My day didn't start off too promising as I woke up in my southern Ontario home to the hardest rain we have had all summer (and we have had a lot of it). But nonetheless, I was off to Darien Lake for Warped Tour and kept my hopes up.
The weather cleared as I arrived just in time to catch the Bouncing Souls' 11:30 set. I was disappointed to find out that the main stages were moved into the amphitheatre because of the weather. The Souls were fantastic as usual, however. They opened up with "Private Radio" and rifled through favourites including "That Song," "The Gold Song," "Kids and Heroes," "Lean on Sheena," "Sing Along Forever" and closed out with "True Believers." Greg decided to crowd surf at the very end and mentioned that since they were playing so early they would be playing an acoustic set at the Eco Tent at 4:15. I caught a little bit of that later, where they played "Gone," "The Pizza Song" and even "The Gold Song" acoustic. It was really a treat.
The rain really started to come down a little after noon and everyone had to make their decision on standing out in the rain or run and take cover under the amphitheatre while Cobra Starship was playing. It was about a 50/50 split.
At 2:00 I went to watch Story of the Year, a band I really liked a few years ago but never got a chance to see them play, so I was excited to see my favourites off Page Avenue. They didn't disappoint. They played "And the Hero Will Drown," "In the Shadows" and "Until the Day I Die" as well as "Our Time Is Now," "Is This My Fate?", "Wake Up" and "The Antidote" as well as more recent tunes.
The next band of the day were the hometown favourites, Every Time I Die, at 3:00 p.m. This is a band I would have really liked to see outdoors but the seats and small pit area didn't stop everyone from having a good time. Tracks I remember include "No Son of Mine, "We'rewolf," "Inrihab," "Apocalypse Now and Then," "Bored Stiff" (opener), "The New Black" (closer), "Floater" and "Ebolarama." The "Let's Go Buffalo!" chants were continuous during their set, making it one of my favourites of the day.
As I planned to stay the entire day I just began moving from stage to stage as quickly as I could to catch as many bands possible. I caught a little bit of the Bronx (whom sounded great) before heading away from the main stage.
As I waited for Set Your Goals to play on the Smartpunk stage, Katy Perry was finishing her set on the Hurley.com Stage. She had one of the biggest crowds of the day. I figure everyone was waiting around for "I Kissed a Girl." Set Your Goals took the stage about five minutes late due to Katy Perry going over her limit and they looked pissed. They played "This Very Moment," "Work in Progress," "We Do It for the Money, Obviously!", "Goonies Never Say Die," "Mutiny!", etc. (the same rotation of songs they have been going through for three-to-four years). Don't get me wrong: I think they are solid tracks, but a new album would be nice anytime soon. So all in all, they were pretty good; I expected them to deliver a little bit better, but I was satisfied.
I managed to catch a little bit of Pennywise, Bring Me the Horizon (awesome wall of death), Reel Big Fish (probably my sleeper pick for the day, I really enjoyed their set), and then sat impatiently through Say Anything's set in the amphitheatre as I waited for Anberlin to play.
Anberlin won the extra 10 minutes to my surprise; they must have a really solid fanbase. I was hoping to get to see a track from their album, New Surrender, coming out in the fall but they opted out. "Godspeed," "Adelaide," "Hello Alone," "Dismantle Repair," "Paperthin Hymn," "A Day Late," "The Feel Good Drag" and "Never Take Friendship Personal" were all played. They were very good.
Next was the last band of the day. Against Me! took the stage at 8:20 and there were still a lot of kids who stuck around to have fun. Everyone threw their tiredness aside and sung along to favourites like "Americans Abroad," "Sink, Florida, Sink," "You Look Like I Need a Drink," "Pints of Guiness Make You Strong," "New Wave," "Stop!" and "Thrash Unreal." After that, it was time to call it a day.
I enjoyed my day at Warped Tour and really liked the fact I was occupied by good bands to stick around for the entire day. Cheers!