Live Reviews: Warped Tour 2015 Highlights
Vans Warped Tour is an annual one day festival that packs up at night, drives to a new location and sets up every morning, covering over 40 dates in the United States (and Canada) during the summer months. It celebrates genres from pop-punk to hardcore as well as the alternative lifestyle of tattoos, skateboarding, and punk fashion. 2015 is no exception to the punk rock summer camp fun, rolling in with some of the best new (and old) bands decked out in their ‘Choonimal ©’ gear for this year’s zoo theme – the main stages rightfully dubbed Shark stage and Unicorn stage.
Senses Fail
That one time Buddy from Senses Fail was skipping around the stage in New Jersey.
Decked out in a matching floral two-piece, frontman Buddy Neilson never stops the energy during Senses Fail’s set. Be it using the microphone chord as his personal jump rope, pretending to surf and swim on the edge of the stage, or skipping back and forth while singing, the punk veteran keeps up the act from beginning to end. Using an air horn to ‘awake’ the already super alert crowd, he times the blasts to the melody before doing a handstand and walking on his hands. The band plays their classic hits such as ‘Buried a Lie’ and ‘Calling All Cars’ as well as a few heavier songs off their newest album Pull The Thorns From Your Heart. Neilson also makes several statements in support of the LGBT community for which he strongly cares. Though one of the classic older bands on tour, they put on one of the most entertaining shows.
SilverTooth
That one time Beartooth teamed up with Silverstein to create the epic partnership ‘Silvertooth’ in Pennsylvania.
In what is to be the most epic partnership of Warped history, post-hardcore bands Beartooth and Silverstein unite to form Silvertooth (because that sounds better than Bearstein). The two bands join one another onstage with their equipment topped off with a pink lawn flamingo. They enter as “contestants” to the tune of The Price is Right, coming out two by two waving to the crowd before taking turns out-‘hard-coring’ one another. If that wasn’t great or confusing enough Beartooth wore Silverstein shirts and Silverstein wore Beartooth shirts. “If you didn’t make the drive out to Scranton today then you missed it. This was a one time deal,” Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo states. Beartooth play their most popular hits off their debut Disgusting while Silverstein keeps it amped up with their heavier tunes including ‘Vices’ and ‘Milestone’. While the opposite band is playing, the waiting band comes on and messes with them – carrying them around on shoulders and filming in their faces with a GoPro. As their hour-long Silvertooth set comes to an end, the bands come on stage together to play a fantastic heavy cover of Blitzkrieg Bop.
Pierce the Veil
That one time Pierce the Veil filled the sky with confetti (multiple times) in New Jersey.
The Mexicore heroes begin their set with a literal bang setting off a display of confetti cannons and steam blowers during their newest single ‘The Divine Zero’. If a band were to win for set design, Pierce the Veil would take it hands down – the new school green monster clawing its way through the backdrop and gripping fake speakers. Though it’s upsetting that their guitarist Tony Perry is still absent due to injury the band keeps the energy high, his replacement Jesse Barrera fitting in well. Pierce the Veil also play ‘Yeah Boy and Doll Face’ from their first record to which frontman Vic Fuentes remarks that the crowd probably hasn’t even heard of their debut A Flair For the Dramatic. Among their songs they play ‘Caraphernelia’ and ’Bulls in the Bronx’ before finishing out with more confetti and the hard-hitting ‘King For a Day’.
Never Shout Never
That one time Christofer Drew of Never Shout Never bummed a cigarette off an audience member in New Jersey.
