
The show had already begun by the time we got through the ticket line, and we immediately ran to pick up a schedule. After perusing the list a bit, we noticed that Ace Enders/I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody’s Business had just started playing, so we made a mad dash to the Glamour Kills Stage. Ace Enders is a talented guy, and I’ve loved every musical venture he’s done thus far: Early November, I Can Make A Mess…, Ace Enders and A Million Different People, etc. He definitely did not disappoint. He played mostly tunes from the first I Can Make A Mess… record (released in 2004) as well as some songs from his newest record “The World We Know,” which was just released recently. He also played the old Early November favorite, “Ever So Sweet,” and my friend and I sang along to every word at the top of our lungs. It’s bizarre to think that that song is almost a decade old now. Oh, nostalgia.
We then decided to look at the schedule again and try to plan who we wanted to see throughout the day. We quickly noticed that quite a few of the bands we wanted to see were all playing at the same time, the one downfall to all festivals like Warped Tour. We then had to pick and choose which bands were more important to see than others. We weighed all options. Had we seen them before? Would they be touring around again soon? Could we watch a few songs and then sneak off to watch another band and still be content?
One definite was to see the band Our Lives In Motion, a local band whose bassist I had grown up with. It was the first time they’d ever played a show this huge, so we wanted to be there in the front row to support them. They played a great set, and managed to attract a good crowd even though they were up against other wildly popular bands playing on different stages at the same time. All in all, I’d say their Warped Tour debut was a success.
Next, we moved on to hometown favorites Four Year Strong. By the time we pushed our way to the stage, they were halfway into their set and the crowd was going crazy. You could definitely feel the hometown love when they broke into “Maniac.” And it only got crazier from there on out. At this point it was also the mid-afternoon and at the hottest point in the day. I should have known this would be when my day took a turn for the worse. As FYS was wrapping up their set, a young girl walking by got sick next to me and my leg ended up covered in vomit. Touché, Warped Tour.
We then made a detour to the bathroom, where I attempted to clean myself up a bit. But after that, my heart wasn’t in it the way it had been in the morning. And as the day went on I couldn’t help but just want to head home and shower. Repeatedly. We saw a blur of more bands, with a few standout performances by Fake Problems (amazing punk/Americana band with a trumpet player!) and Automatic Loveletter (that girl’s got some pipes on her!). But by the early evening, I was overwhelmed with the urge to scrub my leg raw and called it a day.
Warped Tour – 1. Marya – 0.