The day started out warm and muggy, just like any other day of July in CT. Thunder storms had been lingering in the forecast for the past week, along with the fear of The Vans Warped Tour would be rained out. A little rain the crews could handle, lightening; however, was an entirely different story. The metal stage set ups flooded with hundreds of wires plugged into generators and soundboards made the perfect lightening rods.
The thought of being rained on quickly faded during the half-mile walk up the long road from where you parked your car to the actual Vans Warped Tour. As I got closer to the festival grounds, my heart thudded with excitement and nervousness as the time grew closer of finally being able to cover Warped Tour. I had been attending Warped for a few years now so I new what I was walking into; however, I had never been able to photograph Warped, so I had a few things to learn. I got into the grounds about 20 min before the rest of the GA kids so I took the time to scope out the grounds, see where all the stages were (although, Warped Tour tends to follow the same general layout), and of course, check out the set times.
I had made mental note of the top acts I definitely had to cover (Yellowcard, New Found Glory, Sum 41, Tonight Alive, Set It Off, Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, Pvris). Those were the “must photograph”, everyone else became a sweet bonus. Checking out the set times, I filled in the open spots with other bands I wanted to cover plus a few I hadn’t been able to see live yet.
While mapping out the sets I noticed that I would be spending most of my day between the two main stages, Journey Left Foot & Journey Right Foot. I figured I’d start my day off by covering The Maine’s set at 11:20 on the Journey Right Foot stage. I noticed that I See Stars were playing the Poseidon stage at 11:30. Since I’m in the photo pit for about 6-10 min, I thought I’d try to run across the festival grounds to cover I See Stars as soon as the first 3 songs of The Maine were over (a rookie mistake I, thankfully, made early and only made once).
**The thing to remember about Warped Tour, whether you are press or just attending it as a fan of music, you have to pace yourself and give yourself time to rest. Some fans are out waiting for the gates to open as early as 7am and most don’t leave until after the last set (which usually wraps up close to 9pm). That is a lot of time out in the hot sun, packed tightly, arm to arm with fellow music lovers. **
The Maine killed it while rocking some straight legged, baby blue trousers and white button downs. Going from a pop crowd to a post hardcore crowd was quite a dramatic change for me but I See Stars was phenomenal nonetheless.
Throughout the day I caught the sets of Four Year Strong, Sleeping With Sirens, Set It Off and Mayday Parade, who all rocked it for huge crowds. Less Than Jake and Reel Big Fish are staples for the Warped Tour, and definitely bands you have to check out if you haven’t already. Both bands have been around longer than the Vans Warped Tour itself. Because of this, these bands are like the “father bands” on tour. And what would a “father band” be without a couple of dad jokes & dad dance moves, both of which there were plenty of during both of their sets.
While the day was in full swing and the heat was taking it toll on us all, storm clouds moved in fast. Thankfully, the rain only lasted a few minutes; just enough time for it to cool us all off. The rain ended just in time for Sum 41 to start their set. I’ve never seen Sum 41 live, but I’m so glad I finally got the opportunity. Sum 41 are pop-punk legends and that day they showed us why they are so great.
New Found Glory was an obvious set for me see. I’ve been seeing these guys for years and each time is more incredible than the last. Yellowcard was another must, especially since this will be the band’s last Warped Tour before they embark on their final world tour. With the departure of LP, Yellowcard has had an array of different drummers fill in the role; this time around it was Cyrus of New Found Glory (a very fine choice if I do say so myself). While my heart breaks at the news of their end, my mind understands & supports the reasoning. I will forever cherish the things this band has gotten me through, and the many friendships that have come from Yellowcard shows.
Tonight Alive had to be on my list of “must sees”. This band has gone from the Kevin Says Stage (now known as the Full Sail Stage ☹) to playing one of main stages. Jenna is still one of the strongest female fronts (one of the strongest lead singers period). Her vocals and crowd work are incredible. The crowd just about lost their minds when lead singer, and another fantastic female front, Lynn of Pvris came out to sing along side Jenna during the song “Lonely Girl”.
Pvris wasn’t originally scheduled to appear on Warped but they had a break in their schedule, which allowed them to hop on the tour for a day; lucky for Pvris fans that day was the Hartford date. Fans and photographers packed in tight to see the marvel that is Pvris. They are certainly a band that has gained a huge amount of success in such a short amount of time, and after finally seeing them live, I can see why.
**Side Note** It kind of sucks that Warped Tour changed the name of the Kevin Says Stage. That stage has housed some of the most well known acts within the music industry, including My Chemical Romance & Avenged Sevenfold. The Kevin Says Stage was a special stage because it meant that those on that stage were up and coming artists (usually unsigned) that had caught the attention of Warped founder, Kevin Lyman.
I had a break in my day that allowed me to catch an act I wasn’t planning on covering, but so glad I did, The Word Alive. Their energy is so intense that it’s impossible not to move during their set.
After photographing a few more “bigger acts” I had another gap in my schedule and I had the option to either walk 10 feet to shoot Issues or cross the lot for another band. At this point in the day I had been outside in the sun (and brief rain) for hours and heat had taken its toll on me; so much so that I couldn’t even reapply sunscreen to my burnt face because it stung too badly…yea, my sunburn had sunburn. Because the heat exhaustion was starting to set in, I chose the shorter walk, and honestly I’m not mad about it in the slightest. Issues is another band that started out on the Kevin Says Stage and has made waves since their first Warped Tour. Their overall theme for the tour was Pokémon. Their intro music before they hit the stage were theme songs from popular shows of the 90s/00s; including Rugrats and Doug. When they came out to the roaring crowd they covered the Pokémon theme song, to which the entire crowd sang along (I even saw a few security guards singing along).
I ended my night with a band that seemingly everyone has been talking about and who just recently signed to Victory Records, Broadside. Broadside was named in the top 100 bands to watch by Alternative Press in 2015 and are showing everyone at Warped why. This band definitely had the biggest crowd out of all the other acts on the Full Sail stage. Big things are going to happen with this band and we are so excited to see them unfold.
By the end of the day, my face and shoulders were burnt, my ears were ringing, my hair was crunchy, I had sweat and dirt in place I didn’t know you could get sweat and dirt, my wrist was all fucked up, my hand is forever in the “camera holding” position, my feet hurt, my knees were locked, my traps were stiff, and I had so much dirt in my nose I’d be sneezing mud for the next 3 days. Overall? 10/10 would recommend going to warped tour.
Vans Warped Tour is the one of the most important tours of the year as it brings together groups of fans that might never interact otherwise. It exposes people to new genres of music they may not have ever heard of. It gives unknown (and even known) artists the chance to reach new people that would have never have bought a ticket to their concert. Vans Warped Tour embraces diversity and welcomes music fans of all ages. It encourages parents to give their kids music a chance with allowing parents to enter for free [so long as their child has a ticket]. The Vans Warped Tour helps provide a safe place for people of all different backgrounds to come together for one day and share an experience. Though there have been “hic-ups” here and there [i.e. the Front Porch Step scandal & this year’s Prolife tent], Warped continues to be a work in progress. If you’ve never experienced Warped Tour I highly encourage you to do so. It’s a day of adventures just remember to stay hydrated, reapply sunscreen, take a few breaks throughout your day, and (most importantly) experience new music and have fun.
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