Vans Warped Tour 2011 August 10
It was a beautiful and sunny Wednesday morning in Carson, CA on August 10, 2011. The Birds were chirping, and the good old folks of Carson, CA were walking their pets and- Ok, Ok, who are we kidding? This was no ordinary day in Carson. This was the 16th annual Vans Warped Tour. With over 60 performances of all types of genres and 6 stages, fans were sure to catch tons of different acts. Located in the parking lot of the Cal State Dominguez Hills was a line miles long to enter Warped Tour at 11am. As fans poured in, they went to either one of the six stages; or to one of the countless booths and merchandise tables encircling the parking lot. As multiple bands performed on all the six stages throughout the day and night, it was difficult to choose just which one to watch.
The first band we caught at Warped was “Falling in Reverse”. The band came out in the scorching heat at 2:10pm and fans went crazy screaming for the lead singer, Ronnie Radke. As Radke made his way onto the stage he screamed into the microphone, “I’m Back!!” which got the fans going insane. The band played a short but high energy set with Radke eventually jumping into the crowd. At first everything was fine and dandy but seconds later fans pulled Radke inside the pit where he was no longer visible. Security guards looked for him umong the people and finally he was pulled out. He smiled and continued through the set. After one of the first sets of the day, the security knew they would be working hard, constantly pulling crowd surfers out.
At 3:50 Of Mice & Men were gearing up and sound checking before they hit the stage. The band put so much energy into their 30 minute set, that it carried over to the crowd, where crowd surfing was seen almost every 5 seconds. Of Mice & Men’s energetic performance won “most crowd surfers in 30 minutes” award. With lead singer Austin Carlile screaming his lungs out and Shayley Bourget singing melodically, fans experienced an interesting set. As the band ended their set with crowd favorite “Second and Sebring” Carlile, jumped off from the stage and stood on the barricade. He reached his microphone out to the screaming fans while fans crowd surfed their way to him, reaching out to either touch him or to take his microphone! Carlile buried his head into the crowd, which fans petted. As the song ended he went back on stage and the band thanked the crowd.
Around Warped Tour there were food trucks, merchandise booths, band signings, everything! As people walked around Warped Tour, they bumped into different artists, most of whom loved taking photos with fans. Many artists who weren’t performing were also seen at Warped Tour, such as Jeffree Star who was doing a signing and the band Vampires Everywhere who were there to watch their friends perform. Many of the artists at Warped Tour enjoyed interacting with their fans, actually most of them loved it. Unfortunately artists such as Travie McCoy of the band Gym Class Heroes, was seen ignoring fans and having his security usher them away. But that wasn’t too bad considering most of the Warped Tour crowd consisted of scene and rock teenagers, many of whom wore Black Veil Brides inspired makeup, which is who we got to see next.
It was close to 7:00pm as fans squeezed their way into the pit for Black Veil Brides. There were all types of fans, some covered entirely with makeup inspired by the band and some just out there to check the band out. At 7:10 the five members of the band came onto the stage. Just a few weeks before Warped Tour began, singer Andy Six jumped off a balcony onto the stage and shattered three of his ribs. With his ribs till taped up from the injury, Six made it look like it never happened as he jumped and sang. The members were seen interacting with both the crowd and the photographers alike and were constantly jumping and running across the small stage. The band performed four out of six songs, from their recently released album entitled “Set the World on Fire” which fans sang along to as though they’ve known the songs for years. The band finished their set, and thanked the crowd.
Performing last on the main stage was A Day to Remember. At 8:00 p.m. security were getting geared up, in the small pit, for the intense performance. With hardly any lighting, each member of A Day to Remember ran out onto the stage and instantly went into their opening song “Wax Larry” The high energy song really set a bar on how the rest of their 11 song set would be delivered. The band members could not stay in place for more than five seconds and were always running and jumping. The fans in the pit did the same, pushing, shoving, but always helping people up when they fell. Crowd surfer after crowd surfer went on throughout the bands set.
With over 60 performances from screamo to reggae, fans enjoyed seeing their favorite bands and even got to see some performances that they would have never known about without this tour. At the end of the night, fans went home with tons of merchandise, sunburns, dirty clothes from the pit and most of all, a great experience which they can expect from Warped Tour for now on!
Falling in Reverse
Of mice & Men
The Word Alive
Black Veil Brides
Middle Class Rut
A Day to Remember
D.R.U.G.S.
