Warped Tour 2016 Festival • Page 56

Perfectly fine, thanks!

 

Wh

So me then lol

 

Sorry meant to say with. There were hardcore dancers hitting people

 

I feel that with me going to two dates for the first time, I needed to write a review about both. There were a lot of differences between the two, and really helped me make a decision for future Warped visits. If anyone had any questions about the two dates feel free to ask. I hope this review can give some people who have yet to go a preview of what to expect this year.

Tuesday, July 5th - Charlotte, NC

I had a couple friends that went to this date with me so I had some influence in who they saw. Before the tour started, my biggest fear was a Sum 41/Issues conflict with I See Stars and neither happened on either day. The problem with the first day though, is that I had to see 2 of those back to back and be very exhausted almost immediately. The schedule for Charlotte has already been posted but I had a couple annoying conflicts. Examples including I See Stars and Ice Nine Kills, Like Pacific was playing at the same as Issues, Knuckle Puck and The Word Alive had the same times, and Secrets was mashed in between State Champs and Sum 41. I was not a fan of the schedule. Regardless, I found ways to make it work and attempt to enjoy the day knowing I had a second round tomorrow.

The first band was The Color Morale at 1125. I wasn't sure if I would see them either day, so I was happy to open with them. I thought they had a solid performance, and decent crowd reaction for being the first band for many. Their set was a little different.

Suicide;Stigma
Learned Behavior
Walls
Smoke And Mirrors
Prey For Me
Strange Comfort

Next, it was off for I See Stars at 1220. Now, I know many people are very divided on their new album but I really enjoyed it. I thought it was a different style than before, and the band has improved a lot lyrically since 3D. Their set was the same as posted, but for those who don't know, they manage to play their first 4 songs in about 9 minutes by mashing the breakdowns together. It was kind of cool, but only as a one time thing. After them Issues was next at 105. Unfortunately because Charlotte had the main stages in the amphitheater, it was virtually impossible to get into the pit right away. Once I did get in, no one could move for 25 minutes. It was very crowded and very similar to their performance from 2014. Their set was the same both days.

Gotta Catch Em All
Coma
Never Lose Your Flames
Yung & Dum
The Realest
Mad At Myself
Blue Wall
Hooligans

I was pretty exhausted at this point so I tried to stay in the amphitheater a little while before The Word Alive at 225. I chose them over Knuckle Puck as I expected to be able to see KP at Va Beach. Mostly, I tried to see the more popular bands day one, and the smaller ones day two. This worked out for the most part. I really enjoyed TWA's performance. Telle has to have one of the strongest voices for screaming by any live performer. The man must practice screaming until his lungs give out for fun. Good set too considering how weak it was to begin the tour.

Made This Way
Sellout
2012
Entirety
Life Cycles
Trapped

I took another small break and then came back to the same stage for Crown The Empire at 325. I saw these guys about 4 years ago on a tour with I See Stars and didn’t really think they were very good. A friend of mine convinced me I needed to give them a second chance and I di by listening to Zero. I really enjoyed it and started to listen to them again, which ended up being a great decision. Their live show has drastically improved and both vocalists have great chemistry with their stage presence. I loved their stage with the robots and the backdrop logo. Their set was the same both days.

Zero
The Fallout
Hologram
Voices
Makeshift Chemistry
Machines

The only issue with their set for Charlotte was how brutal the heat was during their set as it was at the peak of the day. I went to the amphitheater for State Champs at 405 but honestly just felt like sitting down and resting for Sum 41 at 435. As I stated above, having the main stages in the amphitheater wasn’t something I was a fan of but here it helped. As SC played their last song, the rain began and they had to stop. After a 5 minutes delay they restarted the last song and then Sum 41 went on. About three songs into their set, Kevin Lyman had to come out and stop the performance because there was a drunk idiot on the lawn who wouldn’t come into the amphitheater. It was thundering, so they had to get him under the awning. Eventually Sum 41 started back up. Their set has been wrong many times on setlist.fm, as I had to change it for Charlotte and Va Beach. Below was their concrete set for both days. I think it could have been better, but it was fine for what it was. The pit absolutely lost their mind for Fat Lip.

