The Warped Tour at the Stone Pony took place in the parking lot before they started calling outdoor shows, "Under the Big Top at the Stone Pony," or whatever catchy marketing phrase appeared in the ads in The Aquarian Weekly. Of course, Sara went with me. I'm pretty certain that we had learned our lesson about showing up too early by then because I do not remember seeing many bands that day. I distinctly recall L7. I don't remember Sublime. Nor do I remember Orange 9mm. Or No Use for a Name. But, Quicksand. That set I remember.
The stage was set up so that the band members' backs were to the ocean. A white canopy covered the stage. As soon as Quicksand started playing, the wind picked up, the waves started hitting the shore with greater intensity, and that canopy went bonkers. Hands down, one of the finest backdrops ever. Of course, the band still played a better set than Mother Nature.
I suppose this is where I should comment about how that first Warped Tour was so exciting and fresh-faced and then compare it to the major clothing marketing device it has since become. You know, like how that first season of the Real World with Norm and Kevin and Eric and Heather B. and Julie and Andre and the red-headed-woman-who-looked-like-Suzanne-Vega-and-had-the-affair-with-the-producer-but-no-one-can-remember-her-name was so awesome because the audience, as well as the "characters," didn't know what to expect?
Yep, just like that.
