Vans Warped Tour
Xfinity Center
Mansfield, MA
July 13, 2016

The Vans Warped Tour this year was overwhelming. I thought I was ready to go. I had been listening to bands to get a feel for what I would be seeing and hearing. I bought a hydration pack. I put insoles in my sneakers. I even applied sunblock to every inch of me. Still, I was caught off guard with what I saw when I walked through the gates.

The place was packed! We arrived about a half hour after the doors opened, and things were already in full swing. There were vendors already set up and selling items, there were vendors doing giveaways and vendors promoting their causes.

Our first mission was to find the schedule of events. There was a giant inflatable Vans board that had a row for each stage and what time each band would play. It did not however, show where the stages were. Maps could be purchased for $2.00 each, along with compilation cd’s for $5.00, and a few other trinkets from event staff through out the grounds. Ever since the invention of the debit card, I have stopped carrying cash. The line for the ATM was way to long, and the fee for me to take out cash would have been more than the schedule cost. So, I winged it.

There were 7 stages on the schedule, and there was a bonus stage that didn’t have a line up. That stage appeared to be playing local bands. The regular stages played bands back and forth. Left foot stage would play, then Right foot. Poseidon and Cyclops and Monster Energy North and South also switched off as well. There was a never a break in music. Getting down to the stages could be a bit tricky since there were so many people.  There were signs on all the stages that said “No Moshing/ Crowd Surfing”. There was not one band that I saw that didn’t request the fans to mosh, or crowd surf. A few of the singers got into the crowd and did their own surfing.

After a few bands we decided it was time to find the restroom and some food. I thought finding some shade would also be great! There were a bunch of portable restrooms, and the regular restrooms were open as well. Due to the heat, I refused to use the portable ones. Due to the lines, I decided I was good with waiting till later. We walked around to see what we could get to eat. There were a few food trucks, one with BBQ pulled pork and other tempting products. We kept walking incase anything else looked better.   We ended up passing a few “spin to win” vendors. One was zippo lighters,where you needed to like them on Facebook in order to win. We won a guitar pick. Journey’s was handing out cinch bags, right next to the twix taste test booth. I grabbed a free bag, and decided that the Right side was tastier than the Left.  We finally settled on a stand making wraps with any meats or vegetables you wanted.

After drinking water out of my hydration pack all day, I wanted something with flavor. We walked by the Arabella Road Crew stand, and after many concerts, I finally asked what it was all about. It was really simple, you sign up that you wont drink and they will give you free fountain beverage tickets. You have to wear a certain wrist band that lets the service workers know not to serve you alcohol. They give you 2 tickets to start, and when you need more you go by the booth, show you are still wearing your band, and they give you more. If you are not going to drink, do yourself and your wallet a favor, and sign up for this.

As we walked to the stages, we walked by the spray mist area. At the beginning of the day, it was really great. A little bit of relief on such a hot day. Now it had become a giant lake, with people and trash sitting in it.  I had stayed away since I was walking with my camera equipment, now I was staying away for hygienic reasons.

One thing I really liked about the Vans Warped Tour was that most merchandise booths had times listed that the bands would be available for a meet & greet. It was great not having to just hang around, hoping that the band shows up. Most bands had lines around their tents, but I was so busy trying to get from one stage to another that I didn’t end up waiting for any. I did but the line at the Mother Feather booth after their performance to tell them what a great job they did. That will just be our secret though.

At the end of the day, the overwhelming feeling I had was gone. It was replaced with an excitement for what I had witnessed that day. I learned a lot from this experience, and saw a lot of new bands. In the following days we will be posting individual reviews and photos of the bands we were able to shoot. Find a list of those below… They are still being added!

 

Individual reviews and expanded galleries!
Mother Feather
Vanna
Motionless in White
Ghost Town
The Word Alive
Story So Far, The Interrupters, Masked Intruder