This year the Vans Warped Tour UK is back and it’s bigger and better than 2012: namely that’s because it’s a whole weekend. That’s double the amount of bands, double the amount of moshing and double the amount of time to drink alcohol (yay!) Fortunately planning seems to have gotten better since 2012 and it’s far easier to navigate the vast space of Alexandra Palace and we don’t encounter any occasions where a room fills up half an hour before the band arrives on stage rending us unable to catch anyone. We had an amazing weekend so check out what we made of Saturday!
Monster West Side Stage
Attila
Flying all the way over to London for this one show, Attila are clearly here to party. Holding nothing back, they erupt straight in to ‘Middle Fingers Up’ and ‘Hellraiser’, which gives onlookers a taste of what they’re all about. They’re victims of opening band sound engineering, but that doesn’t halt movement in the crowd as ‘Payback’ opens up. They are fun, they are intense, and they are exactly what is needed to kick off the weekend 7/10 MB
The Wonder Years
Fresh from Pennsylvania, The Wonder Years grace the main stage with their skater shorts, beards and eight strong years of pop punk.
‘Passing through the screen door’ opened their set with lead singer Dan Campell going wild: somersaults with the microphone and more energy than any can of Monster can provide. With lyrics ‘’Jesus Christ, I’m 26” had a bellow from the back of the crowd, beers raised in the air and mini skank motions to accompany the mutual feeling of age.
Their performance was electric with nothing but stamina and their album ‘The Greatest Generation’ taking over most of their stage performance. The space of the stage gave The Wonder Years more than enough space to jam, to have their own area to see each of the members in such amazement that they were on UK’s Warped Tour.
‘The Bastards, The Wolves, The Vultures’ hit half way time with the stamina of Campell ready to start the line ‘I’m angry like I’m 18 again’, he showed his skills of jumping around with the crowd following his actions (but more often so in mini moshes and bouncing around) and voice in a strong minded and determined manner to ensure this was the set we remembered the band for.
Essentially, after being away from the UK for two years The Wonder Years were the slice of pop punk needed to start the afternoon right, with the humble feeling that made anyone over 25 feel a decade younger. 9/10 SP
Chiodos
In the run up to this weekend it seemed Chiodos had fallen under the radar a little, were people not excited to see Craig Owens back with the band?! They toured the Kerrang! Tour earlier this year but we doubt many fans here today would have seen them alongside Black Veil Brides. The band visually put on a great show, Craig bounds around the stage with the upmost energy and interacts with the crowd wonderfully but musically we’re left feeling a little flat. We’re going to put it down to Craig’s microphone being ultra quiet (we’re hoping!) but the crowd manage to chip in during tracks such as ‘There’s No Penguins In Alaska’ but we’re hoping next time for a little more. 6/10 RW
Billy Talent
Billy Talent are one of the veteran bands of the weekend, despite not being that old, but the band have seen and done it all and they never fail to entertain. Opening with ‘Devil In A Midnight Mass’, just takes the piss, as they send the crowd into a frenzy. The band have hit after hit in their extensive back catalogue, with ‘Fallen Leaves’, ‘Red Flag’ and ‘Try Honesty’ all making the setlist, to what proved to be one of the sets of the weekend, this band still get us excited! 9/10 JH
Rise Against
Rise Against headlined the Saturday night of Warped Tour over on the West Stage, bringing a close to what has been a truly mind blowing day, but we couldnt help feel that there was something missing from their set. Yes they pumped out every last ounce of energy from the crowd, with classics like ‘Prayer Of The Refugee’ and ‘Saviour’ but there was something missing from the band. It’s hard to describe what it is, but it felt a bit lacklusture and not up to their normal high standards. 6/10 JH
Monster East Side Stage
Crossfaith
Opening up the East stage in true batshit fashion was Japanese Techno Metallers, Crossfaith who really did bend over the crowd and have their way with them. It was frantic and the room felt like you had just stepped into one massive party, tracks like ‘Jagerbomb’ and ‘Monolith’ are absolutely huge, with the band sounding as tight as ever! 9/10 JH
We Came As Romans
Off the back of their latest record, Tracing Back Roots, Michigan’s We Came As Romans draw a huge crowd. As expected, the set is dominated with new material, but tracks like ‘Roads That Don’t End and Views That Never Cease’ are not forgotten, and the exclusive occasion even warrants the cover of ‘Glad You Came’. It’s still early in the afternoon, but after delivering such an established performance, they may well be heading for even bigger things 8/10 MB
Memphis May Fire
Memphis May Fire exploded onto the stage with a foray of pits opening all over the place, they really are shit hot at the moment! Lead singer Matty Mullins split the crowd like the parting of the red sea, to create one of the biggest wall of deaths of the weekend, it was rather spectacular. Track ‘Miles Away’ saw the emergence of Craig Owens much to the delight of the crowd, the place erupted once again! Their UK tour in 2014 is one not to be missed! 8.5/10 JH
Yellowcard
Yellowcard have been around for a good number of years and their extensive experience shines through with a quality display. And I never quite noticed how big the Yellowcard fanbase is until today, and they definitely put on one of the best performances of the day. Tay Jardine from We Are The In Crowd even joined them for ‘Here I Am Alive’ and as it all comes to an end with ‘Ocean Avenue’, the entire crowd singing along and genuinely enjoying themselves. 9/10 KE
Parkway Drive
