Arstist Vs Poet, a power pop boy band from Dallas, TX have launched a promotion to win two free tickets to a date on Warped Tour 2010. The competition is tied-in with a new service from Microsoft called Microsoft Tag.

So, what is Microsoft Tag? According to today’s press release from Fearless Records it is: “breakthrough technology that transforms everyday things in the real world into live links to online information and entertainment.”

Right… so that cleared that up…. no?

Example of a Microsoft Tag

That little bit of jargon doesn’t help clear things up much, but after doing some research this morning I’ve learned that Microsoft Tag is essentially an application you can use with any camera-equipped Smartphone which allows you to ‘scan’ a tag which will then direct you to a web page, phone number or text information to find out more information about a product, service or event. The tag is a two-dimensional barcode image, either in colour or black and white, and rather than being straight lines and numbers like a traditional barcode it is made up of shapes, as shown in the triangle-filled sample tag.

Microsoft didn’t invent this technology as a whole but the colourful triangle barcodes (High Capacity Colour Barcodes) are their own brainchild, and with this technology they might emerge as one of the pioneers at the front of this hi-tech bandwagon. I’m reminded of a story I read on the BBC sometime ago about the increasing experimental use of Smartphones in European supermarkets, with the technology being used in that area to allow shoppers to self-scan their own groceries as they shop.

It’s all a bit futuristic and nerdy but this kind of technology  might well become a popular  interactive promotional and marketing technique. In the example being used by Artist Vs Poet, fans who scan the tag have a chance to win Warped Tour tickets. Perhaps in the future we will see these kind of triangle barcode images all over the places…maybe even on show posters to find out more information about a gig, or to purchase tickets online.

© Brian Banks, Music Vice

Related links:
Microsoft Tag
Artist Vs Poet – MySpace
Youtube video of Artist Vs Poet singer Tarcy Thomason attempting to explain what Microsoft Tag is all about…

Interview by Music Vice editor Brian Banks – July 25, 2008

Protest The Hero were top of my short-list of bands who I wanted to speak with at Warped 2008. Whilst waiting backstage in the press area, I saw Rody the lead vocalist from Protest approaching. I wasted no time in walking up to him, shaking his hand and getting this interview from the Cheese himself.

You can read the interview below or take the lazy option and listen to it. Or do both if you please.

Hey Rody. So how’s Warped Tour been so far for you guys this year?
Rody – “Humm, it’s been alright. You know, it’s Warped Tour. I’m surprised there’s not some punk rock legendary bands on the tour this year. So I’m a little bit bummed out about that. Other than that we’re starting to really have fun. The first couple of days were just really too hot. We flew out to Toronto from California. It gets hot in Toronto but not California hot.”

The heat’s worse in California than this?
Rody – “Oh fuck dude, I wish I could show you how disgusting it was there. I got a sunburn so bad on my shoulders that it scabbed.”

Something I want to talk to you about is the area that you guys grew up in, in Whitby. I know it quite well…
Rody – “You mean Whitby in the UK?”

No man, Whitby in Canada. So I’m just curious about how you guys grew up in that area – I know a bit about the venues there. Where were you playing?
Rody – “Well when we first started we were like 14 years old… well we were actually like 12 years old and like our ambition was to play The Dungeon. You know The Dungeon I’m talking about?

Yeah, it’s shut down now.
Rody – “Yeah. We played there just a couple of weeks before we left because it was closing down and we wanted to like send it out in a big way. But, uh, our only ambition was to play The Dungeon. That was it. We didn’t have any big dreams and we still don’t have any big dreams. We try to set our goals very small.

That was the only place we ever really played. We played Durham College and Bandwarz. That’s how we got our shit going.”

You wonder how new bands coming from outside that part of Toronto, in the Whitby area, like where are they going to play now? The Dungeon was like a guaranteed gig – just turn up and play.
Rody – “Absouletely… [now] you’ve got to go into Toronto.”

