The 10th annual Warped Tour and thousands of Valley punk rock fans invaded the Peoria Sports Complex on June 30. Joe Trevino / Get Out

The 10th annual Warped Tour hit the Valley Wednesday and the scene at Peoria Sports Complex was as frenetic as the music blasting across the stadium. The all-day punk rock festival featured performances from nearly fifty bands scattered across five stages.

Inside the venue, the chaos and anarchy that is the modus operandi for many of the Warped Tour artists manifested itself through the entire festival. There were dozens of tents featuring the typical mix of vendors, record store booths and local radio stations. Some unconventional attractions were also present, including a “reverse daycare” center for weary parents to get out of the heat and away from the sweaty masses.

The most striking element of the show was the crowd - thousands of punk rock fans, many of them younger teenagers, packed into the stadium. The large amount of people quickly generated a large amount of waste and the green grass of the spring training facility was overcome by mounds of garbage.

Of course, the real draw at the Warped Tour are the bands — if you can find them. The walk between stages was difficult in the crush of people and the oppressive heat acted as a deterrent for many. There was only a couple of places at the stadium where you could find out what band was playing where at what time and many of the better known bands — such as New Found Glory and The Vandals — played early in the day. It was a case of “blink and you’ll miss ’em” as the sets lasted 20-30 minutes.

When fans were able to locate the bands, it was punk rock business as usual.

“I almost died in the mosh pit,” David Robinson of Tempe said.
Other audience members remained sedate, likely in an attempt to avoid heatstroke. Paramedics noted they didn’t have as many emergency situations as in the past.

“It wasn’t as bad as it was last year,” Peoria firefighter Monty Burdsal said. “It wasn’t quite as hot.”

Musical elder statesmen Bad Religion played a mix of older favorites such as “Infected” and “21st Century Digital Boy,” along with songs from last month’s release “The Empire Strikes First.” The crowd got the loudest during their set-closing performance of “Sorrow,” from 2002’s “The Process of Belief.”

Leftist political activists/punk rockers Anti-Flag led the crowd through an expletive-filled, anti-Bush tirade that was loud and raucous. Following them on the main stage were Irish music-inflected punkers Flogging Molly, who treated the crowd with favorites such as “Drunken Lullabies.”

A curiosity at one of the side stages was Juliette and the Licks, a Runaways-esque outfit fronted by Academy Award-nominated actress Juliette Lewis. She did her best Joan Jett impression in front of a modest crowd and put on a surprisingly competent performance, even ending her set with a stage dive.

There was a strong local presence at the show as well, with a stage set aside for Valley favorites such as Scary Kids Scaring Kids and Oktober.
The biggest local band at the show was main stage act Authority Zero, who released their second national CD “Andiamo,” the day before the show. As one of the last performers of the day, they attracted quite a crowd and did not disappoint with hits such as “Revolution” and “One More Minute.”