yall please peep this vid cause it may have been the highlight of my musical life so far
Ahhh, Warped Tour. The infamous and most-anticipated music tour of every summer for 16(?) years. One of the few places where one could spend a mere ~$40 to hear a bunch of their favorite bands and music artists from midday to sundown. I had the pleasure of attending this festival during 7 different summers. Read on to hear more about my experience at the Vans Warped Tour.
you know i love me some mayday parade
So, the band that started it off for me in 6th grade was Panic! At The Disco. After becoming obsessed with their Fever album and going to my first-ever concert in 2006 featuring them, The Dresden Dolls and The Hush Sound, I became fascinated (obsessed) with the general punk-rock music genre. During the Myspace days, it was easy to discover one band or artist, head to their top 8 and go down the rabbit-hole of other related music groups. From Panic! At The Disco to Mayday Parade to The Maine to Attack! Attack! To Chiodos to nevershoutnever, I quickly became a fan of hearing angsty (mostly white) dudes perform songs about love and other strong emotions. Naturally, when a friend told me about a music tour consisting of many of these groups playing sets all day, I already knew I had to get up in there.
YELLOWCARD
From this context, I was super lucky to have been born and raised in Portland, Oregon because, for most of the summers, Warped Tour always had their Oregon location as their last stop, which means everyone was trying to give away all of their merch and memorabilia’s for free/on the cheap, and the performances were always lit because it was the last-call for the summer. I remember always going home with my drawstring bag full of free goodies ^_^.
no fucks ever for PTV
My typical Warped Tour day consisted of: me getting up early as hell, meeting up with whatever friends that were willing to go with me, getting to the venue to stand in line and enjoy the energy of the other concert-goers, reviewing the big posted schedule and writing the stage locations on my arms or whatever piece of paper, and spending the day running from stage to stage to catch all my favorite acts. Mind you, this event was always outdoors, rain or shine. Luckily, living in Oregon, it never got too hot for me to deal with. In the more dusty locations (like that one time it was in that random parking lot near downtown Portland), you were guaranteed to go home with a nose full of dirt and smelling like absolute ass (well, you were gonna go home smelling like ass no matter where the venue was). I usually hardly ate or drank water throughout the day because I was a) poor, b) too busy running around and c) high on life I guess? Somehow, I always managed to make it home safe and sound to enjoy the post-show buzz.
spending warped tour in DFW, Texas
Throughout the day, artists would do pop up meet-and-greets, acoustic sets, or just walk around the festival grounds selling merch or CDs. There were plenty of opportunities to run into some of my favorite musicians and get pictures, ask questions or just fan-girl out. Oftentimes, artists would just hang out behind the stage of where they had just performed, and these backstage areas were only walled off with a flimsy chain-link fence, so it was easy to interact with them before/after their sets as well. This was probably my favorite part about Warped Tour – imo, it was a pretty intimate experience that took away a lot of the mystery behind putting on a show, and being able to interact with the artists made them seem more human and relatable, especially to 14-year-old me who saw them as celestial.
this was at my very first warped tour! it's alex from all time low and me looking desperate af at 13
So my very first Warped Tour in 2007 was at the Columbia Meadows. I was in 7th grade and went with a couple friends from school. We had a sleepover at one of their houses so we would all be ready to go early the next morning. It was such a fuckin blast. I remember meeting Audrey Kitching (peep the pics!), she seemed nice. I also met band members from All Time Low (they were cool, peep the pics). I was also in the pit for Boys Like Girls and was so lucky to have caught a drumstick that they threw out at the end of their set (after I lowkey wrestled with another girl for it). I still have that drumstick to this day. That first Tour totally pulled me into that music scene. I knew I had to make it a tradition to attend every summer that it was in my area, so long as I could scramble a few bucks for a ticket and a ride.
you know the show was good when there's bras on stage
Here are some other highlights from my times at Warped Tour:
-The time when The Maine pulled me up on stage to sing Girls Do What They Want in 2009 (peep the pic and video!!! It was lit). My old friend and I had waited through multiple acts so that we could be front row center for their set. We sat through Escape The Fate, which was fine overall, except people were going hard as fuck and I was super used to being in a violent pit like that. A girl with blue hair next to me was sweating like hell and getting hair dye all over me. A random dude confused my friend for his girlfriend and made out with her neck. People were just doing too much, but we made it through to see The Maine up close. I must have been doing too much in the crowd during their set because they pointed me out specifically and allowed me up to the stage to finish out their last song with them. You guys, no freaking wonder people want to become famous musicians because the feeling of being in front of a crowd and having them enjoy your art that much is super euphoric. After the song, I was able to get pics with them and they gifted me with a free band tee. I still have the tee to this day. <3
homies from the maine and my skinny ass
-When I went in 2011 (I think?) with my sister and totally ditched her to watch Attack! Attack! And mess around in the pit. At the time, I had the ending of their song Lonely as my ringtone so I had to hear it live. The set was good overall from what I remember. Unfortunately, a crowdsurfer, with his shoes in his hands, came by me and swung his arms/shoes right into my face. I got a bloody nose and had to leave the crowd for the medical tent. It’s amazing how a mosh pit will part like the Red Sea when someone has an injury and needs to leave. The medical tent ppl did not seem happy to have to treat me, and I was super not happy cause I missed my favorite song which they of course played at the end. Oh well, hopefully I’ll be able to see them again and hear that track.
anyone else still listening to put up or shut up in 2023? no? just me? ok
-When I saw Paramore at that very first Warped Tour in 2007. The crowd was bangin and they killed their set. They had just released Riot! (my favorite album by them by far) and played all the bangers on there. You can only imagine how dumb the crowd went when they ended their set with Born for This.
-When I saw Gym Class Heroes front-row. There at the time, there weren’t many non-white artists on the lineups so that set was special for me. Travie Mccoy was lit.
-Seeing Katy Perry. I think this was in 2007 as well. She looked drunk/high as fuck lol. Hearing I Kissed A Girl live was cool.
was anyone else trying to be a trashy life skinny scene girl model like audrey? no? just me? ok
My final Warped Tour in 2016 was in DFW, Texas with a few of my old friends. It was SO DAMN HOT. That’s all I really have to say about that lol. So yeah, Warped Tour was amazing and I really feel for the folk who didn’t get a chance to attend for whatever reason. It was definitely one of the highlights of my adolescent years. If you’d like to connect or meet up at a show, hit me up on instagram @bunnygoestoshows c:
scroll on to see more original shots from the tour! bet you can't guess the bands lol ♥
