Going into this summers warped I expected a similar experience as last summer as well as the previous before; overlapping set times of bands of similar genres, and having to choose one band over another. When I saw the traditional warped tour blowup schedule, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the set times came out to be perfect. Not many overlapping similar sets, this worked out perfectly in my favor. First up; a Houston locals, Fear & Wonder. Going to this set I was expecting a good size crowd but not too too big, considering a local band. They were performing on one of the main stages, and pulled much larger of an audience than I had expected. It's about 11 A.M and the energy didn't show any tiredness at all, rather the complete opposite; jumping, and singing along. Fear & Wonder definitely held it down for their city. 3 songs later and I found myself at the other main stage patiently waiting for We The Kings. Of course, herding a massive crowd of fans, the band put on a huge sing along within just the first song they had performed. Of course they did nothing but impress, bringing a lot of energy so early.
Next up, another local band which blew up this year: Waterparks. Living in Houston for about a year now, I had heard the name numerous times, and now even more after they had made their way to the top. This band has a unique style, some call it weird, but in a good way! In fact, while photographing, I had seen a fan holding a sign reading "Get weird for Waterparks". The 3 piece put on a great set, and had fans shouting lyrics along with them. Frontman Awsten Knight had compared the crowd to his mom, after they had said how proud they were of the band, talking about past shows at the Houston venues to where they are now in between songs. It was very refreshing to see a band who had so much love and positivity in their performance, and interacted and spoke with fans as they were on stage.
Before heading over to catch Yellowcard, I was able to stop by and see In Hearts Wake, who came all the way from Australia. I had seen this band a couple years back in Jacksonville, Florida. They didnt have as much energy as they did today. When I stopped by I was very impressed, and glad to see they had brought so much energy to the day despite the heat. Their stage setup was very eye catching. 10/10 given easily from stage presence and performance alone.
12:30 quickly came around and I found myself back at the Journeys Left Main Stage to see Yellowcard. This band has been on Warped tour 7 times now, and they had mentioned that this was their last Summer to tour on the fest. The band opened with "With You Around" and closed with their big hit "Ocean Avenue".
Now it's starting to get hotter at NRG Stadium (How is this possible? It's already scorching!) , and now time for Mayday Parade at the Journeys Right Stage. Mayday kicked off by playing "Jersey" which made the crowd go wild the second Derek had said the title, and lasted all the way through the set. The band performed "Keep In Mind" and "Transmogrification Is A New Technology" for their first 3, and closed their set with "Jamie All Over".
After Mayday Parade I moved over to the "Poseidon Stage" to catch Emarosa. This was by far the most entertaining set of the day. This band put on such a show through their stage presence. Bradley Walden went into the crowd 3 times within the first 3 songs of their performance, going up and down the barricade, guitarist on his shoulders, and even buying shaved ice while singing, and giving it to a fan in the crowd. Setlist: "Miracle", "People Like Me We Just Dont Play", "Helpless", "A Hundred Crowns", "Blue", "Mad", "Cloud 9".
This Summer I noticed that the traditional blowup Monster Energy stage wasnt there, instead there are two Monster stages; "North" and "South". The first band that I had watched perform on one of the Monster stages was Everytime I Die, on the North stage.