A warped view

Prompted by RS

My hair was tucked up into a baseball cap as I pulled the car into Josh's driveway. He laughed as he settled into the passenger seat and playfully reached for the hat.

"No!"

"You played."

"Maybe."

"You played."

Tom started cackling from the backseat. "Yeah, she did."

"Shut up. Maybe." I pulled the hat farther down onto my head, but a wisp of hair slid from beneath the cap and onto my ear. Josh's eyes widened as he noted the auburn color.

"YOU PLAYED!" He leaned over to wrestle the hat from my head. I fought him off for a moment before leaning against the window. "Fine. I played." I pulled the hat off, and my hair, Angela Chase Red, fell to my chin.

"Nice!" Josh said. I grinned. I liked my first real foray into temporary hair color - I'd just wanted to be a pain. I knew the hat wouldn't stay on for any of the trip to Northampton.

It was a long drive peppered with the driving poppy punk and swing we were expecting to hear live in a few hours. The three of us laughed as I drove, and Tom tried to conceal the pure giddiness he was overwhelmed with. Josh and I would enjoy the show, but Tom was the poster child for Warped Tour. He'd been counting down the days for well over a month.

I'd never been to a festival before, I'd never seen punk bands perform before and I'd never been on a roadtrip with Josh before. This was the summer that skewed so much, but also the first in a series of musical ventures with this core group of revelers. Tom would run off to obsess over his bands, Josh and I would begin to complicate a friendship. It was just how it worked.

This was '98, the third or fourth year of the festival, back when the Massachusetts stop was on the western side of the state. The lineup included a multitude of bands I no longer remember, as well as NOFX, Bad Religion, The Deftones, Rancid and - the band I most wanted to see - Cherry Poppin' Daddies. As we approached the fairgrounds, Josh reminded me of my promise to try crowdsurfing. I reminded him that I less promised as agreed so as to prevent him from throwing me into the sink at work - again.

It was hot and Tom immediately went for the free Yoohoo being offered. We then walked around the space, took in the stage locations and discovered, much to my delight, the tent area. Sublime videos played on big-screen tvs set up before inflatable chairs and couches. And there was AIR CONDITIONING.

I wound up spending a chunk of time there, relaxing, talking and discovering how many directions in which inflatable furniture can topple.

But the festival was fun. Hot, with bright sunshine falling onto dusty, baked dirt surfaces. The crowds, predominantely male, pulsed toward the respective stage at the start of each set, and I often found myself swept forward with them. Josh made sure to keep a steady hand on my back each time.

I was feeling confident enough to try crowdsurfing by the time CPD took the stage. Why I thought it made sense to crowdsurf at ska continues to puzzle me, but I received the boost from Josh and Tom, went up, looked onto the crowd below me -

And fell to the gravel ground. Josh tried to bite back his laughter as he watched me brush pebbles off my legs, but my laughter made it clear I was fine and worthy of teasing.

I didn't try crowdsurfing again for a year, until I knew some of the 250,000 gathered at that particular festival would catch me.

I sang along to "Ruby Soho" at the top of my lungs and pushed back away from the NOFX mosh pit Josh and Tom threw themselves into. I listened to head-bopping ska and harder thrash punk than I'd ever heard. Red rivulets of water ran onto my shoulders during a quick storm, but I wasn't nearly as badly off as the girl with the formerly hot pink bob nearby.

By the time we collapsed into the car for the trip back, Tom was nearly passed out in the backseat, in overwhelmed awe. "We're coming back next year, right?" he murmured as I steered the car back onto the Interstate.

Josh and I were trying to play things off like normal. No need to read between any lines. Right? But, that said...

He looked over at me and smiled. "You were pretty tough out there today. I saw you pushing people."

"Only to make sure they didn't squish me."

"It was good to see you fight back a bit."

I grinned. Yeah. We were definitely coming back next year.