Warped Tour Chicago, IL 07.28.07

2007 marks the fifth anniversary of my attendance at the Vans Warped Tour.  It's weird to think that I still get excited about going to the same summer concert that I did when I was only 15, but ever since my first time, I have been hooked.  Warped is more than just a tour, I really think that it is growing more and more to represent a large subculture of our younger generation.  After spending a week on the tour last year with one of my best friends and a record label that we were interning with, I fell even more in love with it.  And after going this past Saturday, I thought to myself "why didn't I try to work the whole tour this summer?"  As an added bonus that you get to listen to countless bands playing fun music, it really is just a bunch of mostly 20-something year old kids hanging out and having a good time.  Why wouldn't I want to be a part of it?  Kevin Lyman, if you happen to read this, I'd really love to work for you next summer after I get my degree.  Anyway...

Me and my friend Caitie on stage during Bayside

Upon arrival at Warped, we realized how hot it was going to be.  It shouldn't have been a surprise considering it's hot at Warped every year, but the weather had been mistaken saying no more than 75 all day, and we didn't think the sun was really out... until we got there.  But almost routinely, everyone seems to ignore the sweltering weather because, well, the show must go on.  The first band that we got to see beat the heat was one of upstate New York's additions to the ever growing popular Fueled By Ramen roster, Cute is What We Aim For.  It was my first time seeing them, and I was completely happy with their live performance.  Songs sounded almost dead on to their recorded quality, and I'm pretty sure every song (all of which I love) had the entire crowd singing and jumping around.  Lead singer Shaant Hacikyan, along with the rest of the band, held an energetic stage presence the whole set, plus, drummer Tom Falcone added some class to the stage with his Burberry clad drumset.  And don't worry boys, I definitely think you got the cute part down.

 

The next band to blow Warped-goers out of the water were Chicago's own longtime punkers Alkaline Trio.  Due to their extreme popularity in their hometown, security would only allow a certain few photographers in the photo pit at once so it didn't get out of control.  I told the security guard, "I only need one song!  I will get out of the way right after!"  Fortunately, she let me in for the third one, and it was definitely more than worth it to squeeze my way in between the mass of professional photographers.  I don't think the Trio would disappoint anyone in a live show.  They are just awesome, and everyone knows and respects that.  They played as much a variety of both old and new as they could in the 30 minute set, my favorite being "Mercy Me."  I think their fans really appreciated Matt Skiba and the crew going back to their roots to play a tour where many bands with their success usually started off their career.

After seeing a couple bands on the main stages, we headed over to the smaller scale Ernie Ball stage.  Just because a band isn't playing on a main stage at Warped doesn't mean they're not awesome, for example, Philly favorites Valencia drew quite a crowd to Ernie Ball.  Their set consisted of songs from their album This Could be a Possibility which all had fans singing along.

Boys Like Girls was next on my list of must-see bands, and they were playing at the Hurley stage which was actually set up in the ampitheatre and out of the sun.  With their newest single's video on MTV bringing them a lot of hype, I figured they would have a huge crowd, and they did.  Their live show made up for them seeming to blow up out of nowhere.  Lead singer/guitarist Martin Johnson had plenty of energy on stage and even when he jumped out into the crowd on the barricade.  He has the perfect stage presence for a frontman.

A longtime favorite of mine, Bayside, actually won the "Who do you want to play ten minutes longer?" Warped contest for Chicago.  As a matter of fact,  they have always been pretty big in Chicago.  I have seen them a number of times and have never been disappointed.  They are a band that plays with emotion and brings that emotion and energy to the crowd.

Although they weren't playing on this day of the tour, an awesome band that I talked to and bought their CD was Parade The Day.  Since getting home from Warped, I have had these boys on repeat on my iTunes.  I didn't get to see or take pictures of every band I wanted to... I rocked out to the end of Chiodos, crowd surfed during Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, and watched Amber Pacific from afar, but I'm sure that every band there put on a good show.  At the end of the day, although tired and hot, I was sad that Warped was over.  If I don't make it to Indy Warped next week, I will definitely be looking forward to next year's.

Comments

[Jeanne]

Kate, your blogs always rock! Your coverage is so reflective of your love for the bands you're there to hear and see. Happy to read you did some crowd surfing. What would your day at Warped be without it! Your photos were great! I especially love the ones of Boys Like Girls Martin Johnson. Great job! Oh yeah, with your personality, Warped could only benefit from having you along as any part of their crew.

[Piz]

You love the music girl! But for real...the photos you take are ridiculous! Taking pictures and truly capturing the moment of each band member should be your part time job. The pic with you smiling and throwing up the peace sign really shows your true emotions when you are in the presence of your favorite bands - pure bliss! Much love from Vancouver!

[tiffany silver]

When I was in my late teens a friend of mine, an elite athlete, gave me the most profound yet simple advice that changed the way I would view myself forever. He told me "You yourself have to think you're great because no one else is going to tell you that you are."