UP & AUTUMN: The AP 2009 Fall Preview -- TOURS
BY SCOTT HEISEL
LISKFEST 2.0
WHO: As I Lay Dying, Insted, H2O, Strife, Bold plus at least 15 more
WHEN: Sept. 5 at Oak Canyon Ranch in Irvine, CA
HOW MUCH: Regular tickets are $30; VIP tickets (which include free booze and a backstage pass) are $100; children under 5 get in free
THE SCOOP: Last year’s inaugural edition of Liskfest went off so smashingly (literally-did you see the pile-ons for Gorilla Biscuits’ set?), it was a no-brainer for organizer Paul Lisk to bring it back. The lineup is considerably heavier this year, with crucial reunion sets coming from Insted, Bold and Strife. If that’s not enough to get 30-something hardcore kids out of retirement and back into long-sleeve tees, we don’t know what is.
YOU BETTER NOT MISS: Death By Stereo, Reign Supreme, Born Of Osiris
RIOT FEST
WHO: NOFX, Screeching Weasel, Alkaline Trio, Naked Raygun, Murder City Devils plus at least 30 more
WHEN: Oct. 7?-?11 in Chicago
HOW MUCH: Multi-day passes range from $70?-?75; Individual shows range from $12?-?$25
THE SCOOP: For their fifth anniversary, Chicago’s Riot Fest decided to go big. Sure, they’d been putting on the event for three days at a time, but why not bump it up to five and book some of finest punk bands the world has ever seen? We’re talking legends, people: NOFX. Screeching Weasel. Cock Sparrer. Not to mention reunion sets from Murder City Devils, Wax, 88 Fingers Louie and our personal faves, the Dead Milkmen. Five-day passes sold out instantly for this multi-venue shindig, but individual tickets remain, as well as reasonably priced multi-day passes for the Congress Theatre and Metro shows. We’ll most assuredly see you in the pit!
YOU BETTER NOT MISS: The Dead Milkmen, the Aggrolites, Teenage Bottlerocket
THE FEST 8
WHO: Samiam, Less Than Jake, Dillinger Four, 7Seconds, Youth Brigade plus at least 200 more
WHEN: Oct. 30?-?Nov. 1 in Gainesville, FL
HOW MUCH: Three-day passes are $60 in advance and $80 the weekend of
THE SCOOP: As the name implies, this is the eighth year running for the venerable Florida beard-punk fest, spread out among roughly a dozen clubs in downtown Gainesville, South By Southwest style (only without industry scum clogging up the lines). While we always love seeing perennial headliners Dillinger Four and Less Than Jake, what really makes the Fest fun is catching the up-and-comers in tiny clubs they’ll soon outgrow. Seriously, the Gaslight Anthem’s set in 2007 is the stuff of legend. See tomorrow’s AP cover stars today at the Fest 8!
YOU BETTER NOT MISS: Polar Bear Club, Shook Ones, the Ghost
EPITAPH PRESENTS:
EVERY TIME I DIE &
BRING ME THE HORIZON
WITH: Oh Sleeper, Architects (UK)
WHEN: Sept.8?-?Oct. 11
THE SCOOP: This tour is a beast, with co-headliners and labelmates Every Time I Die and Bring Me The Horizon guaranteed to be trying to one-up each other’s performance every night. (And if you’ve seen either band before, you know that’s a pretty hard thing to do.) It’s strange to think of ETID not being the heaviest band on the bill, but one listen to BMTH’s Suicide Season (getting a deluxe-edition reissue this fall) shows they’re not just a bunch of haircuts–these English blokes can bring it. If there is a better heavy-music tour hitting North America this fall, we’ve yet to be made aware of it.
THE AP TOUR FALL BALL
WHO: The Academy Is…, Mayday Parade, Set Your Goals, the Secret Handshake, You Me At Six
WHEN: Sept. 24?-?Nov. 14
THE SCOOP: Okay, maybe this is a conflict of interest–after all, this is our tour. But we’re just so dang excited about the first-ever Fall Ball that we wanna let the whole world know! While dressing up isn’t required, there will be nightly contests where the best-looking guy and gal will win some sweet prizes, including getting to watch a band from backstage. Get yourselves dolled up and then throw yourselves in the pit already! We wanna see some prom-dress crowd surfing.
THE BRIDGE NINE TOUR
WHO: Strike Anywhere, Polar Bear Club, Crime In Stereo, Ruiner
WHEN: Oct. 2?-?Nov. 1
THE SCOOP: Bridge Nine Records hasn’t just been leading the hardcore-label pack with their most recent batch of stellar signings; they’re downright lapping it. To celebrate the wealth of talent on their ever-growing roster, the Boston-based label is sending out what we humbly think of as their four best acts to spread the gospel, running the gamut from political punk (Strike Anywhere) to post-hardcore (Polar Bear Club). We assure you that getting your B9 shot won’t be painful–well, unless you wander too close to the edge of the pit and get an elbow to the face.