The Hell Song
Over My Head (Better Off Dead)
Fake My Own Death
Grab The Devil By The Horns And Fuck Him Up The Ass
We’re All To Blame
Still Waiting
In Too Deep
Fat Lip

I made the mistake of moving over to the other side of the pit for The Story So Far at 505. I say a mistake because they just are not a very good live band. I was exhausted from Sum 41, and maybe most of the pit was too, but people just stood around (including myself) and I just overheard a lot of people complaining because there were awkward silences in the middle of songs. Their performance is always lacking some type of energy whenever I see them and I can’t say I am excited to see them again in the future. I didn’t see them in Va Beach but this was their set for Charlotte.

Heavy Gloom
Empty Space
Quicksand
Nerve
All Wrong
Solo
Things I Can’t Change
The Glass
Roam

Since there was a delay, I had a little more time to rest before going back outside for Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! at 620. They were supposed to be on at 550, and I was lucky they didn’t. My friend had my bag during Sum 41 and TSSF so I had to spend 15 minutes trying to find him in the Veil of Maya pit on Monster North. After laughing with him a bit about leaving me hanging, I head over to the Cyclops stage. The Interrupters were playing before CNCC and I thought they were pretty funny. I did hear one of the songs they played on the MLB All-Star Game commercial yesterday. I was really hoping to see CNCC at least one date because they always put on a fun show even if they literally play the same songs every single time. The rain was gone by this point too, but to keep the bands on time, I believe they had to cut a song for time. I remember seeing a very old black male losing his mind in the pit during their set which was a big highlight.

Playing Dead
Taking Chances
The Other Line
All Star
In Friends We Trust

After they were done, I went back to the amphitheater for Yellowcard at 635. Of course, I missed the first couple songs since I waited for CNCC but that was fine with me. I got into the pit while Five Becomes Four was playing. At this point security had become a pain, as they made me go all the way to the other side of the amphitheater to get into the pit. I saw them play their final four songs and left for the day around 7ish. As I was leaving, I went to the Secrets merch tent to get a shirt before I left. They were packing up but I’ve known their merch guy a while as I had a good conversation with him during their headliner back in March. He helped me out by suggesting a shirt so I went with it. I also got a CD with a shirt purchase so I asked for The Ascent since I have their other two full-lengths signed. I really, really like that band and would love to see them get huge but I feel that ship has sailed. I got home and went to bed to wake up around 6 the next morning. I wasn’t really that exhausted, or burned which helped. That being said, I didn’t eat an actual meal during the festival (shoutout to the granola bars someone mentioned) and definitely planned to have a better schedule at the beach.

Wednesday, July 6th - Virginia Beach, VA

So I had to get up an hour earlier to make the drive to the beach but got there in time for the first few bands again. The schedule worked out a lot better for me, but there were some mistakes. The Poseidon/Cyclops stages had bands move back 25 minutes, and one band I thought I would miss got switched with another later in the day. I started with Yellowcard at 1120, so I got to see their whole set. I thought they played a lot better than in Charlotte, and because the main stages weren’t in the amphitheater, there was more room to move around and the crowd reacted a lot better. Great morning set, with the same songs as the day before. I went to Secrets next at 1200, who were in the amphitheater. The setup was much better with Poseidon/Cyclops inside so the smaller bands could be noticed when people are trying to relax. The crowd size for Secrets was okay but I wished it could have been a little bigger. They played a strong set as well, fitting 7 songs in.

The Oath
Ready For Repair
Left Behind
Waste Away
Live Together, Die Alone
Rise Up
Dance Of The Dead

Since my next band wasn’t until The Word Alive at 115, I stayed inside and watched the end of Ballyhoo who were only okay. They seemed like a reggae/beach band and didn’t really fit my style of music but it was nice to listen to while I drank water. Next were The Interrupters where I actually got to see their entire set. They have good stage presence, had a nice crowd for the time of day, and I think could be a big ska band with the right endorsements. Still not really my style of music, but they were fun. I went outside to see The Word Alive again, but they did not play 2012 so only 5 songs. Again, it really bothers me that bands are getting 20-25 minutes sets instead of 30, regardless of weather concerns. I feel like they aren’t given enough time to influence fans who have never seen them before. This goes for all bands though, not just TWA. They are only one example. A good example of an up and coming band though would be Broadside. I saw that they were scheduled at 1150 but were switched to 150. So I chose them over The Story So Far because of how weak TSSF was in Charlotte. Great decision. They played 6 songs and it may have been the hometown crowd atmosphere (they are from Richmond, VA) but they seemed to really enjoy being on stage and performing. I hope to see more from this band in the future. I know there was a rumored Pierce The Veil/Neck Deep tour, if Broadside could open that tour it would do wonders for them.