Tell me about your music. I think you’ve got a unique sound right now for a Canadian band. I put you up there with the Cancer Bats as being top 2 and everything else is kinda psssssh [a sound meaning not that good]. No disrespect to the rest of the bands but…
Rody – “No no dude, I agree with you completely. A lot of people in the United States give Canada a lot of credit for being creative. I wasn’t saying that I agree that we’re the most creative band in Canada, but there’s not really that much. People are like ‘oh all the hidden talent coming out of Canada’ – where is it?”

There’s not much. I’ve been here pretty much 2 years, on and off….
Rody – “…yeah. Like the only times I go to shows is when my friends are playing or there’s European bands coming in, or there’s bands from the States coming in. I don’t mean to bash Canada but it gets way too much credit for being a creative market for bands. I hope in the future it can get better.”

So tell me a bit about the music you guys make. What works the engine to come up with the kind of political, social and environmental stances that are in your songs? You’ve got masterclass guitar licks going on, while your singing can go from the ‘eurk’ gut sound up to the high notes, and at the same time you have lyrics.
Rody – “Well our bass player writes all the lyrics. He’s always been very proficient with the English language and all the acrobatics of such. And so it’s very easy for him to write such things. And when it comes to the melodies and singing, it’s always been since we started… (we started as a pop punk band in the 8th grade)… very important for us to have melodies and you know, actual singing. We really go by the belief that technical progressive music doesn’t have to be difficult to listen to.

There are a lot of bands that I love with all my heart but they are kind of hard to listen to because it’s very chaotic. It’s all over the place. It becomes very hard to listen to unless you’re listening for that exact musicianship”

I heard a story, not sure if its true – not from Wikipedia but an almost equally unreliable source. You guys used to hand out lyrics at concerts?
Rody – “For one of the videos we did, a long time ago when we were like 17. We played on the streets of Toronto . We just bought a generator and handed out lyrics to the song because it was a very sort of anti-American sentiment and we wanted people to understand what was going on. ”

So you guys are obviously going places rapidly. What would you say was your big break?
Rody – “Uhmm… the first show at The Dungeon! Uh, I don’t know. When you’re in the middle of something it’s hard to be really objective, you know. I feel like my life hasn’t changed for the last four years. But you know, I’m sure if I could objectively view it, it certainly would. I’d see the climb and I’d see the falls.. It’s difficult to pinpoint a moment when you know the band became the band. “

Let’s talk about Warped Tour again – any highlights, any lowlights?
Rody – “Um… highlights… I’m looking forward to the Gorge. The Gorge in Washington, which is hilarious because of George Washington. It’s just this really beautiful place. You know, like behind the main stage, it just drops off and there’s literally a massive gorge behind it. I’m really looking forward to going there…”

… what about Toronto, for your local fans here?
Rody – “Yeah I’m excited to play here today. The only problem is that we’re playing on a smaller stage today and it feels as though nobody’s taking us very seriously. And now that we’re back in our home fucking town and we’re going to have our audience coming out they refused to bump us up to a stage. So, I’m just worried that people are going to get hurt.”

It seems really weird. Looking across to the press table we see the interview requests – ‘Protest The Hero’, your interview slot is full. And I’ve been talking to the fans. Like, there’s so many fans wearing the Protest shirts coming in. Yet, like you’re saying, you’re playing on a smaller stage…

Rody – “I don’t mind playing the smaller stage. It’s not like an ego thing at all. I’m just worried that first of all people are going to get hurt, and second of all, people that want to see the band aren’t going to be able to see them. They’re going to be off to the side…”

… you don’t want to see it from 500 metres…
Rody – “… yeah. That would be a low point today.”

This interview is for Music Vice – could you tell me some of your Vice’s perhaps?
Rody – “Alcohol, cigarettes… pshhhhh [pause]….. vagina! Those are my three main vices. I typically like to say that everyone needs two legs to stand on – mine are cigarettes and alcohol.”

Interview with Matt Caughthran of The Bronx by Music Vice editor Brian Banks at Warped Tour, Mississauga (Toronto), July 19, 2009

Matt Caughthran is the vocalist of LA hardcore band The Bronx. I spoke to Matt with less than an hour to go before The Bronx were due on stage. Matt had already given a couple of interviews, including a really long double-take for a local TV crew. He was still cool enough to give me a few minutes of his time before heading off to get ready for what turned out to be an immense show.

