The ninth Warped Tour, a celebration of punk rock, skateboards, and BMX racing, takes a pleasantly nostalgic angle on the long-running, successful summer tour, gathering memories, quotes, and reflections by artists and management alike. Still, it's the music that counts, including the epic leanings of Sum 41's "Over My Head," the catchy rage of Rancid's "Journey to the End of the East Bay," and the Celtic mania of Dropkick Murphys' "Black Velvet Band." Elsewhere, Less Than Jake's nutty horn section on "Ghosts of You and Me," Andrew W.K.'s overbearing and irresistible silliness on "We Want Fun," and Poison the Well's thrash-punk drama on "Botchla" prove galvanizing. Several acts look and sound like rebels in search of a clue, but for the most part the bands on Vans Warped Tour 2003 are musically, as well as socially, compelling.
