ORIANS: Warped Tour not worth ticket

With summer comes better weather and much more spare time in the lives of young people. Unfortunately for all of us, large corporations have decided we should pay outrageous prices for concerts that, honestly, aren't worth it.

I have issues with festivals in general. Half of the time, the lineup isn't great at all, and the times when the lineups are amazing, non-headliner bands get 30 minutes max. And to top it off, the fact that there are multiple stages means you will most likely not be able to see every act you want. It's a lose-lose in my book.

The Vans Warped Tour is among the biggest offenders. Started in 1995, this monstrosity was founded by a decent shoe company that decided to branch its advertising into the punk rock music industry. Let's be honest with ourselves, that's pretty much what happened. The Warped Tour is, and will always remain, a gigantic billboard in the guise of "punk and alternative."

The absolute worst part about the Warped Tour is that most of my favorite bands have played it, and the only chance I've gotten to see these acts has been the result of these tours. Most every nonlocal or regional band I listen to has played a large festival like this. Some of the bigger acts don't even go on tour anymore outside of these shows.

The real kicker is its attempt, if you can even call it that, at integrating local acts. The ensuing act is the Battle of the Bands. Granted, the Omaha date of this year's tour did feature two very hard-working Lincoln-based bands that won the contest. At the end of the day, the Warped Tour Battle of the Bands is nothing more than a big dick contest of local bands harassing their friends to vote for their crappy band to play a gigantic festival where no one will care they're playing. For the most part, that much is true.

I can understand a one-day thing with upwards of 20 acts on stage. That sounds like an awesome reason to take off a day at work. But seriously, 60 bands? These bands sign on in false hopes of making it big, but the fact is, unless you've already got groundswell, you're not going to do well on the Warped Tour. You will see the entire crowd walk past during your set on their way to Coheed and Cambria or Less Than Jake (which, being honest, I would be one of those guys.)

Instead of paying $80 to see maybe five decent sets, go to eight $10 shows, or maybe 10 $8 shows where you know your money is (sort of) going to the artists playing. Go to these shows and support the touring bands who don't necessarily need a corporate sponsor. They're able to make something work with their talent alone. Or maybe I'm just a bitter douche bag hack who couldn't get onto something like this even if he tried. I like to believe I'm actually right about something for once and that the Warped Tour is a terrible thing.