Being a virgin to the Vans Warped Tour my expectations were high. I’ve known from previous years that it is one of the most anticipated shows to come to southern California. This years Warped Tour was held at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California. Which is home of the LA Galaxy soccer team, but let me tell you, this was the farthest thing from a soccer field. The grounds were jam packed with seven stages; some stages were set up right besides each other, but set times prevented any overlapping of the tremendous sounds that filled the air.

I wasn’t expecting the concert grounds to be so small, but I felt as though it was a genius move by the coordinators. With seven stages, all holding major talent, it was easy to watch Face to Face’s set, and arrive just in time to see the Angry Samoans across the field, without having to run and dodge the crowd. The grounds were also filled with interactive tents, (not the kind of interaction that involved you, your wallet, and a overpriced T-shirt) the Yamaha tent featured a full sized drum set, and were giving out a free drum lesson to anyone who had the balls to show how uncoordinated they were shamelessly in front of a crowd. But to be honest, my favorite thing about Van’s sponsoring the Warped Tour was the quarter pipe entertainment. I was awestruck when I saw how older skaters were put to shame when kids no more than 4 years old were whipping out 180-melons and 360’s- on boards that were twice their size! They also held a skate contest, which I got to catch the beginning of, before heading off to see a tantalizing performance from Alkaline Trio. 

Talents ranged from Street Sweeper Social Club, Attack Attack!, Hey Monday, All-American Rejects, The Casualties, Sum 41, and Mike Posner- if that’s not a odd mix of music, then I don’t know what is. (I didn’t know Mike Posner was anything close to rock, but hey, I had a blast at his catchy, top 40 performance of “Cooler than Me”) Although Vans Warped Tour was the OG punk festival back in its start in 95’ it has turned into a place for all rock genres, pushing punk rock legends to only just one stage. I was their mostly for the punk rock classics like The Adolescents, Fear, and GBH who had the intensity to actually hype me up enough to move me into the mosh pit- mind you, I WAS WEARING SANDALS!

As the big named bands caught my interest, it was the up and coming bands that kept my head bobbing attention for most of the day. It was nice change to see so many new bands such as; Were In The Crowd, Automatic Love Letter, and VersaEmerge being lead by female singers, giving us an energy that can only come from the power that is estrogen. The festival lasted from 11 AM to 10 PM and the long day in the scorching sun left me sun burnt and haggard, sweaty and mildly bruised from the pit. I can say my first trip to Vans Warped Tour will definitely not be my last. And aside from a dude passing out in the middle of a hardcore dance pit during Dillinger Escape Plan, the day went on with out fault.

Let just make it more punk rock next time eh?