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Music

A Warped Outlook

By by JAY CRIDLIN
Published June 22, 2006

	[Publicity photos]
	Against Me!
	NOFX

This year's Vans Warped Tour headliners, AFI, won't be in St. Petersburg on Friday. (They're playing a show in New York instead.)

But a slate of solid punk acts will be on hand. Here are a few names to know:

Against Me!: One of Florida's more popular young bands, this Gainesville group has evolved from a solo acoustic act to a noisy four-piece ensemble whose political lyrics name-drop Condoleezza Rice.

Anti-Flag: Another wildly political band, this one from Pittsburgh, whose left-wing views are so well-organized that their work motivating teens to vote was praised on the floor of the House of Representatives. Oh, and they rock, too.

Helmet: Metal holdovers from the '90s brought in to appeal to some of the Warped Tour's older fans.

Less Than Jake: Veteran skate punks from Gainesville with a ska-tinged sound and a few hits, such as She's Gonna Break Soon and Overrated (Everything Is).

Motion City Soundtrack: Rising pop-punk stars from Minneapolis who have toured with Blink-182. (Blink's Mark Hoppus produced MCS's latest album, Commit This To Memory.)

NOFX: A longtime California skate punk band with a strong anticommercial ethos. They're quite left-wing and typically eschew the mainstream, granting few interviews and declining requests to appear on MTV.

Rise Against: Not to be confused with Against Me!, Rise Against scored an acoustic hit last year with Swing Life Away, but is normally much louder. The group also appeared in the skateboarding movie Lords of Dogtown.

Saves the Day: A New Jersey punk/power-pop outfit with a major video hit to their name - the emo-ish At Your Funeral. Saves the Day's sound also drifts toward anthemic arena rock.

Senses Fail: A hard-core emo band, also from New Jersey, whose lyrics are influenced by Hindu and Taoist philosophies.

The Academy Is . . . : A hot Chicago band with local ties: Their label is Tampa-based Fueled by Ramen, which also hosts Fall Out Boy. Like recent tour mates Panic! At the Disco, the band's excessive punctuation is part of its name.

Thursday: Hard-core heroes from New Jersey whose hyper-energetic stage shows are a bloody, sweaty, emotional sight to behold. Tracks like Understanding In A Car Crash, War All the Time and Signals Over the Air are emo epics.

TIPS

At the Warped stop in Vinoy Park last year, more than 200 concertgoers had to be treated by paramedics, most for dehydration. So these precautions bear repeating:

* Drink lots of water.

* Wear sunscreen.

* Wear a hat and, if possible, lay off the head-to-toe black garb.

* Make use of the cooling misting stations.

* Mellow out between sessions in the mosh pit.

Other bands scheduled to appear

Aidan

Amber Pacific

Armor for Sleep

As Cities Burn

ASG

Bouncing Souls

Britt Black

Buzzocks

Cartel

 Catch 22

Chumley's Toy 

 Confession

Crazy Anglos

Down to Earth Approach

Eight Fingers Down

Emanuel

Emery

Every Time I Die 

 Flash Bathory

*From Autumn to Ashes

* From First to Last

* Greeley Estates

* Gym Class Heroes

* Hellogoodbye 

* June 

* Lorene Drive

* Modern Day 84

* Moneen 

* Monty 

* Over It

* Paramore

* Patent Pending 

* Plain White T's

* Protest the Hero 

* Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

* Rock Hard Power Spray 

* Safety

* Secret Lives Of the Freemasons 

* Shiragirl

* Silverstein

* Spitalfield 

* Split Fifty

* State Radio

* The Blackout Pact

* The Bled

* The Casualties 

* The Dollyrots

* The Fully Down

* The Letters Organize

* The Modern Day Saint

* The Smashup

* The Summer Obsession 

* The Sunstreak 

* The Vincent Black Shadow

* This Solemn Vow

* Underoath

* Valient Thorr 

* Variety Workshop

* Vaux 

* We are the Fury 

* ZOX

[Last modified June 21, 2006, 09:32:46]