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Thursday, August 3, 2017

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com ARTS

Columbia Records

Tyler, the Creator awkwardly gazing 

really sick. Especially — I don’t 

know if it’s more this year than 
other years — I mean there’s a lot 
of bands that played Warped Tour 
like 15 years ago on this year, and 
more like long time punk bands 
— like Suicide Machines from 
(Detroit).”

Hardy hits the nail on the head 

with his observation about the 
lineup. But he also recognizes 
that Warped isn’t without its 
hardships. From hauling gear 
and merchandise to and from 
the site each day to surviving the 
heat through consecutive dates, 
Warped requires a ton of manual 
labor to pull off each day.

Despite these downsides — as 

Harding refers to Warped as a 
“bootcamp for bands” — he also 
believes that bands are able to 
improve as musicians on Warped. 
With consistent sound technicians 
for all the stages, Warped is 
certainly a far cry from the 
unpredictability of the club shows 
that the band is used to.

“Here, you have the same sound 

guy — there’s one guy for monitors 
and one guy for front of house. It’s 
the same people every day so they 
get you dialed in. You have the 
same mix every day. You get to be 
able to play better because it’s good 
practice when you can actually 
hear yourself and everything,” 
Harding explained.

Beyond all else, Harding most 

strongly 
recognizes 
the 
fan 

exposure new bands receive from 
playing Warped Tour.

“I mean every band, or a lot of 

bands, will say something at some 
point in the set and be like ‘How 
many people are seeing us for the 
first time?’ and it’s at least like 
two-thirds of the people every 
time. That’s so good for all those 
bands. Yeah, Warped Tour is tight. 
We like it,” he concluded.

Hardy mentions to no surprise 

that Boston Manor, Dance Gavin 
Dance and Municipal Waste as 
some of his favorite bands to 
watch on the tour, finally alluding 
to everyone’s favorite Warped 
Tour guilty pleasure:

“Attila is sick. It’s like Limp 

Bizkit, too. I loved Limp Bizkit. It 
was like one of the first bands that 
I loved. It’s just the same mentality 
that I loved about Limp Bizkit,” 
he said. “It’s so funny walking by 
(Attila’s) sets carrying something 
when you hear the shit he’s saying, 
going back and forth with the 

audience like ‘Suck my fuck!’ I 
envy him. That’d be so much fun.”

You can catch Microwave’s 

exciting modern punk rock on 
Warped’s Skullcandy stage.

Boston Manor
Pop punk can be a fickle 

genre — it’s incredibly hard to 
stand out amongst the seemingly 
endless stream of pop punk 
bands hopping on Warped Tour. 
Yet, with their debut album Be 
Nothing., the UK’s Boston Manor 
have effectively raised themselves 
above the rest with their stellar 
songwriting imagery and deft 
pacing 
of 
tone. 
Truthfully, 

breakout single “Laika” was one 
of the best punk bangers of 2016. 
Continuing to ride the momentum 
of the debut album, Boston Manor 
are experiencing popularity at 
Warped on par with the likes of 
Knocked Loose. Guitarist Mike 
Cunniff told me that their sets 
have been full of fans both old 
and new, and that their set earlier 
in the day didn’t disappoint.

“It was great man, yeah. It was 

pretty packed out. We had already 
been to Detroit before with Moose 
Blood and Trophy Eyes, so I think 
some of those fans came back to 
see us again — a lot of new fans 
as well. There was a lot of energy 
today so it was awesome,” he said.

We also discussed the pros 

and 
cons 
of 
Warped 
tour 

compared to the last few US 
tours Boston Manor has done. 
In exchange for catered meals, 
bands have less mobility to 
explore the areas they play on 
Warped due to the nature of the 
festival.

“It’s so different. Sometimes 

it doesn’t even really feel like 
you’re in the US sometimes... 
there’s a lot less time to explore 
because everywhere is sort of 
out in the sticks so you kind 
of gotta Uber if you want to go 
anywhere,” he said. “And we 
had a lot of fun touring the first 
two times we came here, and we 
got to see — a bunch of us had 
never been to the states before 
— so we got to see a bunch of 
really cool things like the Grand 
Canyon. And you stay at people’s 
houses as well, so you feel like 
you integrate a lot more into the 
country ‘cause I feel like that’s 
the best way to do it is to meet 
people, stay with people and 
share experiences. There’s a lot 
less of that.”

