Congratulations are in order for four local bands, culled from the never-ending rotation of emo, screamo, hardcore, Christcore, metalcore, toastercore bands that frequent The Door and similarly teen-targeted venues about town. In Fair Verona, Scenes and Sirens, Red Car Wire and Enjoy The Fall have all been chosen to play the Ernie Ball stage at this year's Warped Tour stop at the Smirnoff Music Center on July 14.
Would I dare write about these fortunate packs of merry, tight-panting boys without listening to their music? Of course not. I know you're pumped about seeing the Red Crying About Girls Apparatus and New Found Parents Just Don't Understand at Warped, and you're going to want to know what to do in the terrifying, lonely spaces between their sets. But you don't want to walk alllllllllll the way to Grapevine or wherever the Ernie Ball Stage probably is only to find out you don't dig the tunes. So here's a primer:
In Fair Verona (Arlington): These boys love the Jesus and write melodic pop-punk in the manner of Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Whats-it.
Scenes and Sirens (Colleyville): Pretty much the same as In Fair Verona, but the vocalist seems to have a particular affinity for the stylings of Chris Carrabba.
Red Car Wire (Denton): Pretty much the same as In Fair Verona and Scenes and Sirens, except they're channeling a little more MxPx.
Enjoy the Fall (Bedford): The stand-out of the four, they do some decent shredding and growling for a decidedly more hardcore-like-it's-1999-and-we-wanna-open-for-Zao-and-Travail feel.
But let's face it: No matter which stage you pick at Smirnoff when Warped comes through town, you're going to hear the same thing -- the delicious, dulcet tones of angst. Might as well make them local, right? --Andrea Grimes
