 | The VANS WARPED TOUR |  | |||
The Vans Warped Tour Saturday, July 24th The Tweeter Center Tinley Park, Illinois
text by Corine Jurgerson
photos by Corine Jurgerson and Kim Kintz
The Vans Warped Tour skidded through Chicago on Saturday, July 24th at the Tweeter Center in Tinley Park. Despite the average weather, (gray skies and a temperature high of about 70 degrees) thousands of fans turned out for the sold-out show. Five stages, a plethora of band and sponsor booths, and even a skate ramp covered the Tweeter grounds, creating a relaxed, party-like atmosphere amongst the crowd. This year marked the tenth anniversary for the continually growing tour, and as usual the lineup of bands certainly didn't disappoint those in attendance. So many bands, so little time! Starting at 1:00 pm, fans were treated to performances by New Found Glory, Bad Religion, Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, Yellowcard, Alkaline Trio, Story of the Year, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, and the list just keeps going on... They tore up the stages for a great afternoon of punk (and in some cases punk-pop) rock. A loose schedule posted at a guest services gazebo attempted to provide set times for specific bands, but as Warped is such a huge event, everything is in flux, and set times changed at a drop of a hat. This caused me to miss out on one of my favorite bands, Yellowcard. Woe to me, but the afternoon went on. I wandered from stage to stage all afternoon and had the chance to check out full sets by New Found Glory, Bad Religion, Alkaline Trio, Taking Back Sunday and Simple Plan. All of them rocked me well! The most noticeable thing at this show was the energy level of the crowd and the bands. It was evident that every band performing was thrilled to be a part of this legendary tour, and it was undeniable that the kids in the crowd were even more hyped to see their favorite snarly icons. In some instances, such as when New Found Glory was about to take the stage, the crowd became so excited that security was forced to tighten at the front of the stage and actually delayed the band from starting to play for a few minutes. When the guys finally did hit the stage, security fought a losing battle against the typical crowd surfing and moshing that always takes place at these type of shows. Later on in the afternoon, as Taking Back Sunday played their set, lead singer Adam Lazzara was forced to stop in between songs to calm the crowd. Everyone loves a good mosh pit, but things got a little out of hand when fans weren't picking each other up when someone would fall down. A few kids ended up trampled and bruised. Warped veterans Alkaline Trio and Bad Religion rocked out for old and new fans on the Teal and Brian stages. While one might think that these bands might only attract an older audience, that wasn't the case at all. These bands are still going strong and continue to gain and sustain huge fan bases. Canada's Simple Plan still proved to be a fan favorite, despite the fact that their hit, "Addicted" has become engrained in all of our brains like a back alley lobotomy. They're poppy, they've been exploited by MTV, they walk the fence of "boy bandom" (the less clean version) but they're so damned good live that its hard to not like them. I'll keep high expectations for their next album. As a side note, a few of the bands took the time to set up autograph/signing sessions for their fans. Most impressive of these was the meet 'n' greet area set up by New Found Glory. After playing a kick-ass show, these five guys took over an hour of their time to sit and greet their fans for autographs and photos. I stood nearby and observed the madness before jumping in line for a quick handshake myself. The thing that I noticed most, is how the band members reacted to in interacted with their fans. Bands tend to go on and on about how their fans are so important to them and sometimes it's easy to be skeptical as to whether or not they are being sincere. With New Found Glory, they asked each fan their name, shook their hand, maintained eye contact, and seemed to really care. They weren't annoyed by photos or requests for hugs. They were just genuine, nice guys. Major thumbs up to them for keeping true to their word that their fans are their #1 priority. More music artists should follow their example! Overall, a Warped Tour 2004 was a GREAT time. Not sure how they could top this next year, but you can bet I will be there to witness and report on it. | |||||
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