OAKLAND, Calif. — Wear sunscreen, Baz Luhrmann advises in a recent

pop hit. If you're going to the Vans Warped Tour, you might also consider bringing

money and comfortable shoes.

On Sunday, the fifth edition of the sprawling summer punk (and now hip-hop, too) tour

brought 12 headlining acts, including Eminem, Blink-182, Suicidal Tendencies, Ice-T

and the Vandals, and a few dozen up-and-comers and local bands to six stages in the

parking lot of the Oakland Coliseum.

The mostly teenage audience roamed the hot shadeless asphalt of the lot as if at a mall,

pausing at the different stages, merchandise booths and food booths only as long as

they remained entertained. In addition to punk and rap music, they were faced with

everything from yo-yo demonstrations to Internet hookups to Planned Parenthood

information to autograph sessions with various artists.

"I guess I'm here for Less Than Jake ... and Eminem," said Ian Appelgren, who'd come

from Mendocino to celebrate his 11th birthday. He made his big brother, Lookout!

Records CEO Chris Appelgren, escort him.

The younger Appelgren squinted in the sun and consulted his show program as though

it were a menu. "And Blink-182," he continued. "And maybe Pennywise." The elder

Appelgren, whose label has released albums by Green Day, the Mr. T Experience and

Pansy Division, shifted on his feet and sighed quietly.

Although the larger names drew the big crowds, many chose to head for the smaller

stages.

"You can't see anything up there [on the main stages]; you can barely hear anything,"

said Jeffrey Colvin, 15, who'd bribed his older sister to drive him and his friends the 90

miles from San Jose.

"All I could see were these legs flying around," Colvin said, referring to crowd surfers.

The side stages allowed for clearer sound and an opportunity to actually get a look at the

musicians. Southern California's Zebrahead combined a rapper, Ali Tabatabee, with a

traditional punk sound for a unique mix that seemed to impress the crowd. East Coast

punkers the Bouncing Souls played a loud, jumping set to an appreciative, flailing

audience.

"The smaller stage gives us a chance to interact with the kids," said Jason Kendall,

frontman for the Amazing Crowns, a Rhode Island rock band. "You can actually toss the

mic out for someone to sing with you, and they will. You can see people's faces; you can

hear them singing along. We played the main stage yesterday [in San Bernardino], and

that was cool too, but ... actually getting to watch people who've never seen you before

starting to get into it ... that's what I like."

Kids wandered up as the Amazing Crowns swung into their peculiar brand of greasy

rock 'n' roll mixed with a healthy dose of rockabilly and punk. By the beginning of the

second song, the 200 or so kids seemed won over and were dancing enthusiastically.

While other side-stage bands paced like wannabe gangsters and told dirty jokes

whenever possible, the Amazing Crowns offered a traditional performance. Kendall took

requests, encouraged dancers, had people sing along and executed splits and flying

karate kicks.

By the time the biggest names made it to the two main stages, the crowd seemed

sunburned and exhausted. Rapper Eminem played to a huge number of dazed teens,

many of whom could see nothing onstage except a massive inflatable mummy. Crowd

surfers, plastic cups and tennis shoes sailed through the air as teenagers waited for

Eminem to play his major hit "My Name Is" (RealAudio excerpt), which he

inevitably did.

Pop-punk trio Blink-182 started on an adjacent stage immediately after Eminem, and the

crowd shuffled about 100 feet to the left to watch. As with the other headliners' sets,

many fans seemed to be waiting for one song — in Blink-182's case, the current hit

"What's My Age Again?" (RealAudio excerpt), which

contains the lines "We started making out/ And she took off my pants/ But then I turned on

the TV." The rest of their songs, heavy bouncing stompers with plenty of profanity and

lyrics about sex, seemed to be in keeping with much of the other mainstage material.

"It was pretty awesome," a tired, sunburned Colvin said at the end of the day. Loaded

down with free handouts from the booths and an Amazing Crowns T-shirt, he was

looking for his sister by the front gates.

"I'm beat," he said. "I saw so much new stuff, I'm not sure I can remember it all ... but I'll

try!"

SonicNet is the exclusive online presenter of the Vans Warped Tour '99 and the

designer of its official website (www.warpedtour.com).