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Underoath took the Hurley stage at 4:50 and had the crowd entranced within seconds.

UNDEROATH

It wasn't a main-stage show, but the surrounding area was packed to capacity by fans eager to take in Underoath’s blistering mix of screaming intensity and sugary-sweet melodies. Their set kicked off with “It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door,” complete with the haunting I’m drowning in my sleep bridge provided by the voices of the crowd. The guys ripped through a half-hour set of songs from They’re Only Chasing Safety, with vocalist Spencer Chamberlain’s screams and drummer Aaron Gillespie’s singing creating a fascinating interplay in a live setting. Perhaps the standout feature of their performance was the constant energy of keyboardist Chris Dudley. When not supplying keyboard lines or electronic samples, Dudley spent his time inciting the crowd with endless jumping, head banging, and hand motions. On a tour where the “f-bomb” was par for the course for many bands, Spencer Chamberlain’s declaration near the end of Underoath’s set came as a breath of fresh air. “We do everything we do because of Jesus Christ,” he said, “We don’t say that to get a cheer, or to make anyone mad, but because it’s who we are and what we believe. If you don’t believe it, that’s ok” Their set closed with “Young and Aspiring” and a toss of Gillespie’s drumsticks to a satisfied audience.

EMERY
Emery must be doing a different theme for each venue or perhaps they were just celebrating the San Antonio Spurs’ win. At any rate, all six members were decked out in basketball gear. All wore jerseys of some sort and a plastic miniature basketball hoop was placed on the stage during their set. They played quite a few of their new songs but ended with the ever-popular “Walls.” The crowd seemed to really be getting into the set, and although they were assigned to the smaller Smartpunk stage, their following was abundant.

MxPx

MXPX played one of main stages, and had a huge, packed crowd. Their set started with some superhero accomaniment music, and Yuri, Tom, Mike, and surprise fourth member, Seth, on additional guitar. They played several hits, sounded enthused to be playing in Texas, and Mike's between-songs banter was loose and entertaining. The crowd responded to well-known songs like "responsibility." It seemed odd, seeing Seth up there giving MXPX a two guitar sound that it doesnt seem to need. Definitely a Warped Tour highlight, but I had to play "club-hopper" and go catch as much of Underoath as I could.

THE NAOS PROJECT
San Antonio’s own Naos Project played a spirited set to a small crowd at the Ernie Ball stage. Vocalist Ernest Isaac’s scream sounded shrill and crisp in a live setting, and the rhythm section pounded through Naos Project’s short but impacting set, which closed with “This City Never Sleeps” off of the band’s new album of the same name.

STUTTERFLY
Stutterfly played to a moderate size crowd with a melodic and polished sound. The band showed a marked improvement from their last record, Broken in Pieces....

THE BIBLE STUDY
When watching The Naos Project, we ran across this sign on one of the trailers:

It was a breath of fresh air in a venue filled with foul language and scantily-clad girls. We decided to take a look-see.

After all sets were over, we hassled our way past security tighter than an airport’s and met up with about 40 other believers. (I presume.) The passage of study was James 2:1-13, talking about staying away from favoritism. It was amazing to see such participation and sincerity from so many people. It was almost as if their hearts had been aching for this Christian fellowship and the verses were discussed in a context of reality and actual life application. After the discussion, we divided into smaller groups, answering two questions:

1.) What do you need prayer for?
2.) Who have you been witnessing to that needs prayer?
We prayed in groups for a while and then we closed in prayer. The perfect ending to a perfect day in San Antonio, Texas.

Photos by Taylor Pool and Frances Schoonveld.
Review by Tim Hallila and Frances Schoonveld.

©2005 HM Magazine - All Rights Reserved

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