Once the heartthrob of the YouTube world with just his ‘uke’ and his voice, little ol’ Christofer Drew has grown up bringing his acoustic songs to a full band setting. The shoes off/hippie vibe seems a bit misplaced among the other bands playing main stage on Warped with their shredding guitars and screaming but the laid back band seems content with their simple sing-alongs. A giant black cat with three eyes and rainbows dominates the stage, the band’s newest album cover making up the backdrop. Bumming a cigarette off a member of the audience (to which many packs were thrown forward), Drew begins with the notable ‘I Love You Five’ one of his most simple, almost childish tunes while his cigarette rests smoking on the neck of his guitar. He pulls out his harmonica for ‘Piggy Bank’ and then the classic ukulele is used for ‘Trouble’. A vibrant rendition of White Stripes ‘Seven Nation Army’ brings crowd excitement before the band pulls out a new one, ‘Hey! We Okay’, off their latest album Black Cat.
PVRIS
That one time Lynn Gunn of PVRIS totally dominated main stage with womanly power in New Jersey.
If being one of the most popular breakthrough bands of the year wasn’t enough, female fronted PVRIS dominates main stage drawing a huge crowd from the masses. They play hits from their debut record White Noise including ‘Fire’, ‘St. Patrick’, ‘My House’, and ‘Holy’ among others. Vocalist Lynn Gunn alternates between guitar playing and only vocals while coming forward on the stage leaning over the screaming crowd below that sing her lyrics back at her. The mass reverberation and echoes of the rock band transfer well to the live setting and songs are almost spot-on to the recorded versions. Though the band doesn’t pause to make any speeches between songs, Gunn hypes the crowd while singing, calling out for them to get pumped up.
Man Overboard
That one time Man Overboard defended pop-punk (again) in their home state of New Jersey.
In true pop-punk fashion Man Overboard comes out on stage launching right into one of their most popular hits ‘Dead End Dreams’. Vocalists Zac Eisenstein and Nik Bruzzese lead their crowd of underdogs, alternating between lyrics and pumping up the energy. Man Overboard nerdy fashion shines through in Eisenstein outfit, his flashy blue sunglasses, baggy shorts and striped knee high socks showing off their independent flair. The band plays tunes from their newest album Heavy Love including single ‘She’s In Pictures’ and the catchy ‘Borderline’, before finishing out with classics ‘Montrose’ and ‘Rare’.
Metro Station
That one time Miley Cyrus’s brother wanted to make his band Metro Station more than a one hit wonder in New Jersey.
Though many think that pop-punk outfit Metro Station was never anything more than a one hit wonder from their 2007 single ‘Shake It’, the band is attempting to make a comeback with their new record ‘Savior’. Their record may have a fitting title seeing as the band still pulls a fairly large crowd after the long hiatus. The frontmen consist of Miley Cyrus’s older brother Trace Cyrus and Mason Musso, whose younger sibling was also apart of the Hannah Montana TV show fame. Their dance party type vibe gets the crowd dancing during classics ‘Control’ and ‘Kelsey’ as well as new songs ‘Love & War’ and ‘She Likes Girls’. Cyrus thanks the crowd over and over for staying true to the band after all these years and states that Metro Station is apparently here to stay for good. Though the band has been dealing with many ‘haters’, Cyrus brushes them off despite altercations and rumors of personal clashes with other artists. They of course finish their set out with ‘Shake It’, much of the crowd seemingly waiting for it to be played.
The Wonder Years
That one time Soupy of The Wonder Years called out Attila in Maryland.
Pop-punk veterans The Wonder Years have been continuously closing out the night for Warped Tour. Being that the Maryland date is super fun but super messy from the morning rain, the pit in front of main stage is a muddy mess. As someone in the crowd throws a handful of mud onto the stage during the band’s set, frontman Dan ‘Soupy’ Campbell calls the patron out. “My friends have to clean that up and I’m going to assume it wasn’t one of you who threw it,” he bellows. “I’m going to assume it was a loose Attila fan that didn’t suck enough fucks – leave the homophobic bullshit over there. It’s muddy and bullshit but I’m going to give you all I’ve fucking got.” And that they did including ‘Don’t let Me Cave In’, ‘Passing Through a Screen Door’ and ‘Came Out Swinging’ ending the night on a high note with high energy.
