Another year came and another year gone, but I cannot help but being left with frustration and anger. No, not about the concert itself, but that I have to wait another year for the Vans Warped Tour to roll back to San Diego. I can give nothing but praise to the amazing job that the tour had put on it is seventeenth consecutive year as a funning festival. As many doubters have been whispering about the tour going downhill, I bear witness that the tour is alive and well and will stay strong going forward in the years to come.
Although as a fan of certain bands, the artist lineup may not always include some of your favorite bands. It will not get Blink-182 to come back every year to play “Rock Show” or Avenged Sevenfold to come and tear up the stage, but this year, I must marvel at what an excellent job they did, from a music genre standpoint, selecting a diverse lineup and creating such a well-rounded tour as a whole, giving the music fan a little dose of everything they need to not only encourage them musically, but seeing where the future lies in music and seeing that it is still strong, still growing, and still something that kids through adults should not let go of.
It is amazing to see you can some someone like Josh86, the lead singer of a small Hawaii ska punk band being able to rub shoulders with people such as Hayley Williams of Paramore and Travis McCo y of Gym Class Heroes. This tour gives people like him the opportunity to play in front of large crowds every day and give his band the best opportunity to get noticed and gain a small following. After traveling around America for two-months straight leaving family and friends behind, sleeping in bussing, 12 hour car rides from state to state, using port-o-potties in over 100 degree weather on hot blacktop parking lots and still playing a set every single day, it gives the little guy a chance to earn their rock star boot camp stripes, as well as can humble top-40 radio acts and multi-platinum artists.
Warped Tour is such wide experience, one cannot help but feel you aren’t getting a little of everything. The choice of seven stages. A chance to see the smaller, new band. A chance to see legends like The Expendables open up the day as the first band to play. A chance to see guys get a second chance, such as the guys from D.R.U.G.S., who all have played Warped, but with other touring acts. For artists to try new things such as Weerd Science, ex-drummer from Coheed and Cambria, testing the waters out in his hip-hop career. Where unsigned bands get the spot to play their local show just for one day as the winner of their local battle of the bands, to the band that earns their way on tour from being the BBQ band and serving food to the 60 or more bands that play every day, just so they can have a thirty-minute set as doors open. There is too much positive to overlook, too much good stuff that is available at a place like this. Hard work, dedication, and determination from bands who want to get their one shot and taking the chance for a make it or break it scenario.
The hard work is not only put in on the front lines with the acts. Kevin Lyman, creator and founder of the Vans Warped Tour and Mayhem Festival, can attest to this personally. The guy does not rest a minute of the day. At 50 years old, the guy is still running around and taking his time out to make all these kids happy that come out to the tour. He listens to countless CDs, countless demos, talking to countless bands every day who just want their one shot. He sits in on many meeting every day on Warped Tour just to plan the next year’s tour. He travels in the bus with these guys for two months, is able to overcome pain in his leg from recent ankle surgery just so he can get a chance to see live music being played and much as many people happy as possible.
This is not all going unnoticed. In the latest projection, according to Lyman, the tour had its first spike in attendance in several years with estimation of 40,000 extra tickets being sold and able to keep it at the same low price of $40 for the day. $40, which gets you freebies from all the sponsor tents, nine hours of straight live music from a variety of bands, and a chance for meet and greats with all the bands on tour that day. Quite a bargain. It is a bargain because Kevin Lyman does it the right way. He is not in it for the money, although by now he probably has quite a bit of it, he does it because he loves music and he wants to keep the love of music in the hearts of so many at an affordable price
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Warped Tour is nowhere near dead, infact, it has a bright future ahead. Do no be surprised if year 20, year 25, even year 30 of this tour rolls around. If it stays true to its core and Warped Tour stays as it is now, there is no telling for the continual growth it will have. As for me, I will see you next year in the pit.
