Once again, I return to you from the mosh pits of some of today's finest punk bands, moderately unscathed. I shall run through the highlights in chronological order. Noone I knew was starting off, so I went to the nearest stage and heard Hawthorne Heights, who were quite good. Next up was Mest, who played a fun set as always. They threw in a few fun little touches such as medleying Rancid's "Time Bomb" into Mest's own single "Cadillac." Unfotunately, I missed Relient K, who I'd been looking forward to seeing, but they switched the stages around partway through the day so I ended up at the wrong stage. After that, I swung by to see Dropkick Murphys, who played a bunch of classics, like "The Gauntlet" and "Barroom Heroes," as well as a rewrite of "Fields of Athenry" they had put together for a G.I. who died in Iraq. At this point, I took a break to get some food and wander through the merch tents, and it was there that I saw a familiar face.

As you might recall, two years ago I went to an exciting show at Nevin's Live at which I had beer spat down my front and champagne sprayed into my eyes. Duggan (the man with the champagne) and his band the Lost City Angels were playing the Warped Tour. I said hi and after a moment of shocked recognition, we caught up, talked about the past couple years, and he advised me to check out a band I hadn't heard of before, called Gogol Bordello. I took his advice, and with a parting promise to be at his set, made my way to Gogol Bordello's stage. They were still setting up when I arrived, so I sat through the second half of Skindred's show on the next stage over. It was a unique sound, a kind of metallic reggae with a sequencer underneath. But when Gogol Bordello took the stage, the word "unique" took on a whole different meaning. The band refer to themselves as a "Gypsy punk cabaret," and that's the closest description I can come up with. I really don't know how to describe the set. All I can say is, if they're passing through near you, be sure and see them. It's a one-of-a-kind performance. After Gogol Bordello finished up, I went and saw The Transplants, A group of modern-day punk rock legends: Tim Armstrong, "Skinhead Rob" Aston, and Travis Barker. The Transplants made way for The Offspring, who were just plain fun. They played a good mix of old and new, keeping the crowd singing along and jumping all over the place. For the last song ("Self-Esteem"), Dexter Holland pulled a fire hose on stage and doused the crowd in time to one of Atom Willard's drum solos. Almost spent, I made my way through the crowds to my final show: my old pals the Lost City Angels. They came out with a vengeance and turned my "almost spent" into a "just getting started." Their energy and powerful hooks kept my fist pumping and head banging up to the very last note. At last, exhausted, bedraggled, and sore, I made my way home, to a shower and bed. All in all, a day very well spent.