Warped Tour

Celebrating its 15th anniversary this summer, the Warped Tour returns to the First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre (I-80 and Harlem in Tinley Park) for a long Saturday of punk rock, power pop, ska, hardcore, hip-hop, and more. As usual the lineup is heavy on bands that owe a debt of influence to the early-90s Epitaph and Fat Wreck Chords rosters, and the presence of a few dyed-in-the-wool old-timers—Bad Religion, TSOL, the Exploited—will make flavor-of-the-month crunkcore kids like Brokencyde, Attack Attack!, and 3OH!3 look even more laughable than they already do. It’s probably demographically impossible for a single person to like all 52 bands appearing on the Warped Tour’s seven stages; at the Chicago stop, anthem junkies the Bouncing Souls and hard-driving Minneapolis rapper P.O.S ought to provide much-needed respites from the onslaught of regurgitated mall punk. Set order is determined the day of the show; doors open at 11 AM and the music starts at noon. Admission is $40, $34.25 in advance through livenation.com. Concertgoers bringing a donation of food or clothing can skip the entrance lines, and on July 29 and 30 ticketholders over 18 can secure a VIP pass by donating blood at a location listed at musicsaveslives.org. For more info call 877-598-8703 or visit warpedtour.com. —Kevin Warwick