Hey J-14ers,
I had an awesome time at yesterday's Vans Warped Tour 2010 stop in Oceanport, NJ. As much as I love my home state (and the number of NJ tattoos I saw -- go Jersey!), we're in the middle of a heat wave right now, so it felt like over 100 degrees outside -- I went through four water bottles! But despite that, the day was amazing.
Oceanport was this year's halfway point, and it was the last day for Sparks The Rescue (they told me they're going back to Maine to record their next album!) and The All-American Rejects. Not only did singer Tyson Ritter give an amazing speech about how much the Warped Tour has meant to him and the band, he joked with people in the VIP section and gave a sick performance of "Gives You Hell."
I also got to see two of my fave bands of all time perform -- Reel Big Fish and Alkaline Trio -- and caught some new bands I've been waiting to see live, like We Are The In Crowd, Anarbor, Set Your Goals, and The Summer Set. It was awesome to see VersaEmerge and The Pretty Reckless again as well -- VE's Sierra Kusterbeck is so original and hopefully a voice you'll be hearing more from in the future, and Taylor Momsen sounds better and better with each performance.
But by far my fave sets of the day were from one of my all-time fave bands, Motion City Soundtrack, Hey Monday, and We The Kings. A huge mosh pit formed for nearly all of MCS' set, and finally hearing "My Favorite Accident" really brought the fan favorite to life. Hey Monday is growing more comfortable on stage with every tour (and they've been on a quite a few over the last two years!), and they had the entire crowd rocking when they performed their new single "Wish You Were Here" and closed with "Homecoming."
We The Kings not only closed the night, they brought out three surprise guests! Mike Posner joined singer Travis Clark on the mic, as did The Rocket Summer's Bryce Avary for a cover of Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle" which had me jumping more than any other song. But the real show stopper was when Hey Monday's Cassadee Pope joined Travis for "We'll Be A Dream," a song that feels even more like an anthem when you hear it live than on the radio, where it's already a song you want to sing at the top of your lungs.
I've got a ton of pics to share with you, as well as a Warped Tour 2010 Video Diary that includes exclusive shout outs about the day from Artist Vs Poet's Tarcy Thompson, Sparks The Rescue, and The Rocket Summer. Check them all out here:
The Pretty Reckless' Taylor Momsen belts out "My Medicine":
I hung out with Never Shout Never's Christofer Drew after his set:
VersaEmerge perform on the Glamour Kills stage:
Hanging with The Summer Set's Brian Dales on the band's tour bus:
Artist Vs Poet rock the Glamour Kills stage:
The All-American Rejects had a ton of energy on their last stop of Warped Tour:
Poughkeepsie, NY-based We Are The In Crowd took over the Skullcandy stage:
Sparks The Rescue perform "We Love Like Vampires":
Motion City Soundtrack's Justin Pierre commanded the main stage:
Automatic Loveletter's Juliet Simms had the right idea when she performed in a bikini top on the boiling hot July day:
Set Your Goals show Jersey pride:
The Summer Set get the crowd's attention:
We The Kings' Travis Clark performs barefoot:
Have you been to any Warped Tour dates this summer? If so, tell me what you think of this year's tour!
<3,
Emily Krauser, J-14 editor
