WARPED TOUR 2013

I am too dehydrated to write a true review of the show, but here are my thoughts from the 7/11 show yesterday:

• What a young crowd. I know they let parents in free so this helped. Most of the concert goers were teenagers, which is probably a main reason why the lines for fruit smoothies were way longer than the lines for alcohol.
• Drinks had its ups and downs. I loved the fact they let people bring in some drinks and that they had places to fill water bottles up. I did not like the fact they were charging 9.50 for generic beers.
• This is certainly a scene that doesn't give a you know what. The kids were either dirty as can be or had tons of some kind of neon paint all over their bodies. The kids were wearing practically nothing and they had no shame at their out of shape bodies. I like the diversity though as we had people all shapes and sizes and color and ethnic backgrounds.
• Some lines to meet bands outside of merch tables stretched about 75 yards. I cannot think of a band that is worth waiting 4 hrs for in the brutal heat. But the weather was nice. It was partly cloudy, somewhat humid, several but minimal  rain drops(the poncho sellers weren't too happy). On occasion, a cool breeze of fresh air flew past us in the crowd and it was the best feeling in the world.
• Nothing better than spending time with the bands. It was great to sip on shock top cans and eat fresh shrimp with all the warped bands around you at the table. Interviewing TBDM was cool(their new drummer was delivering pizzas and washing dishes a year ago today), as was the guys from Crossfaith and WSS. We even spoke to some lesser known bands such as middle finger salute and they were clearly enjoying their time on the big stage for the 1st time.
• Obviously things were overpriced, but a buddy of mine was stoked to get a Vans tee that also came with a hat for only 10 bucs. Free parking is a way of the past(I paid 60 bucs to park outside Fenway park last month) and it was cool to still have free parking. One tip...show up to the concert one hour late to avoid traffic and also to be one of the first cars to exit the Comcast center as the show conclusion.
• Being in the press has perks but its not all gravy. Getting blown off on three interviews for three unnamed bands sucked, and having to wait 45 min in line to show and get credentials is a buzzkill in the heat.
• Another gripe was there was 10 stages! Its great tons of bands got to play and I counted 103 bands there! Gotta wonder though why the stadium seating stage with a roof above to shade the sun was the one stage that didn't have any big bands outside of SOTY. There was so many people there you could not move. Seriously. It took an excruciating amount of time to find a band, find a stage or leave the stage to move to another one to see a band. Crowds pushed and shoved but at times we all were just stuck without moving for seconds on end. Too many people and a dangerous situation for not only claustrophobic concert goers but also as a crowd in general. A few people got trampled over at the Bring me the horizon set.
• Speaking of BMTH, they were arguably the highlight of the day. They had so many fans there it was unreal. Once Black veil brides finished their set, fans stayed put or moved in to wait the 40 minutes to see BMTH. Yes the crowd was young and many girls, but as soon as the set went off people pushed their way through the crowd to get closer and girls in the front could not move back to safer pastures. The set was intense and unreal. And as for BVB, they were awesome and so were the guitarists. Although it was heavily a female only crowd, the band was heavy and clear and sounded awesome. The vocalist was annoying at times, especially as he attacked a "hippie" in a tie dyed shirt who apparently kept flipping off the band. He ridiculed the kid and said their are other kids all       around him wearing makeup who disagree with him and have him back. Lame and obnoxious but aren't many vocalists. The crowd loved him and his philosophical words of wisdom of being who you want to be.
• ABR was another band that stood out. they were great and they promoted their brand new album. I was disappointed that they, and many other bands, declined interviews. Attila, who in my opinion has maybe the best album so far this year, stunned the crowd and they sounded great. After the set, kids were seen everywhere wearing black Attila hats. Although I didn't see WCAR, people I spoke to raved about their performance. Although sleeping with sirens had a huge following as they put a close to the night and the Kia Forte stage, I ignored them and watched TBDM. It was their first time on warped and it showed as the crowd was small and about 8 times smaller than the sirens crowd at the stage opposite. They still put on a great performance, albeit a bit too heavy for many of the usual Warped crowd.
• It was a great day overall. Only a handful of people were taken out in an ambulance. Despite the sweat from the lack of hygiene warped teens, and the smell of cheap cigarettes, it was expected. Maybe not the huge amount of people there. Not too many drunks and I only smelled weed a few times so I guess the crowd were really mostly middle schoolers. I saw enough tattoos to last a lifetime. Same goes for sponsor Monster energy drinks. I saw them everywhere and people were shot gunned two at a time....then I found out later that were actually Monster can filled with purified water made by Monster. The security was a joke but luckily not needed. They were all skinny kids who looked as if they were under 18 and couldn't squish a mosquito without complaining of getting bit.
• There were random kids with superhero costumes. There so many at the BMTH set that the lead singer called them up and they danced on stage for a song. Concert attendee of the day; some kid in a wheel chair that nobody noticed and he still tried to watch the sets even though all he could see was the back of some sweaty dudes UABB shirt.
• Guess the Warped kids don't care about germs and bacteria. I wondered why people were sitting on the ground amongst trash, spit, dirt, food and other bodily fluids. Nasty stuff. Some were even taking naps on the dirty concrete or muddy grounds at one of the stages.
• I will be back again someday...........on Tuesday find me again at the Comcast center for Mayhem and the first week of August at the Palladium for Slaughter.