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

‘Ballers’ continues the 
party-comedy trope

When 
HBO 
fan 
favorite 

“Entourage” rode into the sunset 
in 2011, the network was left 
with a void in its “party-comedy” 
programming. No, party-comedy 
isn’t an actual type of show, but 
I’m coining the term to describe 
a series that centers its comedy 
around its obscene parties, so mark 
it down.

HBO tried, and failed, to fill this 

vacancy through an “Entourage” 
movie spin-off four years later, but 
it was another show that premiered 
that same summer — “Ballers” 
— that ultimately picked up the 
mantle from “Entourage.”

Throughout its first season, 

“Ballers” firmly established itself 
as a quality party-comedy, giving 
us an exciting glimpse into the 
sex-drugs-booze lifestyle of NFL 
players in Miami. Led by Dwayne 
“The Rock” Johnson (“Fast & 
Furious 6”), Anderson Financial 
Management more than embraced 
a work-hard-play-hard mentality. 
Never taking itself too seriously, 
“Ballers” had a strong first season 
that 
kept 
audiences 
engaged. 

However, the second season saw 
the series ratchet up its intensity 
through a drawn-out mentor-
protégé rivalry between Johnson 
and 
Andy 
Garcia 
(“Ocean’s 

Eleven”). Rather than returning to 
its roots, “Ballers”’s latest season 
doubles down on its rapidly-
expanding storyline and, while 

enjoyable, overextends itself at 
times.

For “Ballers,” most of the trouble 

it has encountered as a show is in 
trying to sell Johnson’s character 
as a shrewd businessman, despite 
the fact that it goes entirely 
against his background that the 
series established in season one. 
In its first season, “Ballers” made 
a point of emphasizing Johnson’s 
continued 
financial 
troubles 

that leave him on the brink of 
bankruptcy. The show went out 
of its way to present Johnson’s 
struggles 
to 
convince 
both 

colleagues and players he is capable 
with money.

After laying out this specific 

foundation 
for 
Johnson, 

“Ballers” 
proceeded 
to 
tear 

it down in season two, and 
continues to do so in season three 
at its own peril. While it’s typical 
for comedies to have characters 
that fluctuate frequently, these 
changes are always done in a 
way that doesn’t contradict a 
character’s essential quality or 
identity. “Ballers” makes this 
very mistake in the season three 
premiere, as Johnson attends 
a 
dinner 
hosted 
by 
casino 

magnate Wayne Hastings (Steve 
Guttenberg, “Police Academy”) 
and manages to woo him as a 
business partner. While it’s true 
that Johnson has improved his 
business acumen, it’s hard to 
believe he’s refined it enough to 
convince a financial mogul to 
partner with him, considering 

Johnson is the same person who, 
although broke himself, gave a 
$300,000 loan to another player.

If audiences can overcome its 

somewhat stretched storyline, 
“Ballers” rewards them with 
a wildly entertaining series. 
As a party-comedy, the series 
has 
consistently 
excelled 
at 

keeping viewers engaged and 
excited 
by 
focusing 
on 
its 

characters’ 
lifestyles 
rather 

than only their careers. From 
the supercharged Maclarens to the 
gorgeous yachts, “Ballers” revels 
in depicting the very best toys that 
Miami’s superstar athletes enjoy. 
Season three is no different, with 
its premiere featuring a few 
shots of Ricky Jerret’s (John 
David 
Washington, 
“Coco”) 

candy-apple red Ferrari roaring 
through the city.

Outside of its entertainment 

value, “Ballers” provides audiences 
with an effective number of 
hilarious scenes. Rob Corddry 
(“Hot 
Tub 
Time 
Machine”) 

continues 
to 
be 
the 
ideal 

complement to Johnson’s straight 
man, and, when paired, they 
dominate the screen with their 
chemistry. At dinner with Hastings 
and Johnson, Corddry takes the 
entire table by shock by toasting to 
living in a country “where a man 
is presumed innocent until he is 
proven guilty.” Corddry’s brash, 
childish personality continues to 
crack up viewers, and the hope is 
that “Ballers” can keep doing the 
same.

CONNOR GRADY

Daily Arts Editor

WARPED
From Page 1

TV REVIEW

