Vans Warped Tour 2016 Salt Lake City wrap-up review
I’ll be the first to admit, as a ’90s pop-punk/alternative music fan who grew up with Warped Tour being on par with Burning Man as a yearly celebration of rebellion and expression, I was a little skeptical going into 2016’s festival after not attending in a few years. The last time I checked out Warped Tour, the only band I knew on the lineup was The Ataris, and I remember walking around somewhat overwhelmed by the tween punk crowd let loose. Call me a little cynical, but I was expecting a lot of the same this year, and I felt like maybe it was me who was getting “too old” for the whole scene. It was a strange feeling.
Fortunately, the appeal of some returning past-headliners who helped bring Warped Tour to life back in the day had me excited, and I was looking forward to seeing bands like Sum 41, Yellowcard, Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, Atreyu, New Found Glory, and a few others. Open to wandering around and seeing what “the kids” were listening to these days as well, I went into Vans Warped Tour 2016 more optimistic about the festival than I have been in a while. Turns out, the scene is still strong and the fans just as rabid. Check out a few photos and read more about my experience at Warped Tour after the jump.
The biggest non-surprise of Warped Tour 2016 for me was realizing that it was indeed me that had changed and not really the Warped Tour scene. I was greeted in Salt Lake City by hot summer weather, crowds of teenagers weaving through traffic toward the gates, and the muffled siren song of an early band playing in the background. This was Warped Tour, dammit! Almost immediately, my cynicism faded and I was all smiles as I applied the sunscreen and eyed the happy looking guy approaching me with a suitcase on wheels.
“Welcome to Warped Tour. You ready to get warped?!” this guy said, and like any experienced concert-goer I was expecting to be presented with a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers and downers. Instead, my Warped Tour greeter casually handed me a few books about meditation, we chatted for a minute, I gave him five bucks, and he went on his merry way. My renewed good faith in the festival confirmed, I strung my camera bag over my shoulder, picked up my press credentials, and joined the crowds.
What can I say? I had a good time this year, and I’m convinced it was my mix of low expectations and an apparent blend of old and new that fueled a great atmosphere. I’m sure Yellowcard’s Ryan Key was exaggerating (isn’t it kind of routine to call the city you’re in the best city in the country?), but saying Salt Lake’s stop is always the craziest/most enjoyable on the tour was a nice nod to fans who were having a blast. Admittedly, I stuck around what could have been considered the main stage to check out the ’90s bands I came to see, but wandering around between sets confirmed there’s still plenty of variety swapping stages throughout the day. From screamo metal bands to punk-light pop ensembles to hip-hop throw downs under tiny tents to punk scene veterans, Warped Tour 2016 was a buffet of talent doing their thing in the sun.
And when the sun hopped behind some dark clouds and a few blasts of lightening lit up the horizon, and winds rolled in and sent banners into spasms, I was a little worried the weather might shut things down for a bit. It was during Yellowcard’s set that the rain started coming down, but it only seemed to add to the “we’re here to rock and kick ass” mentality that’s par for the course. Instead of slowing down, Key urged the crowd to start the “biggest circle pit I’ve ever seen,” and the band played on. Then, the rain passed, the clouds opened up, and the sun beat down for the rest of the day. Great stuff to enjoy from both the photo pit and the fringes of the crowd for a guy like me who hadn’t been to a show in some time. Like I said, I really had a good time this year. Hopping around the photo pit to get mugged at by New Found Glory’s Ian Grushka, watching a sweat-soaked Roger Lima of Less Than Jake throw his bass behind his head and rock out, and feeling crazy nostalgia as Sum 41 worked up the crowd with some old angsty high school punk anthems was easily worth baking in the sun and surviving on a slice of greasy pizza all day.
A friend asked me to let them know how this year’s Warped Tour turned out because it was rumored 2016 would revive the festival, and it may be safe to say you’ll be sorry if you missed this year’s lineup. That said, the handful of bands I was really looking forward to all seem to be heading back to the studio, releasing a new album, breaking up, or a combination. Yellowcard is done after their latest album, Sum 41 promoted their upcoming release a little bit, and after the tour New Found Glory is heading into the studio to record, so it seems like this year’s Warped Tour was an opportunity for bigger names to enjoy the scene again. It’ll be interesting to see if next year’s lineup has as many well-known bands headlining or if this was just a one-time thing.
While I was leaving, I had to drop five dollars on the official Warped Tour 2016 sampler CD, and there were a few songs on there that had me searching for band names and feeling bad I didn’t explore a little more at the festival. For a one-day event, there was a lot of music in the air. Age ranges were all over the place as fans flocked around all day, and I saw more than a few mom-driven minivans pull up to shuttle away teenagers. Again, it made me remember just how much of a right of passage spending the day at something like Warped Tour used to be, and I’m sure some of these kids had planned this escape all summer. As for me, a ’90s kid nearing 30, it felt good to not only feel right at home in the crowd but to also see “older” bands still rocking the Warped Tour scene hard twenty years later. Hell, if they’d have thrown in NOFX and Blink-182 it would have been an official blast from the past. Here’s hoping next year is just as awesome!
