The Warped Tour fills Vinoy Park with youths determined to be different.
By ADRIENNE LU
Published July 26, 2003
ST. PETERSBURG - Most teenagers would do almost anything to fit in, because to be too different would be to risk ridicule and everlasting shame.
But David Carlin, 14, is like many of the 10,000 or so young people who showed up at the Vans Warped Tour at Vinoy Park Friday: He has no problem being different. In fact, he relishes it with gusto, declaring his independence without saying a word.
A ninth-grader with a nose ring, Carlin wears his hair in a 7-inch mohawk dyed bright red. Not auburn. Bright, Kool-Aid red, standing straight up in a strip down the middle of his scalp with the help of hairspray, Elmer's glue, whatever he can find that will help the cause.
The deal with the 'do? "Not to be like everybody else," said Carlin, who didn't seem to mind that his friend, Pat Grattan, had a very similar hairstyle, only in green. "To p--- people off," added Carlin, who is in ninth grade at Hudson High School and lives in New Port Richey.
Teenagers and rebellion have always gone hand in hand, but punk in particular seems to embody the spirit of questioning authority, from the Ramones, the Sex Pistols and the Dead Kennedys to the newer Rancid, Dropkick Murphys and AFI, who were among the main draws to the all-day concert.
"A lot of the younger kids are into the lighter stuff," said Melissa Dewey, 20, of New Port Richey, as she enjoyed a break in the shade. The older crowd, where she puts herself, "is a lot more serious about it - the politics."
Mohawks were aplenty Friday at the normally quiet park, along with Gothic wear (black, black and more black, adorned with metal). T-shirts were another popular method of self-expression: "Chicks dig pale, skinny guys" said one, worn, of course, by a pale skinny, guy; a T-shirt with a monkey face declared "I fling poo" for no apparent reason.
"It's a really cool crowd here," said Dewey, who pushed her blond pixie cut into a mohawk with some spiking glue for the occasion. "Everyone's really friendly."
Despite all the interesting hair colors (turquoise, purplish-red, blue), the many piercings, the political activism table with the Communists next to Amnesty International, and the skateboarding shows that are a hallmark of the Vans tour, at heart, the event was simply a summer concert in the park geared toward a young crowd.
There were quiet(er) moments: seeking the cool of the shade, watching a dolphin splash in the water. There were sweatier moments, of furtive and not so furtive kissing out of sight of parents. There were bikinis and too-short skirts seeking the cool, and black clothing drawing the heat. And, as always, there were teens doing silly things just because.
At the urging of the Suicide Machines, one crowd re-created a scene from the movie Braveheart, dividing themselves into two groups and then charging at each other. "Sick!" shouted one band member, with obvious delight, after watching the bodies smash. "Super sick!"
Joey Thompson, 15, of Gulfport, explained the appeal of a new style of music known as Screamo. "They scream to the words. They sing, but they also scream the words. I dunno. It's really awesome."
Carlin complained that it's getting harder and harder to remain outside the mainstream, though. He complained that the "emo" kids, those into the so-called emotional bands, who sing more about emotions than changing the world around them, are tainting the genre with - could it be? - popularity.
"Punk is like antiestablishment, not mainstream," Carlin explained. "These guys are all over MTV and c--- like that."
- Times news researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report.
