Warped Tour Stirs Controversy

R

ock festivals are a reality of the summer. Tons of bands come to town and the cities that host them see them as a boon to their economy. Lots of hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs, all do gangbuster business, and the city cleans up in permits and taxes. But the Irvine, California city council is not too happy about bringing the Warped Tour to their town. They fear the hard-rock festival will bring nothing but trouble.

The Warped Tour has been in existence since 1995 and while some of the concerts have resulted in multiple arrests, most of those have been for under-age drinking.

According to an article in the OC Register, the anti-Warped campaign is being led by councilman Jeff Lalloway. “[Lalloway wondered] whether a city routinely named America’s safest had just opened itself up to a day of mayhem. Should a ‘family-friendly’ park, he wondered, be hosting a band called Anti-Flag whose chorus to its song, ‘F*** Police Brutality,’ goes: ‘F*** police/F*** police/F*** police brutality!’”

We’re not sure if it’s the harsh language that Lalloway finds offensive, or if he actually thinks being anti-police brutality is a bad thing.

What he clearly doesn’t understand is rock and roll. You’d think the fact that people have been railing against the evils of rock music since Bill Haley’s “Rock Around The Clock” was blamed for inciting riots in Dublin and London, would make people in 2012 realize that the corrupting influence of rock music has always been wildly overstated. 

The Warped Tour has been in existence since 1995 and while some of the concerts have resulted in multiple arrests, most of those have been for under-age drinking. We suspect that a number of under-age kids in Irvine are already drinking, whether or not the Warped Tour warps their fragile minds.

The irony, of course, is that this kind of publicity is perfect for the Warped Tour, since it wants to be seen as the more “hard core” festival (it features mostly punk rock, hard rock, and heavy metal bands).

The Warped Tour travels from June 16 through August 5th. This year’s lineup includes Taking Back Sunday, Anti-Flag, Lostprophets, Falling In Reverse, The Used, Every Time I Day, You Me At Six, and many more. For a full list of bands and schedules, visit the official Warped Tour web page.