DC Gets Warped
It was another year of the unholy team-up between Level 27 clothing and Dread Central, tackling the NY and NJ dates of Warped Tour in blistering 100-degree heat. Why do we do it? Fuck, I asked myself that all day Saturday as I melted, even under the tent.
We do it because Level 27 kicks ass and we always jump at the chance to bring horror to the peoples! In this case, the people were swarms of teenagers running from stage to stage to catch sets by near legends Bad Religion and The Toasters, industry heavyweights Alkaline Trio and New Found Glory, and relative new schoolers like Bayside, Underoath, and Cute is What we Aim For. Oh … and motherfucking MC Chris, who is now sporting a brand new 28 Weeks Later t-shirt.
Girl’s booty shorts had words on them, and many a boy wore girl jeans … as such is the way of the emo/punk/hardcore music scene today I suppose. One thing will always remain the same: In the pit everyone is equal. Bands called to their fans to summon the red rage and pummel their neighbor in the most loving way possible because when the music stops, everyone is still friends. That’s just the way it’s done here! It’s a primal urge and yes, pretty dumb, but no one ever called punk rock the “thinking man’s music”. Fans come out to let off some steam, detox from school, and just have fun. You shut off your brain and just enjoy the sound.
In between the choruses there was Dread Central, dishing out free swag from movies like Hatchet, Day Watch, Sunshine, 28 Weeks Later, and Masters of Horror (for sexy pics of the winners, check out our gallery). We upped the ante this year with contests every hour including DVD’s from Anchor Bay, Teddy Scares Morgue Minis, and Evil Krusty the Clown Bust-Ups from Gentle Giant.
As some fans found out, expressing their love for Hostel meant they could join the hunting club via their very own pup temp tattoo! Of course we then invited them to go out into the world and kill whomever they liked, but no one took us seriously.
Scanning the tent, there was one common question all day long. “What’s up with the big yellow bunny?” Well Toy2R sent us this 16-inch Qee as a prize, and rather than just unload it to some kid who would have no idea it’s worth 200 bucks AND glows in the dark, we decided to put it to work. Bands from the tour were invited to sign our bunny with the intention that after a few more dates of the tour are done, we would auction him off and donate the proceeds to benefit cancer research. As of this past Tuesday, those autographs included Jay and Brian from Bad Religion, Alkaline Trio, New Found Glory, Bayside, Street Drum Corps, and more. Oh yeah … and motherfucking MC Chris. Steve from Level 27 will be getting him marked up some more before he makes his way back to me, so watch for news of the auction going live.
Who said punk rock never did anyone any good?
– Nomad
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