My very first Vans Warped Tour was in 2006. A few months ago, I started hearing rumors about a festival happening out in California that would consist of bands that played Warped Tour in the 90s, particularly 1997. I started thinking about how different the 1997 lineup would be compared to the 2006 lineup I experienced. While, I've seen some of the bands that played It's Not Dead Fest, it was cool to be able to see bands I had not seen before.
My IND Fest experience started off with Strung Out on the main stage. I was introduced to the punk band when I picked up the 2005 Warped Tour compilation album. Seeing Strung Out for the first time was quite the experience as there was a lot of moshing and circle pits. The fun would not stop with them as the crowd's energy continued when Reel Big Fish proceeded after Strung Out. The main stage at IND had a rotating stage, which meant that bands would consistently perform throughout the day. It was my first time seeing Reel Big Fish as well and they kind of made me regret not giving the trumpet a try when I was in middle school. The ska band delivered a performance that had many people jumping, both adults and children. Following the Huntington Beach natives, was Pittsburgh punk rockers, Anti-Flag.
No matter where or when, Anti-Flag always puts on a fun show. They started the set off with a Donald Trump pinata hanging from a mic stand and immediately proceeded to throw it into the crowd. Once the band started playing, the momentum picked up and the circle pits and crowd surfing resumed. After Anti-Flag played, I decided to take a break from the main stage and went to the Ernie Ball Stage to check out The Interrupters. This was my second time seeing them and they did not disappoint. Vocalist Aimee Interrupter, reminds me of Brody Dalle's (The Distillers) vocals. The front woman and company got the crowd hyped up as soon as they took the stage. Immediately following their set, I made my way back to the main stage to catch Less Than Jake. The moshing and circle pits that were going on throughout the day continued on during LTJ's set. The ska band even gave The World Famous KROQ a shout out, whom was partially responsible for some of the success the band attained in the 90s. With all these bands performing as if it was Warped Tour 1997, those in attendance were only getting warmed up as The Bouncing Souls took the stage following Less Than Jake.
The Bouncing Souls seemed ecstatic about performing, but the pop punk band suffered technical difficulties as the crowd was unable to hear the vocals for the first couple of songs. Once that issue was fixed, things picked up. The interaction that frontman, Greg Anttonito, had with the crowd, was one of the most interactive sets I witnessed at the festival as it lasted for a good 4 songs or so. Following their energetic set was punk vets, The Vandals. I have to admit that I do not own one Vandals song. At all. So going into their set, I didn't know what to expect. One thing is for sure that the circle pits got ten times more intense as the dust became visible in the air. It seems that the crowd was showing no sign of exhaustion as they sang along to The Vandals. Once they wrapped up their set. Lagwagon would take the stage. It seemed like the crowd calmed down a bit. By that point, my lungs felt heavy as the heat and dust combined started making me feel sick, but I know I couldn't leave as the 4 headliners were yet to come: Descendents, NOFX, Bad Religion, and Pennywise.
The order of the headliners was determined throughout the day by a spinning wheel. Descendents were the first of the four acts. The punk vets put on a solid set and many fans seemed happy with their song choices as they played "Everything Sux," "Hope," and "I Don't Want To Grow Up." NOFX was the next band up that was determined by the wheel. NOFX is another band that I had never seen before. I can say however that the band is not new to the crowd that they had at the festival. The band was full of jokes throughout the night and fans were no strangers to that. NOFX managed to fit a Rancid cover in their 20 song set as well as a Mark Curry cover. Out of the four headliners, Bad Religion was my most anticipated act. The Los Angeles punk band started their set with "Overture" followed by "Sinister Rouge". They also played fan favorites "21st Century (Digital Boy)," "Infected," and "Sorrow." They ended their set with "American Jesus". At the end of the set, I was pretty satisfied with the song selection.
To wrap up the night, was Pennywise. The band didn't take the stage right away as there were some stage mishaps. Once everything was set, Pennywise started playing and continued on through the night playing fan favorites such as "Fight Till You Die," "F*ck Authority", and "Bro Hymn." They even did awesome covers of Black Flag's "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie" and "Ben E. King's "Stand By Me." With a long day of punk tunes, mosh pits, and crowd surfing, It's Not Dead Fest didn't fail to give me the experience that I missed out in 1997 because I was only 8 years old at the time. Although I suffered from blisters and felt my lungs to be super heavy the next day, I would do it all over again. As rowdy as the crowd may have been during some sets, everyone seemed to have a good time.
Check out full photo sets from It's Not Dead here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jazminlemus/collections/72157659790931770/