June 29th, 2010
Sunday June 27th was Warped Tour in
While waiting for the first bands that I actually wanted to see, I stumbled upon numerous artists that I can almost guarantee will be much more visible in the scene in the coming months. One of those bands was ‘The Rocket Summer.’ While I have to admit that I had heard of The Rocket Summer before, I had never really listened to their music. But, I was pleasantly surprised at how the lead, Bryce Avery and the crowd responded to one another. Bryce never failed to keep the positive energy at a surprising high.
Next was one of my favorite live bands- Motion City Soundtrack. Needless to say for fans of the band- they were pure genius. From the second they started to the very last note of the last song, they pulled the audience in and never let go. Singer and guitarist Justin Pierre translated his already witty, clever lyrics into an even more exciting performance. Jesse Johnson displayed the most outstanding and physically demanding keyboard-skills I have ever seen. There were definitely numerous times when I outwardly exuded my fantastic surprise at Jesse’s flips and jumps.
Andrew Wk is an enigma. He is someone that we’ve all heard of, but are never lucky enough to see. I however, was. I look-up to Andrew WK as a person, no doubt, so even seeing him in the flesh was exhilarating. The white ensemble and all, he was in a word- intense.
I was lucky enough to catch the end of We the King’s set as well. Lead singer and guitarist Travis Clark is obviously adored by hoards of screaming co-eds. But, he handles it with much grace and is exceedingly humble about the screams. Throughout the set, Travis declares how lucky he is to be where he is and how much he loves his fans. Although it seems like such a simple concept, it is so rare to find a band that continually thanks the people that allowed them to achieve the level of success that a band like We the Kings reached. Demi Lovato made a guest appearance and sang their new song “Heaven Can Wait.” Regardless of the fact that Demi forgot some of the words, the performance was magical, in the sense that you could clearly see people stop and look at the scene of the insanely large crowd, a superb band, and a Disney channel star come together for the same reason- the music, and THAT is what Warped Tour is all about.
Next was one of the bands that I was most excited to see- Alkaline Trio. I had been listening to Alkaline Trio since I was about 12, but stopped for a few years. At age 18, finally seeing them live, front-row, was a definite treat. Before the band even came out, there heir was already established. On some of the amps was “Free the West Memphis Three,” fans of the bands are sure to recognize the band’s obvious outspokenness. Vocalist and guitarist Matt Skiba sounded superb, as did vocalist and bassist Dan Andriano. Drummer Derek Grant was outstanding. One of my favorite parts of their set was a young girl behind me singing her little heart out. For the entire 45 minute set, she screamed every word. Much like the scene at We the Kings, THAT was what Warped Tour was about.
Next was a band I had, again, heard of but had never listened to their music- Bring Me the Horizon. From the second they came out- I was in awe. I can easily say that they were the best band I had seen that day. Right as the band came onto the stage, guitarist Jona Weinhofen and vocalist Oliver Sykes jumped directly into the crowd. I was lucky enough to be in the spot that Jona jumped into, and held him up on the barricade for almost the entire first song. The crowd went wild. Hundreds of BMTH fans ran to get a chance to touch their beloved Oli’s hand, to get a closer glimpse as he screamed into the crowd. There was not a second during their set that was not filled with the highest possible level of energy. Mid-way through the set, bassist Matt Kean climbed onto the towering speakers, bass in hand, and jumped off. The crowd was also putting out an extreme amount of energy- from a wall of death, to intense pits, to the classic crowd-surfer, no one wasn’t having fun. The level of camaraderie was almost en emotional-experience. A crowd surfer kicked me in the head pretty hard, as he fell over the barricade, he expressed his sincere condolences for nailing me in the head. Five or ten minutes later, I feel a tap on my shoulder, I turn around and it’s the same guy that kicked me in the head, he wanted to make sure I was okay. It’s bands with fans like that that give me faith in music, and the people that listen to it.
Finally, it was time for 3OH!3, this was going to be my 7th time seeing them, so I was already established as a fan. But, they really let me down. The first few times I saw them, they were spectacular. They jumped directly into the crowd, had hilarious choreographed dancing, and were just overall- amazing. But, their performance was nothing more than lackluster this time, it was the standard, nothing special. Apart from the performance of ‘House Party’ with Andrew WK, but it was Andrew WK that made that spectacular- not 3OH!3.
Overall, this year’s Warped was a success. I found new bands, re-ignited my love of others, and was able to see the genuine love and care for music that each fan there felt. No other experience can compare to Warped, and I will continue to attend as long as it is put on, which I hope is a very, very long time.
(All photos taken by me, please do not use without my permission)
