Tie-dye shirts, an LED light screen backdrop and an entourage cheering just offstage, this group signified the more mainstream direction Warped Tour has taken. The group has a vibrant energy—that matches their electronic, more produced sound—which is plainly visible in their live performance. One of their band members is a DJ spinning their back-up tracks and turning the musical breakdowns into clubbing-style dance parties. In the middle of one of these dance breaks a pack of twelve year olds came running out from the sides of the crowd with neon super soakers in hand, matching the super soakers that the artists on stage whipped out from their hiding spot. In unison, the whole crowd was hosed down. The whole scene was incredibly reminiscent of a spring break celebration, and none of the 2012 Warped Tour population seemed to mind. Joshua Aragon seems to have no end in sight for instrument skills, as he switched effortlessly from the keytar, to the guitar, to bass, to synthesizers and to backing vocals. Eric Armenta took the drums by storm and filled in the DJ’s beats, pumping along with the changing light show images on the screen. The two lead singers, Kyle Even and David Schmitt, are the roots for this high-energy, color explosion band image. Even though this group is obviously being aimed more toward the high-tech future of our youth, they fit together on stage and tactfully accomplished tackling every aspect they were trying to cover. Even and Schmitt crawled out in to the audience on top of the crowds’ hands. Half way into the sea of hands, they made a motion that signaled Luis Bonet, the programming DJ, to ignite an electro-dance explosion that set the crowd jumping. The super soaker kids sent themselves into hyper-drive water-war mode. Under the hot sun, the crowd that had gathered for this band went along with it all, jumping, dancing and squealing away from the water-gun attacks.
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RUKUS • July 2012
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