This weekend, Warped Tour makes its triumphant return for its 30th anniversary with its first stop in Washington, D.C., and we sent promo teamer Nick Polis down to check it out!
Nick's Thoughts
The first thing I have to say about the return of Warped Tour is that I forgot what it was like baking in a hot parking lot. The weather on day one was hot with a side of humidity, making the early sets almost as painful as they were fun. I even had to take a moment to find somewhere to cool off to avoid my day ending early. But that's just the weather, and also my only complaint of the whole day.
Every band I saw, even just glimpses of, absolutely ripped. Even when I was trying to hide from nature, I could still hear some pretty good bands in the background. You could also tell that the bands knew that this was something special, something bigger than "just another Warped Tour".
Many of the bands took a moment to emphasize that they are just as happy to be back. Bands like August Burns Red and Ice Nine Kills did it in more subtle ways, using the return as a way to call for the crowd to wake up, with Spencer notably saying, "I want mosh pits, I want crowdsurfers, I want Warped Tour." Others openly thanked founder Kevin Lyman and Insomniac's Amanda for helping bring it back.
The actual performances were some of the best I've seen from these bands. From Drain tearing apart the Beatbox stage and dedicating their set to their drummer, who was home dealing with cancer treatment, to Jason Aalon Butler of Fever 333 and Letlive. putting himself through a garbage can and climbing a speaker tower, to We Came As Romans ending the night on a heavy note.
I also got the chance to stroll through the vendor village, and I might as well have been back at the PNC Bank Arts Center. The number of brands and sponsors I haven't even thought about since the final days in Atlantic City that all came flooding back to me. To Write Love On Her Arms and the festival mainstays F*** Cancer were obvious musts for Warped Tour, and it was a nice surprise to see Glamour Kills make its return too. Of course, other charities and sponsors were newcomers, including Disney's Phineas and Ferb, who had a whole elaborate set-up and the bittersweet addition of The Kyle Pavone Foundation.
All in all, Warped Tour is back, and it's bigger than ever. For those thinking that Warped Tour being like this, with six massive stages and an acoustic stage, with the smallest pair being about the size of the old main stages as Big Ass Truck I.E. pointed out, is not Warped Tour, I have news for you. It's Warped Tour down to its bones, and thanks to all of the blood, sweat, and tears put into making it this comeback, it really feels like a Warped Tour.
More information about the Vans Warped Tour can be found at vanswarpedtour.com.
Want to stay up to date on the Vans Warped Tour in D.C. this year? Click HERE to see more of Team DHA's Nick Polis' coverage of the festival!