Hey Matt, how’s it going? Your band mate Joby just went off?
Matt – “Hey Brian, what’s up? Yeah, he had to get the stage set-up, we’re going on in a little bit.”

How’s Warped been for you guys?
Matt – “Good man, it’s been a good experience. It’s been nice to get out and play for people who’ve never seen our band before, and you know we’ve got a couple friends on this tour so it’s been a lot of fun. We’re good friends with Every Time I Die, Bouncing Souls who just joined the tour, and our friends Dillinger Escape Plan were on the tour for a while.”

Any major highlights?
Matt – “Miami was great, and the Maryland show was really, really good. Just in general man there’s always something great that happens every day even if the show’s not good.”

How was Detroit last night? We had a reporter there for Music Vice but she missed you guys!
Matt – “It was awesome man. We had a really good show, we had to play first. We played at fucking 11.15 AM but the crowd was unbelievable.”

Any low points on this Warped Tour?
Matt – “Not really man, everything’s been good.”

So, aside from being on Warped Tour, what are The Bronx up to right now?
Matt – “Well, we’ve got two new records coming out in a couple of months, so we’re getting everything finished on those. One of them’s a traditional mariachi record, all traditional Hispanic music. The other one’s just the third Bronx full-length record. We’re going to be putting those out on our own label, White Drugs. We’ve been working our asses off. We’ve got our own studio, all this stuff, so last year’s been a real busy one. So it feel good to be on the road.”

So what made you guys do that extra album, separate from your normal Bronx material?
Matt – “Just being inspired. As an artist and a musician you kind of get wrapped up, especially professionally, about how to make money or how to make a certain sound, or having to do things a certain way. And there’s just no greater feeling than being able to do whatever you want and to create something that just pours out of you. And that’s what happened with the record, and its a really beautiful thing.”

So what can fans of The Bronx expect from the mariachi record?
Matt – “It’s just like The Bronx, but with all acoustic instruments, it’s all traditional Hispanic music. You just gotta check it out, you gotta believe. It’s gonna be good.”

One final question before you go… this interview is for Music Vice… do you have any vices?
Matt – “I got a couple. Alcohol’s one of them, and friends. I’ll do anything for my friends… to a point… I love making sure everybody’s happy before myself, so that can be kind of a vice.”

Cheers for the interview Matt, I’ll see you in the pit…
Matt – “Cheers man, thank you very much.”

Gig/Concert: Van’s Warped Tour 2008
Venue: The Flats at Arrow Hall, Mississauga, ON, Canada
Date: 19 July 2008
Headliners: Angels & Airwaves, The Bronx, Pennywise, Protest The Hero, Norma Jean, Katy Perry
In one word: Bronx!

The Warped Tour location for this year’s Toronto date was once again in a less than convenient location – The Flats (fields) at Arrow Hall in Mississauga. Mississauga is an area west of Toronto, and the home of Toronto Pearson international airport. In recent years the Warped locale for the Toronto market has been in Barrie, which is 100k’s north of the city, so at least Mississauga was closer. But still this wasn’t the Toronto city centre location that fans had wanted: Warped had originally been slated to be at Downsview Park this year, which would have meant a less arduous journey for those traveling by public transport, like myself. Maybe next year Warped will actually be in Toronto city proper.

Vans Warped Tour 2008 "Tour Water"

I arrived at just before noon and was greeted by the familiar sight of a huge snake of people lining-up. Thankfully though, I was one of the lucky gits with a press pass, so I was able to smugly walk past the line and get in through the side entrance. I noticed that the vast majority of fans attending Warped this year were teenagers – ok, not a surprise but there was a bigger mix of ages two years ago when I was last at Warped, which perhaps had something to do with the line-up this year. My first stop was to go inside one of the halls on the grounds to find my way to the press area. This building was also the setting of the beer garden, and a rest area that provides refuge for revelers to hide from the elements: first the scorching sun, then the late afternoon two hour downpour of rain.

