Concert review: Warped Tour

Surfing in the sun: The heat didn't stop fans from enjoying all the Warped Tour rituals. Photos by Timothy Finn/The Star

More than 9,000 fans attended this year's annual nine-hour punk fest in Bonner Springs on Wednesday, which was also one of the hottest days of the year. But it's always hot at the Warped Tour, a reality aggravated by the show's central locale: the parking lot behind the amphitheater, a platter of asphalt that radiates heat like a pizza just pulled from the oven.

By 2 p.m., thousands of fans had retreated, filling every scrap and shard of shade and shadow that fell on the main grounds. Most, however, didn't let the heat stop them from indulging in what they came for: the music. Bands on the five main stages drew big crowds all day long.

One of those was Tiger Army, a trio from Los Angeles on Hellcat Records that gives its punk lots of accents and twist (including the occasional burst of pedal steel guitar).

They provided the day's only "country" moment, "Where the Moss Slowly Grows."

Above: Bridget Regan and Dave King of Flogging Molly.

The Celtic-punk band Flogging Molly drew the first big, rowdy crowd, around 3:30 p.m. They aren't the Pogues, but they're damn close; they're not the Elders either, but they're even closer (it's a draw). They roared through old and new material: "The Likes of You Again," "Tobacco Island," "Seven Deadly Sins," "Devil's Dance Floor" and a brand-new one, "Requiem for a Dying Song."

Above: Greg Gaffin ignores the heat, but his shirt tells the truth. He threw lots of cold water on fans in the front row during Bad Religion's set.

One of the festival's headliners was the veteran (aging) punk band Bad Religion, who just released album No. 14 ("New Maps of Hell"). There crowd was smaller and more subdued than Flogging Molly's. Greg Gaffin tries, but he's not nearly the showman Dave King is. Plus BR's music isn't as diverse or soulful as FM's.

Their set included nearly a dozen punk anthems, like "American Jesus," "Social Suicide," "I Want to Conquer the World," "Anesthesia" and "Hell."

Above: Hayley Williams, lead singer of Paramore, says hello to a fan.

Mid-afternoon was also time for bands who weren't performing to do the meet/greet thing. Bands like Paramore, Hawthorne Heights and Flogging Molly drew long lines of fans who wanted a brief encounter with their favorite bands -- it's punk rock's version of the Country Music Association's Fan Fair.

The band that drew the longest line: Red Jump Suit Apparatus.

Above: JT Woodruff exhorts his fans to make more noise.

Other big moments: Coheed & Cambria ("A Favor House"); Boys Like Girls ("The Great Escape"); and Hawthorne Heights' post-dinner set, which drew a large crowd that never quite appeased lead singer JT Woodruff, who pleaded with them several times to "make some f****** noise." (Enthusiasm is earned, not ordered, dude).

HH's set included "Saying Sorry," "This Is Who We Are," and "Niki FM."

As the clock approached 7:30 p.m., fans began to surrender an the place was beginning to thin out. I left for darker, cooler pastures (another show in Midtown, in a place where the sun don't shine).

This was probably the last Warped Tour out in Bonner Springs; the venue has no management and consensus is the place will be empty next year. It won't matter. They'll move it to another parking lot with no shelter and little shade.

| Timothy Finn, The Star

Above: Some traditions won't die, or wilt in the heat.

Above: Hawthorne Heights mingles with its fawning fans.