The 12 Bands I Saw At Warped
An 8123 Community blog by Sam Devotta.
As we all know, Warped Tour is at an end. Whether you never got to experience it yourself or if you went every year, you’ll know that it was something special—a full day of standing outside, meeting bands, restocking your closet with merch, and eating a lot of junk food (yes, I’ll take a hot dog and a slice of pizza, please). Obviously the best part of Warped was getting to see so many bands in such a small amount of time and this year’s line up was one of the best in my opinion.
I attended the final Warped stop in Toronto on July 17th, and honestly had the “best day ever”. Even though I missed some bands because of scheduling conflicts (choosing between Knuckle Puck and Grayscale was one of the hardest decisions of my life), I still managed to see over a dozen bands—here they are in order:
1.This Wild Life
This duo is super mellow but they are still a lot of fun (have you heard their cover of Bring Me the Horizon’s “Sleepwalking”? If not, you need to listen to it ASAP). The best part is when vocalist Kevin Jordan dedicates a love song to his dog because I don’t even have a dog but I still feel that.
2. Mayday Parade
Okay, but who doesn’t love screaming the words to “Jamie All Over”? Mayday Parade is a Warped Tour staple and it was great seeing them on the main stage one more time. Plus they did a quick, fun cover of blink 182’s “The Rock Show” which got everyone pumped.
3. Waterparks
I’m sure everyone has heard of Waterparks at this point and they might not be everyone’s jam, but they’re the perfect summer band. The crowd was pretty quiet which leads me to think Waterparks isn’t that big in Canada (yet), but I had fun dancing and singing along.
4. The Maine
I had the honor of seeing “the summer of blue” when The Maine played Warped in 2016 and it was amazing getting to see “the summer of red” this year. Totally worth standing in front of the stage for an hour before their performance just to get close-ish.
5. Grayscale
I didn’t pay attention to Grayscale until late last year and I’m so glad I found them. Their album “Adornment” is just jam after jam and I foresee great things for them.
6. As It Is
From their current My Chemical Romance-esque aesthetic to Patty Walters’ impassioned speech about mental health, As It Is is doing something very special right now and you need to pay attention to them.
7. Sleep On It
All I have to say is don’t sleep on Sleep On It, especially if you’re a pop-punk fan. These guys are going to be huge, so make sure you jump on that bandwagon now.
8. Trash Boat
I have a soft spot for bands from the UK and I really enjoyed seeing Trash Boat. They were one of the more “hardcore” bands on that particular stage, but they have an interesting sound and the crowd seemed really into them.
9. Story Untold
Canadian pop-punk at its best. Story Untold played a fantastic medley of songs from other pop-punk giants as well as their own original music and they were so much fun.
10. Capstan
I’d never heard of Capstan but happened to be sitting nearby when they went on stage. They were also a little more “hardcore”, but they were one of the most wholesome bands I’ve ever seen—very humble and very grateful to be on stage.
11. Don Broco
After years of being a Don Broco fan, it’s great to see that they’re finally getting some recognition in North America. They drew a big crowd and got everyone dancing and screaming, which is hard to do when you’re one of the last bands of the day.
12. Simple Plan
As a Canadian, I’m always very proud to see Simple Plan on a big stage and they played to a massive crowd. Just about everyone who attended Warped showed up for their performance and they brought out guest singers (Rob Damiani from Don Broco and Travis Clark from We the Kings) for a truly epic end to the night.
I’ll admit my day was pretty pop-punk heavy, but I highly recommend taking a listen to any/all of these bands if you get the chance!