time.  This should be the set they played.

Maybe Memories
Pieces Mended
The Taste of Ink
Blue and Yellow
Buried Myself Alive
Say Days Ago

I was excited that Glassjaw was there. I saw them at Ozzfest the year before but that really wasn’t the right environment for Glassjaw.  Their music requires a little bit of thinking and Ozzfest is definitely not the place to have overly complex music.  Going on almost 15 years later and I’ve still yet to get to see Glassjaw again.  What I didn’t know about Warped prior to going was that every band has their own tent that they sell merch and will sign at.  I decided the line wasn’t super long for Glassjaw and I really wanted them to sign for me so I went ahead and got it line.  They signed my Warped program.  Not a whole lot of conversation, by no means were they rude, but they seemed nice enough.  This would not be my only signing of the afternoon.

Tip Your Bartender
Mu Empire
Ape Dos Mil
Pretty Lush
The Gillette Cavalcade of Sports
Cosmopolitan Bloodloss
Natural Born Farmer
Siberian Kiss

I’m kind of kicking myself for this next band,  I would love to be able to see Rancid again. After seeing Rancid I remember I was not impressed with them at all at the time but I was not anything close to calling myself a fan or anybody who even really knew their music, but now I’m atleast aware of some of their music and now I wouldn’t mind seeing them. Now I like almost all of those songs that they played.  Oh well, maybe sometime in the future.

Radio
Ruby Soho
Roots Radicals
Maxwell Murder
Journey to the End of the East Bay
Red Hot Moon
The Wars End
Fall Back Down
Dead Bodies
Listed M.I.A.
Time Bomb

Now I finally got to see the main reason for me going, I tried to hate him for a couple years and I couldn’t help it, I love Andrew WK. It’s probably the most fun music I have ever heard, I probably thought I was too cool and tried to not like it and I couldn’t do it!!!! He was the most entertaining person of the day without a doubt. They brought random kids on stage, and they were sitting on Andrew’s shoulders while he was performing. This was the most fun concert experience I have ever seen, sucks that he could only get half an hour but with Warped that is to be expected.

It’s Time to Party
Ready to Die
Don’t Stop Living in the Red
I Get Wet
She Is Beautiful
Party Hard

I had one goal going into Warped Tour and that was to wait in line to meet AWK. After probably 30-45 minutes of waiting in line I finally got to meet him. I was wondering why the lines were taking so long to move and when we got up there I figured out why.  AWK was not just signing his name, he was signing a paragraph on everyone’s programs.  On mine (and probably others too) he singed his paragraph on both of his legs on the Warped program.  Out of all the people I have met in my life, rather that be someone in a band or anybody else, I have never met anybody nicer and more gracious than AWK. Even more impressive he stopped for a moment from signing and stood up on his table and thanked everybody again for waiting and then told everybody that if it gets to be the end of the show and that if everybody didn’t have everything signed that they wanted by the time the show was over he would follow them out to the parking lot and sign everything until everyone was happy. Wow… just wow. I had never heard anything like that nor have I ever heard anything like that since. We also got a picture w/ his guitar player Jimmy Coup who had the definite look of a homeless guy and he was just awesome. He signed the program I heart AWK and signed his name. Finally it was our time in line; he thanked me and my friend for waiting in line for so long w/ it being so hot.  He also took a picture with us and signed his paragraph in my program.  It’s still one of my most prized autographs I’ve ever got in my times of going to concerts.  I fell in love with AWK that day and I have remained a fan to this day of everything that he does.  Wonderful Warped experience.  I would definitely return to Warped in the future.

Link to my Warped Tour album.

 

#7 – Ozzfest ’02 – 8/20/02

Alright!!! This would be the year I got my revenge on Ozzfest after that little down pour from last year. More extreme weather but this time along the lines of almost 100 degree heat. Got there a little late, to my recollection I missed: Pulse Ultra (YES!!!), Apex Theory, Chevelle, Lostprophets, & I was walking in as Ill Nino was playing (Dammit!!!). Still pretty sure this is what they played.

If You Still Hate Me
God Save Us
What Comes Around
I Am Loco
Liar

Easily the most eclectic 2nd stage lineup that Ozzfest ever had in the years that I went. I can’t remember the order of the non-rotating 2nd stage bands but I wouldn’t say I hated any of them. Unfortunately I would have gladly traded a few of the 2nd stage bands from the first leg for the bands that were here. Would have loved to have seen Flaw again, would have really liked to have seen Soil & even though I tried to hate him for the longest time I would have wanted to have seen Andrew WK there as well.