I made a note of set times and stages for the bands I was most interested in seeing, then made an exit back out into the hot midday sun for a quick charge around the grounds to catch some bands. I had 40 minutes to kill before I’d have to go back indoors to speak with The Bronx who were scheduled for interviews at 1pm. This time passed before I knew it and then I was back inside for over an hour. I waited my turn to speak to Matt Caugthtran the lead singer of The Bronx, then I waited again for Protest The Hero who had a 2pm interview slot. Thankfully I snagged the first interview with Protest frontman Rody Walker, then 10 minutes later I was heading outside and ready to see some bands. I made a beeline for the left-side Main stage where The Bronx were on at 2.30.

The Bronx were immense. It was an intense display from the L.A. hardcore band, spearheaded by the singer Matt whose energy went ripping through the crowd, attacking senses and raising pulses. Yeah, you better not stand still and tap your foot. This is The motherfucking Bronx, so you better throw yourself into it: head first, feet first, whatever. Most the crowd let go of themselves enough to be a part it…. like they even had a choice anyway.

Matt indulged in a little crowd surfing early on, and by the end of their set he was over the barrier again, demanding the crowd circle him and mosh like mothers. Matt was engulfed by the pit that he created, then spat out with volcanic venom, rising up and over his audience. Every song sounded great. “Knifemen”, “Shitty Future”, “Heart Attack American”… all these Bronx ace’s hit home. They were the best band of the day.

“It had been a hot and humid day in Mississauga, but now dark clouds filled the skies and the gods let loose with their giant watering cans. From a distance I saw The Devils Wears Prada lure many kids out of the rain to defy the gods and enjoy their set.”

The next band I saw were TAT, who were playing on the small skate ramp stage. This trio from London, England are fronted by singer and guitarist Tatiana. They got their break on Warped Tour ’06 and have been building a name for themselves by making America their touring home. This was info that I found out afterwards, because before I walked over to see them play I knew nothing about them. It was music that drew me close, then when I saw the hot girl singing and playing guitar I naturally got closer.

TAT are unashamedly named after, and built around, their singer and guitarist Tatiana DeMaria. They played to a very small crowd, perhaps 40 at its peak and that’s probably even being generous. The band reacted to the small crowd with good humour and played a set worthy of a much bigger audience. Songs like Pessimist and I Don’t Want To Love You charge along with a feisty melodic punk bliss, while Road To Paradise has an anthemic quality to it with its slower build-up. Tatiana is more than adept at delivering some decent guitar riffs to accompany her vocals, whilst Nick Kent on bass and drummer Jake Reed complete a line-up that seem destined for bigger things.

After seeing TAT I had to go grab something to eat, because hunger was kicking in. I’d skipped breakfast and not eaten since the day before. I stood in a line for half an hour to get a slice of pizza and a bottle of cola, and shortly after this the weather changed. It had been a hot and humid day in Mississauga, but now dark clouds filled the skies and the gods let loose with their giant watering cans. I ran for cover and stood under the shelter of a doorway entrance, many others did the same, and even more people were inside the main hall. From a distance I saw The Devils Wears Prada lure many kids out of the rain to defy the gods and enjoy their set.

Eventually the rain ceased and I headed out of cover to see and hear some more bands. I caught a few songs from Black Lungs who were on the Union stage. Black Lungs is a side project created by Alexisonfire guitarist Wade MacNeil, and the music is a step away from Alexis’ screamo stylings. The songs are sung clean but with a gritty honesty. “Hold Fast (Sink or Swim) ” is one of Black Lungs strongest songs.

Over on Route 66, one of the main stages, I saw Pennywise. Pennywise have recently released a new album called Reason To Believe on MySpace Records, which I thought was a little ironic given that even just 3 years ago they released an album with a song attacking Fox TV. MySpace is owned by Fox Interactive Media, which is owned by News Corporation, which, you guessed it, owns Fox television. Did anyone say sell-outs?

