Warped
Tour in Dallas takes place in a parking lot at the Smirnoff Center
(now known as the Starplex Pavilion) at fair park in Dallas. Good
Charlotte were performing at one of the main stages. John and I
didn't care about them. We hung out waiting for Bad Religion to come
out on the stage right next door. We sat down in the lot waiting, we were gonna have a great spot for the show. Good Charlotte had to
stop their set. Somebody had gotten hurt in the mosh pit. Joel or
Benji Madden called out for an ambulance to get the kid. John and I
though it was humorous. Who gets hurt at a Good Charlotte show?
After a few minutes they started back up and the kids were having
fun.
Funny
thing though. This was a touring festival with strict set times. In
the middle of “Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous” Bad Religion
came out on the stage. John and I immediately stood up and got so
close to the stage. I don't remember what song they opened with but
as as soon the crowd at the Good Charlotte stage realized that Bad
Religion were on they rushed on over. Good Charlotte were left
alone.
The
next March, John, Maurice, and I went to see Bad Religion again.
They were playing the Bronco Bowl in Dallas. Also playing were the
ska band Less than Jake (one of my all time favorites) and a couple
bands we didn't really know, Hot Water Music and Recover.
So
I was driving to the show and it was really cold. In fact, I nearly
wrecked the car in Dallas when the sun reflected off ice on the
highway just right as to temporarily blind me. No cool. We made it
to the venue in once piece though.
After
making it inside the Bronco Bowl we looked around. Oh my gosh. We
seemed to be the oldest people there! What?! Bad Religion have been
around since I was born. We were 20 and 21 years old. These teeny
boppers must have fallen in love with Bad Religion when they opened
for Blink 182 a year or so ago (that's disgraceful by the way).
Recover
opened and were pretty forgettable. At the end of their set the
drummer threw a drumstick into the crowd and I caught it. Only so
did some 17-year-old guy. We both had it. I had a good grip with
one hand and the other guy had two-hands on it struggling. I didn't
really want to fight him for it. So I let go, “Yes! A souvenir!”
he shouted. He didn't thank me. Hot Water Music came and went.
Less
Than Jake came out for their set and it was damn good. Their set
design had TV's with color bars on them. Some fool was commenting
about rainbows and faggots. I informed him that those were broadcast
color bars. The music was tight and friggin awesome. They are a
rare band where the drummer is the primary song writer and they don't
have a lead singer, their guitarist and bassist split up the vocals pretty evenly. Their songs really speak to me, more so when I was in my
early twenties.
I know, I know, I know/I know just who I am/It was in my head/Is that I don't really give a damn/Just who you think I am/Just who I am, just who I am/(Just who I!)/
I know there comes a time/When you lost faith/In what you believe inside/(What you have inside.)/And did you know somehow/It's just not smart enough to start/(It gets up from the ground.)/
The other day, this girl/Came up to me and asked/If she used to go to school with me/I kinda laughed. She said/Wasn't I the guy her friends always/Called a waste of time/
I know, I know, I know/I know just who I am/It was in my head/Is that I don't really give a damn/Just who you think I am/Just who I am, just who I am/(Just who I!)/
Well it's time to think about/Where I'll be ten years from now/(Ten years from now!)/I wonder if the media knows/I call myself washed up, not watered down/(Just water on the ground!)/
The other night, this guy/Came up to me downtown/And can't believe after five years/I'm still around. And he said/Wasn't I the guy who walked these streets all night/Such a waste of time/
I know, I know, I know/I know just who I am/It was in my head/Is that I don't really give a damn/Just who you think I am/
Less than Jake
“Last One Out of Liberty City” from Hello Rockview (1998)
They
write about growing up, hanging out and awkwardness of youth.
For
Bad Religion John and I were in the pit pumped to see the stars of
the night. The entire time Maurice had spent in a front row seat.
So John and I were crammed in the pit as Greg Graffin and the gang
trotted out. They opened with a crisp rendition of Stranger than
Fiction. Two minutes or so of jumping up and down in unison with a
crowd of strangers. After the song Greg started talking and I looked
around. John was sitting in the seat next to Maurice with his head
low. I went to him and asked what was up? He said, “Somebody fell
into me. My knee is effed up!” Bad Religion started playing Kyoto
Now! and I ran back to the crowd. They followed it up with Super
Sonic and other songs from their new album the Process of Belief. It
was amazing. They went through all the classics: Generator,
Infected, 21st Century Digital Boy, You. They came toward
the end and Greg said, “This is the point where we leave and you
shout for more. We make you wait and then come out for an encore.
We're going to speed that up a little bit so we can play an extra
song.” They then ran off the stage and immediately came back on.
They played I Want to Conquer the World, Atomic Garden and American
Jesus.
After
the show John wanted to just sit and wait. He wanted no part of
walking and stopping and spending 20 minutes trying to leave.
Eventually ushers told us to move on. Maurice and I walked by John
when he was ready to head out. We made our way gingerly to the
parking lot. Man, it was like 28 degrees outside. Oh crap. The
door to my 1986 Chrysler Labaren hadn't shut all the way. The dome
light had been on for like five hours. The car wouldn't start.
Great.
Walking
near us in the parking lot were a couple of dudes. I asked if they
could park next to me and jump start the car. They agreed and asked
where my jumper cables were. I didn't have any. Crap. The driver
looked annoyed and retrieved the cables from the trunk of his car.
We
made it home to our apartment style dorms. These were newly built
residence halls called New Pride Apartments. John, Maurice, and
myself lived there. Nick lived there for a while until he had to
leave school for a while, then Lu Bledsoe moved in with us. Living
here was certainly a point of pride. These buildings were certainly
aptly named. John ended up getting surgery done on his knee. It was
much more serious than I thought it was. He had it done so fast I
didn't know it was happening until he actually posted pics of his scoped knee on the fridge. I emailed Bad Religion explaining the story
thinking that they'd send an autograph or something. That didn't
happen though. Guess being rock stars, you are a little busy for
stuff like reading every correspondence you get.
There
were certainly a series of events around this concert, but I loved
the show. John surely regretted having his knee busted by a teeny
bopper and missing out on the great music due to his pain. Perhaps it was payback for making fun of the injured kid in the Good Charlotte
pit? Whatever it was, it absolutely was unforgettable.
 |
| Yes, I still have a ticket stub from 2002. |
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