I saw a band called Sw1tched and remember really not much from them, I vaguely remember liking their first song and that was about it. They broke up several years ago anyway, not much to comment on.

Saw The Used before they went pop punk and were still somewhat tolerable. I enjoyed their set and I even bought their first CD after seeing not long after seeing them. Probably better suited for Warped Tour (which I would see the next year) not exactly a crowd favorite.  I’m pretty sure they did Maybe Memories & Box Full of Sharp Objects. It was  still something I found very tolerable.

As much as The Used were not a crowd favorite it seemed like Glassjaw got over a little bit better with the crowd, they had been around for a few years at that time and had a decent following. Albeit, I think their music might be a little bit over the head of average Ozzfest crowds. They definitely stuck out amongst all the other bands for sure. They were different but I really enjoyed them.  I’m positive of a couple of their songs that they played.

Tip Your Bartender
Siberian Kiss

Got my first experience of Mushroomhead and the were definitely a highlight on the day.  I can only imagine what it was like to play in those jumpsuits and masks/face paint.  Very good set from Mushroomhead.

Before I Die
Bwomp
Solitaire/Unraveling
Empty Spaces
Born of Desire

I also got to see Seether just as their debut came out and they were just on the verge of becoming big. This was the one and only album that I think Seether could have been able to play Ozzfest with as most of their later output would be more of a modern rock feel to it instead.  This is a really good set considering the time that they receive.

Gasoline
Needles
Pride
Pig
Fuck It

Finally got to see Otep. Not super familiar with them at this time but they were touring for their first full length and that was the best output of their careers.  Very good set from them for no longer than what they got.

Battle Ready
Blood Pigs
T.R.I.C.
Fillthee
Menocide

Hatebreed was one of the co-headliners of the 2nd stage. I don’t really remember them very well.  They are one of the more solid bands still going today.  You always know what you’re getting with Hatebreed and they don’t disappoint any time I’ve seen them.

Perseverance
Empty Promises
Burn the Lies
Betrayed by Life
Proven
A Call for Blood
Last Breath
Before Dishonor
I Will Be Heard

The biggest outlier in Ozzfest history was coming on next, this band was Meshuggah. I had never ever heard a band like this. They were THE HEAVIEST band I had ever heard. Sadly I knew maybe 1 song from them but I just couldn’t get over how heavy they were, and technical, and just not anything else like I had ever heard in my life.  I don’t even think they went over that great at Ozzfest.  I really think their music went over the head of the meathead Ozzfest crowd.  I don’t think I even knew what I was listening to at the time but years later they have become one of my favorite bands. I would give anything for them to bring Sickening back into their set.

Sane
Sickening
New Millennium Cyanide Christ
Soul Burn
Future Breed Machine

Finally time for the Phil Anselmo-fronted Down. I unfortunately was unfamiliar with a lot of their material but their stuff was so slow in some spots and so heavy. I know that this was around the time Phil was having a lot of substance abuse issues and his in-between song banter reflected that. And in some ways it was pretty amusing. I believe it was before they did Bury Me In Smoke and someone through a joint on stage to Phil and then Phil asked for a lighter and it started raining lighters. I bet he had like 50 lighters thrown at him. That is my first memory of Down. It would be too long before I would get to see them again.

Lifer
Ghosts Along the Mississippi
Lysergik Funeral Procession
Temptation’s Wings
The Seed
Bury Me in Smoke

Unfortunately due to the tragedy of Drowning Pool’s Dave Williams tragic death that meant no Drowning Pool and a 2nd stage band to open the mainstage. That opening band was Neurotica. They had a couple of songs that I really liked but it just wasn’t really working after Hatebreed/Meshuggah/Down.  To my knowledge I don’t even think they made it after this tour was over.

They were quickly off and then Black Label Society came on, and w/ a new love for BLS they ripped it up as they always do. This was still back from whenever BLS actually played alot of their good material. After this is where it began to have less than stellar acts for alot of the mainstage.