Pennywise played a mix of old and new material, but unsurprisingly did not play “Fox TV”. I found their new stuff to be boring. Of the older stuff Fuck Authority stood out, which had the crowd singing along and throwing up the middle finger. But again, I found this to be just a little ironic and couldn’t take it seriously. To me it has always been a challenge to listen to Pennywise for any length of time, and soon I found myself walking away to find another band to listen to.

“It was a farce that Katy Perry had a big stage while genuinely talented bands like Protest The Hero and TAT were stuck on the two smallest stages.”

It was at this point that I realised I’d somehow missed Protest The Hero’s set. Their singer Rody had expressed his anger that the Warped organisers had put them on the tiny Ernie Ball stage in Mississauga. Protest were guaranteed a big following for what would be their local date on Warped Tour, as the band come from Whitby which is a suburb town just the other side of Toronto. They are also one of the most talented bands in Canada right now, already firmly established as a major act and on the rise. Sometime during the rainstorm I missed Protest, who had been put on a on a ridiculously small stage round the corner. I consider it an injustice that they were put on such a small stage. These thoughts were amplified when I had the misfortune to catch some of Katy Perry’s set.

Katy Perry had a big stage and a big crowd, and she did not deserve either of them. Perry gave a painful performance, wrought with nervousness, insecurity and a complete lack of any stage presence. She strummed basic chord patterns on an electro-acoustic, while a guy sat to her right did all the monkey work on his guitar. Perry had little control over her instrument, and at times bad feedback rang out, which could have probably been stopped by simply muting the strings with her hand or by lowering the volume controls. However, she seemed oblivious of how to do this herself. Her right-hand man fixed the controls on the guitar for her at one point in-between songs.

Perry has built a following for herself by releasing pop songs that are ‘risque’ in the tackiest way. Her hits like I Kissed A GIrl, and Ur So Gay are about as bad as the Cheeky Girls’ Cheeky Song. Admittedly without the cheesy Europop synth but still, yeah, awful. If you’ve never heard of the Cheeky Girls then count yourself lucky. Perry could be heard at one point saying to the guy at stage side, “What do I do? Do I keep playing?”, and then to the crowd, “I don’t know how bad this sounds to you guys but I’ll keep it up”. It was a farce that that Katy Perry had a big stage while genuinely talented bands like Protest The Hero and TAT were stuck on the two smallest stages. Katy Perry was exposed as being nothing more than the hyped-up prima donna that she is, and on the evidence of this gig she cannot perform live to save herself. Though maybe she was just caught off-guard and ill prepared…

During Pennywise’s set the levels had got screwed up with the drums suddenly becoming too loud and the vocals too low, or something like that. At that moment the two guys in the sound booth had looked embarrassed and confused, as they frantically tried to fix the problem. Pennywise responded by turning the stage monitors around to face the audience and the sound mixing booth. It’s likely things had gone wrong because of the all the rain water, so this was also probably the reason as to why Katy Perry played an acoustic gig, and the same went for Angels & Airwaves.

“But credit where credit is due; Angels & Airwaves gave a very strong acoustic performance which had teenage girls in the crowd gushing and swooning, and grown men like myself quietly, if a little reluctantly, enjoying their show. “

Angels & Airwaves, otherwise known as the Tom DeLonge show, played a set that gave a mellow and chilled-out end to Warped in Mississauga. With three of the band sat playing acoustic guitars and drummer Adam Willard tapping a percussion box, it was a strong stripped-down display of A&A’s brand of melodic alt rock. Secret Crowds was their best tune and got a big response.

There was the odd lame moment, like when DeLonge got a cheap laugh by telling the sound guy to turn down the mic on his band mate David Kennedy. This kind of thing reinforced the view of those who label A&A as a band that massages the ego of the former Blink 182 member. But credit where credit is due: Angels & Airwaves gave a very strong acoustic performance which had teenage girls in the crowd gushing and swooning, and grown men like myself quietly, if a little reluctantly, enjoying their show. Well, at least it wasn’t Katy Perry.

