By Ben Buchnat, Staff Writer and Director of Social Media Operations
Well Warped Tour has come and gone, and I am reveling in its impact left on me. Warped Tour 2014 at Tinley Park included many great performances. Let’s get started with a set by set walk through of my day at Warped Tour
(Picture of me winning Riot Fest tickets!)
State Champs
While I was not very familiar with the band before their opening set, I feel obligated to check them out in the future. They had good energy and the crowd that arrived early feeded off that and looked like they were having a good time. Although probably my least-favorite set of the day (that was a pretty easy task to accomplish), it was still solid and a good start to the day.
Yellowcard acoustic
The next full set that I saw was a very special acoustic set by Yellowcard. Only a limited number of people were able to get into the Kia tent to even seen them play and I am so happy I was a part of that group. The band opened with Rough Landing Holly (which is my all-time favorite Yellowcard song) and played three other songs which included Always Summer, With You Around, and Ocean Avenue. Yellowcard is fantastic at performing acoustically and this set was no exception. The highlight was probably the aforementioned opening song even though it was funny when the band called out two Falling In Reverse fans for leaving before they played Ocean Avenue.
Bad Rabbits
Bad Rabbits was the surprise of the day, bringing the funk to the Warped Tour. These guys were just a blast to watch. They seemed to have so much fun on stage and the choreographed dance moves made their act stand out from the overwhelming amount of generic metalcore at the festival. I definitely recommend that everyone check this band out, especially if they want to get their funk on.
Yellowcard
Yellowcard’s second set of the day was another reason why I think they are one of the best live bands in the scene today. They had an extremely tight set, playing songs like Way Away, Awakening, and of course Ocean Avenue. The only minor criticism that I could give is that the band did not play any songs off Lights and Sounds during the set. It is pretty nit-picky considering that the band only got 30 minutes. Anberlin’s Nate Young did a great job on drums and I hope he joins the band full-time once Anberlin is finished. Yellowcard was one of the many great performances of the day.
Less Than Jake
Less Than Jake, being of course the token ska-punk band, put on a typically awesome ska-punk set that has been expected from this band for many years now. They came out swinging with a lot of energy and that never let up for the entire set. A massive pit went on continuously while the band was playing. The band cranked out hits and fan favorites and my favorite was a high-octane performance of All My Best Friends Are Metalheads. Less Than Jake may be one of the oldest bands on the tour, but they sure are not playing like they have any steam over the years.
Saves The Day
After Less Than Jake, I ran over to Saves The Day’s set, hoping not to miss much. Unfortunately, I missed most of At Your Funeral but the rest of the setlist more than made up for that. The band did not really talk much, but that was good because they were able to play nine songs. That was more than any other band I saw that day. The highlights were Shoulder To The Wheel and a excellent cover of the Weezer song El Scorcho. The only downside was that no one showed up to this set, which is disappointing because they did a great job.
Teenage Bottlerocket
These punks did an awesome job and it was nice to seen actual old-school punk on the Warped Tour. They had good energy and was just a lot of fun to watch. It was a shame that the band had such a small crowd, especially in spite of all the complaints that Warped should add more “real” punk.
Bowling For Soup
BFS proved that they are one of the funniest bands in the scene today. Their set was incredibly tight and highlights including the Phineas and Ferb theme song and a really awesome performance of Punk Rock 101. The band the Summer Set did come out to play Girl All The Bad Guys Want. Although the band did do a good job, I would have rather just seen Bowling For Soup play it. Still, it was an incredibly fun set and a good time all around.
Anberlin
What a shame. Anberlin was fantastic in closing out the 2014 Vans Warped Tour. It is just so sad they are going away after this fall. They played great and a highlight was when the PA went out on them but they just kept playing on. That shows how much of a class act they are. RIP Anberlin, we will miss you
Loose Lips Press 