Demise of Sanity
Graveyard Disciples
Bleed for Me
13 Years of Grief
Berserkers

Next band up was Adema and I hope their label paid top dollar for them to be on this tour because it is rough having them play AFTER Black Label. I actually nodded off in my seat during Adema as the heat was getting to me. I do remember when they did “The Way You Like It” they brought out about 10 girls w/o shirts on so that was an easy way to get over with the crowd but frankly crowd was just not into them.

Everyone
Freaking Out
Do What You Want to Do
Immortal
Stressin
Close Friends
The Way You Like It
Giving In

And then to prolong my misery more was P.O.D. Christian metal bands & Ozzfest just don’t really get along together. I can say they were still better than what I figured they would be.  The most uncomfortable part of the whole day was a normal looking family getting way too into the music when they played Alive.  Probably on a mission trip or something.  That visual will never leave my mind as hard as I’ve tried.

Set It Off
Boom
School of Hard Knocks
Southtown
Satellite
Outkast
Youth of the Nation
Alive
The Messenjah

Right before he came out I first saw the preview to a scary movie called House of 1000 Corpses. I knew of it a little and also knew of the nightmare it was to release so I was very interested before Zombie even came out. He jumped right into “Demon Speeding” and he just continued to amaze which is why I always wanted to see Zombie after this. And this was my first experience getting to see the 8’ tall robot when he does “More Human Than Human”. Any time there is an 8’ tall robot I will always be sold after that. What I think I loved the most was his dry, sarcastic sense of humor. He was really cracking me up when it got towards the end of his set and Riggs was soloing and started into “Thunderkiss ‘65” only for Zombie to say something along the lines of “goddamit not that fucking song again”. Then Riggs stopped and Zombie commented more and then broke into the song. Funny ass stuff. Probably the best I’ve seen of Zombie out of the 7 or 8 times I’ve seen him.

Sinners Inc.
Demon Speeding
Super-Charger Heaven
Living Dead Girl
Superbeast
Never Gonna Stop (The Red, Red Kroovy)
More Human Than Human
Feel So Numb
Thunder Kiss ’65
Dragula

At that time probably one of the biggest, if not the biggest metal band at that time was System Of A Down. Toxicity had just came out several months before that and it was probably one of the biggest albums of that year and that album just absolutely blew them up after that. They opened up w/ “Forest” and it was pretty much on after that. With such short songs they got to play quite a few. They had some very trippy video screen behind them, a lot of them w/ stuff on them my 18 year old mind wouldn’t comprehend anyway. Serj was quite the interesting dancer as well, not sure how to even describe his style. The stand out for me in their band w/o a doubt was Daron. I had heard the CD’s of theirs before but wow I did not know how good of a player he was until seeing him live. They still might be the most popular unorthodox band that ever got big. They had just an amazing set. Wished they could have played even longer. Makes me even sadder that this would more than likely be the first and only time that I ever got to see them live. I’m grateful for getting to see them but it still seemed too soon.

Forest
Jet Pilot
Deer Dance
Innervision
Suggestions
Psycho
Chop Suey!
Toxicity
Aerials
Needles
Sugar
Prison Song

And now time for the reason most of us are here. I finally got to see Ozz himself. I have never (and still never) seen a crowd so loving and warm to a show like everybody was for Ozzy. He played all the hits that one would expect and of course a few of the popular Sabbath songs as well. It was heart wrenching watching him do “Mama I’m Coming Home”. Sharon had just been diagnosed w/ cancer months before. Regardless of any feelings people can have for Sharon that is still his wife of 20+ years that was at home trying to get through chemo and he was still out there entertaining. I have the utmost respect for Ozzy for that reason. It’s never dull seeing Ozzy.  And I don’t ever take for granted the number of times I’ve seen him.  Legends don’t last forever.

I Don’t Know
War Pigs
That I Never Had
Mr. Crowley
Gets Me Through
No More Tears
Suicide Solution
Iron Man
I Don’t Want to Change the World
Road to Nowhere
Crazy Train

Mama, I’m Coming Home
Bark at the Moon
Paranoid

I was proud of myself for finally lasting a full Ozzfest. Easily the most eclectic lineup that Ozzfest has put out there. Definitely not the best Ozzfest I’ve been to.  And when you look at the full lineup it was probably one of the weaker ones.  Still got to be introduced to alot of cool bands and getting to see SOAD atleast the 1 time in my life was great.