The last band I saw as I made my exit were Broadway Calls, a three-piece on the Hurley stage who played out while the sun set. I liked these guys and made a note to check out more of their stuff later. They play punk rock, in the straight-edge pop style, but with a refreshing twist. A bit like Coke with Lemon, with a shot of vodka added to give it just enough kick. Broadway Calls have some catchy tunes, and with Back To Oregon the band do the unusual thing of singing in praise of their roots and the place they come from. Which is part of that refreshing twist.

© Brian Banks

Warped Tour Toronto Photos - all photos by Brian Banks, © Music Vice

Gig/Concert: Van’s Warped Tour 2008
Venue: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
Date: 18 July 2008
Headliners: Jack’s Mannequin, A Day To Remember, Story of the Year, The Audition
In one word: Sweltering

Detroit is known as Motown but one day out of the summer every year, the amped up, punked out Warped Tour comes roaring into town. This was my seventh time going to this show and I get pretty excited each time. The only thing that got me down was hearing the forecast of 95 degrees F. Stepping outside of the house to make the trip to the city, you could definitely feel the heat. It felt like one hundred with the humidity. I knew I was in for sweating way more than any female should.

I went into The Fillmore, another venue, located across the street from Comerica Park, to get my pass and directions to the press tent. The girl working there was really nice. The air conditioning good for the whole ten minutes I was there. I jumped in the short line, got my bag checked and was inside the gates. Ahead, I saw the mob of people I would have to walk through and counted how many times somebody bumped me in the shoulder: twenty-three. One thing I did notice was that the crowd seemed pretty young. I’d have to say the average age there was about seventeen. You could see a few parents around trying to fit in or looking lost. It took me about a half hour to find the press tent, due to poor directions and the uncooperative crowd but some man, with an Australian accent selling earplugs, sun block, and other useful things, helped me out. I signed in and got a list of bands and stage times, as well as a map of the area. There was a line of other photographers and people with video cameras along the wall, probably waiting for a band. I decided to leave and hit the stages.

There were eight different stages set up in the two parking lots. The two stages, which featured the biggest acts of the day, was the Route 66 stage, with acts like the Bouncing Souls, Warped Tour pioneers Pennywise, and locals Chiodos. The other was the Highway 1 stage, with Against Me!, Angels & Airways, and one of my personal favorites, Story of the Year. Other set ups included Kia Kevin Says (named after the founder of the Warped Tour, Kevin Lyman), Ernie Ball, Smartpunk, two Hurley stages and the skate ramp stage. The crowds seemed to move all over, and didn’t stick to one stage, which was interesting. It was good to see people that had an open mind about the other bands on the tour than just the big acts.

I heard Against Me! as I walked in and they sounded just as good as they did when I saw them back in December. I checked out MC Chris on the Ernie Ball stage since I’ve heard good things about on him from friends. I watched the beginning of The Academy Is…, which impressed me. William Beckett is just as skinny in person as he is on television. Say Anything and Story of the Year drew big crowds, with much mosh action and crowd surfers, one of which almost nailed me in the head with his foot, coming over the barricade. I was excited to see The Audition, since the singer is a Detroit native.

As it is all about the bands, you can’t forget about the number of tents that line up one after another. I ended up spending way more than I thought of but ended up with some cool things. For a whopping five dollars, I bought a book printed to remember the past years of the tour, in full color. I contributed to the charity, To Write Love On Her Arms, which is becoming big. Vans had their tents all over with shoes, shirts, hoodies, and giving away free wallets and hats with a purchase. Also, the return of the Girlz Garage which is always a hit with the ladies. Band members were in tents all over trying to promote themselves and sell merch, and I got suckered in to buying quite a few CD’s. And of course, lets not mention how much I spent trying to stay hydrated and the nachos that were incredibly delicious, courtesy of the Comerica Park concession stands.

At the end of the day, the walk back to the car was a bit painful, as my feet yelled at me from standing and I could feel the sunburn kicking in. The Warped Tour never lets me down though. I have a feeling that it’ll be around for another ten years, with the feeling that next year will always be even better.

© Britany Gibbs