You can’t deny the utter excitement that the next band brings, Parkway Drive play to probably one of the biggest crowds on the East Stage the entire weekend and they sure did bring a set that was worthy of any headline slot. It was an hour of pure anarchy, as the band ripped ally pally a new one, proving that this band definitely belong on big big stages, opener ‘Dark Days’ brought pure riffage as it shook through the speakers, it sounded huge! C02 cannons added some nice effects into the stage show and Winston was his usual boisterous self, commanding the stage as his own. Closing with ‘Carrion’ was the cherry on top of the cake, what a phenomenal live band! 10/10 JH
Jagermeister Stage
Neck Deep
The Jagermeister stage hosted some great up and coming talent, with neck deep being one of those bands that have gathered so much hype in the last few months, but with the sound being a bit off (which occurred most of the day on that stage) the band’s full potential was not witnessed. Despite that they did a pretty big crowd and got people of their feet, showing that they do have an abudance of enthusiasm and energy. 6/10 JH
Blood Command
Norweigan band Blood Command took to the Jagermeister stage bringing their hardcore infused deathpop to a pretty respectable sized crowd. The band are like a mash up between Refused and Blondie, it has some serious attitude! Lead singer Silje Tombre has such a varied vocal range that she makes for the perfect frontwoman in a band that brought some mid-afternoon chaos to warped UK! 7/10 JH
Lonely The Brave
Lonely The Brave show why they have been considered one of the best new live bands about at the moment, we went into their set not knowing a great deal of their music, but we came away as fans. They were added late to the bill after Escape The Fate pulled out and in all honesty they could not have found a better replacement, they clearly know how to operate on stage and it looked like second nature to them. 8/10 JH
The Defiled
The Defiled came on and were intent on destroying everything in their path, with their goth infused metal. It was a change from what the stage had to offer and it was very much a welcomed one, show casing tracks from the latest album ‘Daggers’ which sounded on point, they really did inject some good old fashioned metal into the day. 2013 has seen the band tour the world and its paid off as they are completely in-sync with each other, there was very little to fault! 9/10 JH
Like Moths To Flames
Like Moths To Flames’ set is oozing with confidence, which is remarkable considering it is their first visit to the UK. There’s nothing particularly spectacular about the Ohio mob, yet ‘I Solemnly Swear’ commands a decent sing-a-long, and the intensity of ‘Lord Of Bones’ is capable of knocking the Dominos pizza out of your hands. After that performance, you’re welcome back anytime, boys 7/10
MB
Sublime With Rome
Reggae Punk rockers Sublime with Rome really brought a chilled end to the Jagermeister stage, it’s music that just instantly puts you in a good mood, as well as dancing like a complete goon. They also threw in some Sublime covers, which was their previous name, tracks like ‘Doin’ Time’ and ‘Wrong Way’ got a big big reaction from the crowd, showing that there was some hardcore fans in the audience. The band have been doing this for so long now that they exude pure showmanship, it was an infectious end to the day. 8/10 JH
Kevin Says Stage
Saint[The]Sinner
Having not even been announced on the official website, it was a pleasant surprise to spot Saint[The]Sinner’s opening slot on the Kevin Says… stage times. However, nervy vocals and poor sound quality hinder their opportunity in the spotlight, and they fail to match the potential shown on their recent EP, ‘The Curious Tale Of Mistress Murder’. 5/10 MB
The Younger
After a fantastic debut offering we were pretty excited to hear how The Younger transcended into a live setting and we certainly weren’t disappointed. Vocalist Daniel Lawrence does everything he can to bring the party to the depths of the Kevin Says Stage and despite the patchy crowd it works. It’s the bands first Warped Tour and we’re sure after today it won’t be their last. 8/10 RW
Canterbury
Surrey based four piece Canterbury headlined the Kerrang stage with the ability to show what indie rock is all about. The question was, is Warped Tour ready yet? Standing on stage with new drummer Chris Velissarides, the band are still as tight and adapted to the new addition with the live performance seeming to be such an ease for all. With Mike Sparks singing and thriving on stage representing years of hard graft and getting the room to feel like it’s on fire wasn’t an issue.
‘Gloria’ really set the standard of how a band should be, enthusiasm and compassion in a vigour fashion. Sparks’ vocals never dulled down even with quirky lines ‘Do you wanna cross the line? Well I tripped and I fell and landed straight at your feet’. Adamant to keep the stage presence strong, the guitar skills from both Sparks and James Pebble swaying in a verve that contained more reason for adolescent youth to form a mass mosh pit in the centre, relating to the band’s lyrics and stance, the main crowd pleaser was the well known ‘Ready Yet’.
With the heavier, rockier song ‘Saviour’ gives more credibility to the strength of their performance, setting a higher standard for live British bands. Without doubt, Canterbury became one of the most memorable sets on Kerrang stage on the first day that drew to an end with their unique lyrics that left with people singing out ‘Ready Yet’. 8/10 SP
Punktastic Acoustic Stage
Ghost Town
Down a corridor off the main stage at Warped UK, you will find the Punktasic Acoustic basement. A place not many fans have found so early on a Saturday, but a few of the UK Ghosts have shown up to support Ghost Town play their first ever UK show. The crowd are all sat down, intently listening to Kevin’s voice. Halfway though the set Kevin stood up and did the rest of the set with the energy he puts into the full live sets. Highlights of the set included ‘You’re So Creepy’ and ‘Skeleton’ 9/10 KE
Reviews by: Rhian Westbury, James Hingle, Mattie Borucki, Kayla Elliot & Skye Portman
Photos by: Gemma Bell & Skye Portman
