SHREDnews

Warped Tour 2009 Review

By: Kayley Guyette, Craig Johnson, Emily Kaufman and Nicole Bradley

This year The Vans Warped Tour celebrated its 15^th anniversary. To keep the cost of tickets down it was decided to only have one main stage this year. Bands such as 3Oh!3, Underoath, Less Than Jake, Anti-Flag, NOFX and more graced the main stage. While bands like Breathe Carolina, A Day To Remember, VersaEmerge and The Maine graced the other stages among many other bands.

Craig, Emily, Nicole all attended one date while Kayley attended two. Kayley and Emily did

press in Connecticut, Emily even handled double duty for she was volunteering for Keep A Breast. Craig went to Massachusetts just wanting to see some of his favorite bands. Nicole hit the Massachusetts date to get pictures (check the Shred News Flickr). And Kayley also attended the Massachusetts date to volunteer for Music Saves Lives. All of us were busy running around between stages, the press tent and the tents we were volunteering at. But we all had a good time.

Craig Johnson: I recently attended the 2009 Vans Warped Tour on July 21st. While there, I saw some bands I loved, and others I hadn’t yet gotten a chance to see live prior to this Warped. So overall it turned out to be a pretty great show, other than the weather. I made sure to see A Skylit Drive, Dance Gavin Dance and Breathe Carolina since I’d never seen them before. I also saw many of my favorites like All Time Low, A Day To Remember, The Devil Wears Prada, Chiodos, Underoath, Senses Fail, and Vanna’s last show with Chris as their vocalist. Overall it was a very exciting day, but hopefully next year for Boston Warped Tour the rain will hold off, two years in a row is enough.

Emily Kaufman: I attended the Connecticut Warped Tour date on Sunday, July 12 and spent much of the day working at the Girlz Garage Tent. The Girlz Garage Tent was located near the Skull Candy Stage and while volunteering I was able to enjoy the music of bands such as TV/TV and others who I may not have been exposed to otherwise. My day at the Girlz Garage was quite productive and I had the opportunity to meet some great people. Michelle Ponce, the founder of the Girlz Garage and owner of the jewelry company Pretti Vacant, was a great ball of energy throughout the whole day. Katie Lockley from Keep-A-Breast had such a bubbly personality while manning her table and the resident rocker Laurita Guaico spent a majority of her time rocking it out on the display guitars from the company Daisy Rocks as well as giving some free guitar lessons to contest winners. Being a part of the tent and everything that went on under it was something I’ll keep with me for quite some time.

In addition to volunteering, I also did press at Warped Tour. Imagine me, a five-foot tall female sprinting through the complex with my camera in hand to go from the Girlz Garage to the press tent, back to the Girlz G

arage, and then off to photograph a band performing. I swear I got more exercise in that one day than I had in the previous month combined! While at the press tent, I met up with the editor of Shred News, Kayley Guyette and conducted interviews with bands such as A Day to Remember, The Maine, VersaEmerge and A Rocket To The Moon. While the interviews were a blast to do, photographing the sets was what I enjoyed the most throughout the day. My favorite performance of the day was that of the hardcore/pop-punk band A Day to Remember. Feeling the double bass in “The Downfall of Us All” pumping in my chest gave me that rush that I look for in a performance. The band had great stage presence and an upbeat rocking feel that got the crowd moving.

Kayley Guyette: In Connecticut I was doing press with Emily and my best friend (and Shred guest writer) Priscilla Basilio came with

me. Signing up for interviews the day of was easy and Bethany was really nice. If you haven’t seen already we interviewed VersaEmerge, A Day To Remember, The Maine and Rocket To The Moon. If I had to pick a favorite interview it would have to have been VersaEmerge’s interview. They were so much fun to talk to and the interview was really laid back. A Day To Remember is a close second. Right before I went to interview The Maine I realized my glasses had somehow fallen out of my bag. So I did The Maine and VersaEmerge interviews half blind. My glasses were never found, which was a bummer. I got see VersaEmerge, Breathe Carolina, Bayside, 3Oh!3, and A Day To Remember. I really wish I got a chance to see the After Midnight Project, I met them in the press room and they were really nice guys.

Massachusetts down poured for the second year in a row. Luckily I was volunteering for Music Saves Lives and stayed dry under the tent all day. Music Saves Lives is a really awesome charity and are worth checking out. Next year when it gets closer to Warped Tour keep a look out on their site. You can donate blood to get a VIP pass for the day, which gives you backstage and bus area access. Not to mention you get to cut the line for their meet and greets. The MSL volunteers were great. And it was fun just hanging out and helping make the meet and greets run smoothly. The tent was right near the Hurley Stage so I got to see the bands that played there.

Nicole Bradley: Warped Tour along with torrential downpours trekked to Massachusetts last Tuesday. Fortunately, with my handy dandy Press Pass and Music Saves Lives VIP pass, the rain wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

This Warped Tour was actually my first opportunity at the photo pit as well. The first band I shot for was Underoath who played very early on in the day. Again I had security guard trouble because they didn’t know which each of the bracelets represented despite the fact it said ‘Press Pass’ on it. As band after band came and went on the stages, I got really into why I loved shooting for them.

I shot bands including Underoath, A Day to Remember, Lights, Jeffree Star, and Innerpartysystem. The best part about the photo pits is  the fact that you are so close to the stage that you’re whole body shakes from the bass, and the connections with people that you make that are all there for the same reason as you.