Storyteller
Come & Go
The Simple Type
Human Machines
Playing In Traffic
Coffee Talk

After this my next band wasn’t until Sum 41 at 320 so I went back to the amphitheater to check out Teenage Bottlerocket. Similarly to The Interrupters, strong stage presence, but their crowd was very weak. Not sure how big they could get. Young Guns played after them and did not impress me at all. Same with Ghost Town who I saw the first couple songs of before heading outside for Sum 41. They would play the same set as Charlotte, which makes me question how much they have actually changed up their set. I thought their performance was also better at the beach like Yellowcard and other bands I saw later in the day on Wednesday. Issues was directly after them at 350 and played the same set as Charlotte. I think they were also better at the beach. I bought the Pokemon shirt and had them sign my copy of Headspace at their signing at 5. Michael seemed kind of worn out, but Tyler showed more enthusiasm even though he also seemed exhausted. Scout and the other two members were more relaxed. I think they enjoy being as huge as they are now but I worry they may be reaching the Sleeping With Sirens/Falling In Reverse path of getting a huge fangirl base that they don’t want to feed into. I also was able to get signings from Secrets and I See Stars after the Issues set. Somehow I made it back to the Monster stage at 435 to see Ice Nine Kills. I wanted to see them at least one of the two days so I was glad it worked out at the beach. This is when the day started to get pretty surreal. They had a great performance for a band I had never seen before, and I could definitely see myself wanting to watch them again. Their last song would be Me, Myself, and Hyde, and for those who know, the lyrics talk about the pouring rain. Literally the moment the singer said “falling apart in the pouring rain” for the opening of the song, it began to rain. Then the breakdown happened and all hell broke loose. That moment gave me goosebumps. The rain would then subside for a bit so I could get signings done. The rest of their set is below.

Communion of the Cursed
The Coffin Is Moving
The Nature Of The Beast
The Plot Sickens
Hell In The Hallways
Me, Myself, and Hyde

So I had the dilemma of wanting to do the Issues signing at 5 and Knuckle Puck was playing at the same time. I didn’t know how long they would sign so I decided to wait in line and then catch the end of KP’s set. I made it time to see Untitled and Pretense before hanging out in the amphitheater for a good while. Since they performed in the amphitheater, I knew I had time to eat and just watch some bands I could give a shot, like earlier in the day. I was able to see most of Too Close To Touch who I think had the smallest crowd of the day next to Teenage Bottlerocket that I saw. My favorite set of the day though by far was Masked Intruder because of how entertaining their set was. So these guys dress up like power rangers in ski masks and then they have a freaking policeman on the stage. This is obviously relevant with everything going wrong right now in the United States so to have this parody was actually hilarious to me. I had no idea what songs they played except If Only but it’s probably pretty close to what has been posted earlier in this thread. During one of the songs, the cop started hitting Green man with a nightstick, then jumped into the pit and started getting the crowd to make a circle pit. He also started running up and down the stairs to get people in the seats to pay attention. Later in the set, he would get back on stage and strip, then get back in the pit. I couldn’t believe what I was watching. All this was going on while they played some pretty sweet tunes. Would recommend to anyone here who hasn’t gone yet to check these guys out. The next band was Assuming We Survive who I also wanted to see but was fine if I couldn’t. They came out to the John Cena theme song and as if I wasn’t laughing enough it began again.

