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INTERVIEWS AND ARTICLES: "BOX CAR RACER,
GOOD CHARLOTTE HELP CELEBRATE WARPED TOUR AT L.A. KICKOFF PARTY" Although the Vans Warped Tour '02 doesn't actually kick off until June 21, Blink-182 side-project Box Car Racer, Good Charlotte, Finch, and the Used hosted the tour's kickoff soiree at the Key Club in Los Angeles on Thursday (April 11). As the 200 or so fans lucky enough to get tickets to the event (press and industry sleuths took the rest) began lining up hours before the show, Blink-182/Box Car Racer drummer Travis Barker hit the streets for an impromptu autograph session. "I remember when I was younger, meeting people, and if they snubbed you, you're just kind of bummed," Barker tells allstar. "You have all of these people who buy your music and are fans for whatever reason so I always try to do that. I don't want anyone to think I'm a prick." Inside the venue, Good Charlotte, now in its second run on Warped, was contemplating applying lessons learned on last year's tour to help better its experience in 2002. "Warped last year was my favorite tour ever," explains guitarist Benji. "All the bands hang out, there are no rock stars on the tour. At night, all the tour buses park in the same area and everyone pulls out their lawn chairs and hangs out every night. But this year, I'll wear sunscreen so my tattoos don't fade. Anybody that has tattoos and is going on the Warped tour, wear sunscreen because your tattoos fade and at the end of the tour you'll say, 'Why do my tattoos look like shit?'" Musically, Utah's the Used kicked off the show with a combination of demonic screaming, potent rock riffs, and a solid sense of humor on the part of singer Bert McCracken (who playfully taunted audience members between songs). Drive-Thru Records' Finch followed, which wasn't able to capitalize on singer Nate Barcalow's lung-emptying shrills to quite the same success as the Used (think Alien Ant Farm meets the Deftones). Good Charlotte offered three songs from its 2000 self titled. Epic Record's debut and three new tracks set for inclusion on its follow-up, The Young and the Hopeless, due in August. One of those tracks, "My Bloody Valentine," offered a glimpse into the band's darker side with its morbid lyrics and punk-inspired guitar line. Box Car Racer, featuring Barker and Blink bandmate Tom Delonge along with Over My Dead Body's Dave Kennedy and Anthony Celestino, closed the show in what was only its fourth public performance to date (Blink-182 Side Project, Box Car Racer, Lines Up SoCal Dates). Broader sonic soundscapes and building walls of guitar separate Box
Car's music from that of Blink-182 (and less songs about girls, which
made up for only two or so of the band's 11-song set). Vocally, it's
difficult buying Delonge taking himself seriously after years of fart
jokes via Blink. The result of both is a less entertaining show, as
evidenced by Delonge's mid-set comment to the audience, "We appreciate
you just standing there." |