For the past six or so years, the Vans Warped Tour has been one of the most highly anticipated events of my entire summer. It is one of few events where fans of metal, ska, pop, and even hip-hop can all come together and form a group with a passion for music that is not readily seen in many other places. Although each person attends Warped Tour to see different bands, we are all united there for the same reason; to spend an entire day outside in the blistering heat listening to some of the worlds most talented musicians play their hearts out.
Warped Tour 2011 was one of the best I have ever attended. After enjoying a hearty breakfast of biscuits and groovy at the Cracker Barrel that I am ashamed to be employed by, my partner, Hailey Williams, and I made our way to The First Midwest Bank Amphitheater in Tinley Park, Illinois. It took us a while to figure out exactly where we were supposed to go, but once we figured it out it was all uphill from there. I honestly have no idea how I want to write this article. So this should be interesting for all of us!
Once Hailey and I got our schedules set for the day, we parted ways. We didn’t meet up again until about 3pm when DRUGS was about to take over the Teggart Stage. This was the first performance of
the day that I actually made it a point to stop and listen to and, as usual, I was not disappointed. I always find myself amazed by this band’s uncanny ability to completely control an entire crowd of fans. They have such a natural stage presence that it’s easy to see how passionate they are about what they’re doing. The band opened with one of my personal favorites, “The Only Thing You Talk About”. From the very beginning of their set until the very end, every person in the crowd belted out every last word. I was able to speak briefly with guitarist Matt Good regarding the tour as well as which of the Power Rangers was his favorite.
RFC: How do you feel the set’s have been going thus far?
Matt Good: Super good. Way better than I even thought. I had, not high expectations, but, you know.
RFC: How has the tour in general been?
Matt Good: It’s a dream come true, you know? To get a second chance and actually have it turn out good? That’s really rare. I think that we all feel extremely appreciative and humble and just really gracious. Every day is a blessing. I wake up and I think “Wow, I’m here, I’m doing this again”. It’s weird, in a way. I remember doing all of this like, five years ago and having the same feelings where you‘re like “Woah! Look at this huge crowd we‘re playing!”. To come back and have it happen all over again with the new band it’s almost like, “How is this real?!” It’s amazing.
RFC: How many years have you been on Warped Tour?
Matt Good: This is my 5th Warped Tour.
RFC: Are there any other bands on the tour that you make it a point to stop and watch?
Matt Good: Uhm, no, not specifically. There’s a lot of bands that I’m friends with that are on the tour and if I notice that they’re playing I’ll definitely go watch them. Most of the bands on the tour are bands I’ve toured with. The first day we were here I watched We Came As Romans and I sang with them on their last song. I like to watch Asking Alexandria and Black Veil Brides because they’re all really good friends of mine.
RFC: What is the most interesting thing to happen on tour thus far?
Matt Good: Well, last night, I don’t remember this happening cause everything was fine, and we went out to the bar, and it was fun. Then we got back to the bus and I don’t remember anything that happened on the bus. Apparently, I threw my phone at the ceiling of the bus and it hit me in the face and I have a bump on my forehead now.
RFC: Who was your favorite Power Ranger?
Matt Good: Tommy, the White Ranger. You know why? He makes no sense. He can beat everyone up at once so why even have the other guys there?
RFC: Did you know that he’s an MMA fighter now?
Matt Good: Really?! That’s something I didn’t know. I’m really glad I know that now.
By the way Matt, I forgot to tell you that the dude who played Tommy has also killed a man. I hope you enjoy knowing that as much as I do.
After DRUGS, I’m fairly certain I just went and walked around for a while. Then, it was time for Foxy Shazam. This is one set that I was particularly excited to see. For those of you who have never listened to Foxy Shazam, let’s just say that they’re a bit eccentric, but in a good way. Their set was exactly as I expected it would be; insane. These guys have such an amazing energy when on stage which made the set not only great to listen to, but also entertaining to watch.
Although I completely expected DRUGS to be my favorite set of the day, I was pleasantly surprised when hip-hop artist, Grieves, took the stage. His performance was one of the best I have ever seen, and that’s saying a lot. The sound was perfect and his stage presence was flawless. He had a way of drawing in passers-by with a type of sound that is not readily heard on Vans Warped Tour. Previous to his set, Hailey and I spent about 45 minutes on what I have been referring to as “The Grieves Bus” chatting with members Benjamin Laub (Grieves), and Budo, who apparently doesn’t have a real name. All I can really say is that these guys were great. They were two of the most down to earth people I have ever met and that is often hard to find in musicians. Hailey and I had a blast hanging out with on The Grieves Bus and we have video evidence to prove it!
Once Grieves had finished their set, I rushed over to the amphitheater to catch one of my long time favorites, Dance Gavin Dance. This set was particularly enjoyable for me because they played quite a bit off of their first album, Downtown Battle Mountain. This is the album that made me love DGD, so naturally, I was thrilled to hear some of these songs. It’s been so long since I’ve actually seen DGD play, that I had almost forgotten just how good they really are. Johnny Craig’s vocals live are absolutely fantastic and the energy possessed by he and the rest of the band was equally amazing. Before their set, I was able to have a short chat with vocalist Johnny Craig and guitarist Will Swan. Unfortunately, it’s sort of hard for me to tell who is saying what exactly, so you’ll all just have to survive without knowing for sure.
RFC: How do you feel the set’s have been going thus far?
DGD: Amazing, we’ve been killing it. We make up a new set everyday. I don’t think we’ve repeated one so far. We’ve been doing a lot more old stuff than I expected. Sometimes we’ll just do a lot of old stuff just to freak kids out. Today we’re going to play all old songs.
RFC: How has the tour in general been thus far?
DGD: Tour is fun. We’re just out here having a good time hanging out with each other and just hanging out with friends. It’s not really much more than that. It’s just a big Summer Camp for adults.
RFC: How many years have you been on Warped Tour?
DGD: We did it in ‘09 with our old singer and [Johnny] did it last year with Emarosa, but this is our first time on the tour together.
RFC: Are there any other bands on the tour that you make it a point to stop and watch?
DGD: I check out Foxy, and as soon as Yelawolf gets on I’ll probably be watching them a lot too.
RFC: What is the most interesting thing to happen on tour thus far?
DGD: Last night I beat up my merch guy.
RFC: Who was your favorite Power Ranger?
DGD: Definitely the Green.
Once Dance Gavin Dance had finished their set, my day at Warped Tour was pretty much at it’s end. I was burnt, sweaty, and just all around exhausted, but it was all well worth it. This summer provided me with one of the best Warped Tour’s I have ever attended. That being said, I would like to apologize for how long it took me to get this article written. I’ve been having a lot of computer related issues as of late, and I’ve got to tell you, that put’s a significant damper on the ability to write things. The point is, that I eventually got it done. Regardless, Warped Tour ‘11 provided a good time for everyone involved, I assume. I suppose I can’t really speak for everyone who was there, but I assume it wasn’t terrible for most people. Now that I’ve rambled on enough, I think it’s about time I wrap this thing up. Basically, if you’ve never been to a Warped Tour, it’s definitely an experience that you should make it a point to have.
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