Exit At The Door
Catch 22
Home Is Where The Heart Is
18 Days
Better Without You

I got in the pit a couple songs into their set because I See Stars was up next at 640. I noticed at this point the rain had come back and was dropping very hard. Obviously there would be a delay so after AWS, a member of Live Nation mentioned that everyone should stay inside and that these stages would continue on time. Because of this, I no longer had the conflict of I See Stars vs Crown The Empire, or Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! vs New Found Glory. I was able to watch ISS and CNCC in full, who played the same sets as Charlotte, except that ISS did not play New Demons and CNCC was able to play Haters Gonna Hate as their next to last song for their set. CNCC was done about 730, so I figured Crown The Empire would be going on shortly. I had not seen NFG either day, but really wanted to see CTE again, and I thought that I would be able to see both earlier in the day. So while the delay helped more than it hurt, it still kind of sucked. Crown The Empire went on about 745 and like I said before played the same set the day before. However, with rain tagging in for the heat, there was a mud pit at this point so it was really fun seeing people dance in it. Of course I also tagged along, and the beginning of Zero allowed everyone in the middle to make space and branch out to run around the area. It had to be seen to be described. The breakdown for Makeshift Chemistry might have been my favorite moment of the day next to the INK moment with MM&H. CTW finished at about 815 so with the delay I also assumed my final band of the day would be Like Pacific who was scheduled to play at 750. They must have been able to play when planned, because after CTE they were packing up. So in the two days, I missed Four Year Strong, New Found Glory, and Like Pacific. I caught a couple songs of State Champs who was the final band of the day before heading home.

So going with two dates was of course a lot of fun. I can definitely see myself doing it again in the future, especially if the lineup continues to be loaded. I know this was a lengthy review but I really wanted to write out how I felt about both days and their differences. It’s very clear to me now that Charlotte is just the right date for me, as conflicts always hurt me there and with Warped 2013 in Virginia Beach being my favorite date before this years, I think it is safe to say that location will be my first choice in the future.

 

Tssf closed out journey's right hand today and the crowd surfing was insane. It was literally just one person right after the other nonstop. Never seen anything like it. Curious if anyone can comment on how their set was at other dates?

 

Could never justify skipping a set I wanted to see just to go to a band's meet and greet.

 

I had seen KP before and would rather have missed part of it to meet Issues. I'm not sure when I will get to see them again since their last two tours never came to my area. But I understand where you are coming from. I got no signings on tuesday due to not wanting to miss any sets. Also like I mentioned above, TSSF had a terrible crowd in Charlotte, maybe it was just the time of day or what but it was not fun.

 

Definitely second how awesome Masked Intruder is. I caught them at Bled Fest a few years ago and they were a lot of fun.

 

That dude from Waterparks is a funny guy.

 

seriously, why are these interviews formatted like selfies

 

I guess Warped couldn't hire someone to film AND to interview. I think it kind of works for her style though, and she looks like she's having fun.

 

One year in Orlando one of those monk guys woke me up while I was "sleeping" to try to sell me a book. These guys need to leave people alone.

 

Dude it was insane yesterday. Though I saw some people get hurt. In ny it usually like that for tssf. As someone commented above in Charlotte no one was moving and it was awkward. Different market different results.

 

Definitely the time of day. Last time they were at my date two years ago, people were going so crazy that we broke down the barrier. It collapsed and TSSF had to stop their set because security couldn't fix the barrier since everyone was still going hard

 

I honestly hate that about this years pit blogs, makes it looks so awkward.

 

Because it's 2016 unfortunately.

 

I guess this year's TSSF performance in Charlotte reminded me of the time I went to see The Wonder Years back in 2013 and Taking Back Sunday was added to the show as a one off performance. Literally NO ONE cared about TWY and it upset me greatly. Yet a couple years later, same city, different venue, people went crazy.

 

Can't wait for Scranton tomorrow

 

Any chance PVRIS is on the tour next year

 

I've seen two people on Twitter who are at Warped today say something about We The Kings breaking up after Warped. Did they say something today? I'm assuming it's just a BS internet rumor, but wouldn't be surprised either.

 

Watch PVRIS’ Lynn Gunn perform with Tonight Alive at Warped - News - Alternative Press

 

What are the worst performances anyone has seen at Warped before? Mine would be Armor For Sleep in 2006, Hawthorne Heights in 2007 and Senses Fail in 2009. All three bands I love, but they all sounded dreadful.

 

Palisades can literally be summed up to "*bass drum repeated over and over again* GET UP! GET UP! GET UP!" I guess it just really wasn't my cup of tea though.

 

I forgot about having to sit through Cobra Starship in 2008 while waiting for MCS. That was by far the worst "performance" I've ever seen at Warped.