25 YEARS OF WARPED!!
The Vans Warped Tour has been a massive celebration of music for 25 Years already. It has given birth to many different artists and musical groups, including well-known acts like Eminem, My Chemical Romance, Avenged Sevenfold, Coheed & Cambria, Dropkick Murphys, Green Day, Face to Face, Deftones, Parkway Drive among others. It is a place where fans can let loose, mosh, and party like there is not a care in the world. It’s such a shame that the festival is coming to a close, with 2018 being the final year the tour went out on the road. But this 25th Anniversary Celebration set out to pull off one last dance for fans all across the East Coast in Atlantic City. This lineup featured some of the most popular bands in modern day music like Blink-182, A Day to Remember, The Offspring, Bad Religion, 311, Atreyu, Circa Survive, The Story So Far, Wage War, CKY, and much more. Warped’s 25th Anniversary brought the best of everything that the tour had to offer, and they didn’t want fans to feel like the tour went out with a small whimper.
There were four stages all set up across the sandy beach in Atlantic City, including The Full Sail Stage, Blackcraft Stage, The Monster Energy Stage, and of course The Vans “Off the Wall” Stage. While the number of stages is much smaller than previous touring years, as soon as the gates opened at noon on each day, fans poured to all stages to see their favorite bands. Maybe they stopped by to take a look at which of their favorite bands was selling merch early, or they took a look around to explore the different attractions at the Warped Tour set up. These included the return of the Skateboarding halfpipe, a human cannonball, and the small Warped Tour museum which chronicled the best portions of the entire throughout its career. Plus, this was actually on the beach, so attendees were free to go swim in the water and relax on the sand. Whether you were passing time to wait for your favorite bands or you just wanted to soak in the sun near the water at the beach, there was much to offer in addition to the music itself.
The first day of Warped Tour was rocky, but overall a great success for fans. Midday through Warped, a massive thunderstorm poured through the city. With that, the show was put on hold until it was safe enough to go back on the beach. Many bands also seemed to have problems but they still managed to go through their sets as best as they could. Varials couldn’t get past two songs without their electronics messing up on the first day, but thankfully the band was given a second chance to play on the second day. Good Charlotte had problems getting started, but after all was fixed up they managed to continue on despite the small delay. With 311, there was an issue where one of the microphones wasn’t plugged in and the band still played either way. Despite the mic issue, 311 managed to continue on through their set even though some of the vocals weren’t audible at all.
The first day’s lineup of bands had Bad Religion rocking out the main stage with their eccentric flair of punk. Hearing classics like “Supersonic” and “Them and Us” really got the crowd to stay excited. Andrew W.K. was wowing audiences with his insane stage presence, keyboard skills, and a multitude of musicians playing some great hard rock. Andrew W.K. really got the crowd amped up, especially when he played his hit single “Party Hard”. CKY played on the Monster Energy stage, and they had a tightly crafted mosh pit that really amped their fans up, ending with their massive hit, “96 Quite Bitter Beings.” Up-and-coming metalcore act Wage War played on the Monster Energy Stage. Their presence showed no mercy as they kept fans moshing to incredibly heavy songs. Massive breakdowns echoed throughout the area. A Day to Remember closed out the first night and the expectations were off the wall. This was my first time seeing the band and I was blown away. They are by far one of the most energetic metal bands I’ve ever seen. Fans were headbanging and moshing like there was no end. They have mastered the craft of taking happy pop-punk and giving it a metalcore assault. This is something that other bands fail at, but ADTR does it perfectly. Hits like “The Downfall of Us All” and “All Signs Point to Lauderdale” prove that point. No wonder why so many fans have been holding out for their return to Warped Tour. Day one overall was a great time and it had plenty of bands that really kept the spirit of Warped alive.
Day Two is where Warped Tour brought out the next heavy hitters. Atreyu opened up on main stage and really managed to warm up the crowd for all the fun that would come forth as they wowed the crowd with their insane riffs and fun stage presence. Anti-Flag’s no-hold-barred punk rock assault on the main stage got people amped up very early in the day and it left the impression that Warped was really gonna get the ball rolling that day. Circa Survive’s very chilled out post-hardcore vibes made the crowd feel the emotion and enjoy the wonderful sounds that they provided. The Used’s post-hardcore sounds were fascinating, high energy, and incredible. They wanted to really get the energy going at the Main Stage and the succeeded in that. Taking Back Sunday kept the pop-punk madness that Warped Tour is known for and made it into something that fans would never forget. The Offspring is the number one band to me that defines what Warped Tour is all about. Extremely fast paced punk riffs, fantastic hits like “All I Want”, “Self Esteem” and “The Kids Aren’t All Right,” and a very chaotic set provided all the fun that was needed for Warped Tour. Blink-182 was the ending band for the second night and the best part was we got to hear the landmark pop-punk album “Enema of the State” played in full. This was such a sick way to end Warped Tour in Atlantic City and left such a fantastic impression on many of the fans who came out. Plus, bonus hits like “The Rock Show” and “Dammit” were all included to make sure fans got their money’s worth at this Warped Tour.
With no plans to continue on Warped Tour after the next show in California, it seems that Warped Tour has gone out with a final bow for its fans on the East Coast with a fantastic number of bands, great events scattered across the beach, and some of the catchiest music being played live across the New Jersey coast. I’m truly glad I got to witness a fantastic festival like this and I wouldn’t have it any other way. #ForeverWarped.
