6/16/2023 0 Comments Vans warp tour.com![]() ![]() ![]() It was something that we should be a part of. Warped Tour was conceptually Southern California punk rock, skateboarding and surf culture, shorts and flip-flops. It wasn’t like a Lollapalooza that doesn’t have an anchor-just a bunch of famous people. ![]() It was bringing Southern California to the world. When you go out on the road, go out on the road. You were an idiot when you were home, trying to deal with 90 million things. My wife said, ‘Look, never come home again from Warped Tour. The city’s mayor had been running on this ‘clean up the river’ platform, and that was on the front page of the newspaper the next morning. My production manager’s quick decision was to take the Porta-Potty on a forklift and push it into the river. Deftones got fireworks and set a portable toilet on fire. It turned into the Lord Of The Flies out there. By the time I landed in L.A., my phone was full of calls. We had a show in Lawrence, Kansas, and a day or two off to get to Salt Lake City. We were already booking bands like the Black Eyed Peas, Limp Bizkit and Sugar Ray, and other types of bands were starting to drift to Warped Tour.” -Kevin Lyman, TOUR FOUNDER Read more: 12 artists you might not have known played Warped Tour 1997 We started to be getting known as ‘punk-rock summer camp,’ but looking back on it, maybe that term was an overbranding of punk rock. But having Pennywise and NOFX with us step up and say, ‘This is something that we want to be a part of’-because trust me, their agents weren’t very cooperative when I tried to book them-ultimately legitimized us. “Offspring,” an American Rock band had the crowd going wild.“Any of the successful festivals at the time-H.O.R.D.E., Lilith Fair, Lollapalooza, Ozzfest-were driven by artists, not by the guy who drove the trucks. Whether our wish will be granted remains to be seen, but Atlantic City and Vans Warped Tour should be proud of accomplishing a festival that left attendees only wanting more. Meaning, bring back Warped Tour next year. I wasn’t alone in this feeling: the crowd chanted “bring it back!” as the band closed their set. As the night ended, I found myself hoping that this wouldn’t be the last Warped Tour I got to see. People crowdsurfed in front of me, and danced in the ocean behind me. The night concluded with fans crowding in front of the main stage to witness Blink-182 close out the festival. I found that no matter where I was in the venue, there was always something to see. There were also wrestling and motocross expos throughout the day. A ramp was set up in the middle of the beach, and I was extremely impressed by the stunts I saw. Vans Warped Tour maintains a deliberate connection to skate culture. I also loved watching the skateboarding expo. I was highly entertained, and was reminded that one of the reasons I like punk music is the unbridled energy. The eclectic band featured a trumpeter that would skip around the stage and pretend to play his instrument like a guitar. I hadn’t heard of them before seeing them perform, but left a fan. While Blink-182 and The Offspring did not disappoint, one of my favorite acts I saw there was a lesser-known band called Keep Flying. Beyond the headliners, Warped Tour has often features smaller bands and up-and-coming artists that play on the other side of the venue.
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