In honour of the punk rock summer camp that raised a generation
Like many other teenagers of the self-proclaimed pop punk persuasion, I remember listening to Blink-182’s Take Off Your Pants and Jacket on repeat while I was growing up. One of my favourite songs on that album is “The Rock Show,” in which Mark Hoppus sings, “I couldn’t wait for the summer and the Warped Tour.” So I dreamed about going to Warped Tour, too.
In the summer of 2011, that dream finally came true — which was a pretty huge deal for me as I was still in high school. My parents drove my best friend and I to Arrow Hall in Mississauga, one of the biggest parking lots in the GTA. We saw Relient K, A Day to Remember, and Paramore (still my favourite band to this day).
There was so much to do — meet and greets, CD signings, and collecting freebies from the sponsored tents. Everyone walked on the same pavement; there was no hierarchy when it came to bands being too good to help with their own stage set up, merch sales, or set time promotion. Band members enjoyed the festival themselves and could be seen walking from tent to tent or watching their friends perform from the side stage. Near the end of the day, I even happened to notice Matt Thiessen of Relient K walking past and snagged a picture with him.Warped Tour was a rain or shine event, and it was just my luck that it would rain more often than not. It rained heavily on that July day in 2012, which actually caused the festival to temporarily shut down.
Concertgoers were directed to wait out the rain under the Molson Canadian Amphitheatre roof (the tour had relocated to a central Toronto venue for the following years instead of opting for the Mississauga parking lot), but some people just packed up and left for the day. The festival organizers had offered free passes to the closest next tour stop in Buffalo, NY, for those who couldn’t handle the rain and wanted to come to the festival another day.
I had come prepared with a rain poncho, thanks to the foresight of my mom, so I happily waited in the amphitheatre. A good-natured crowd had formed, spontaneously breaking into a rousing anthem of “O Canada” while we waited for the weather to pass. When it finally did, the festival organizers raced to throw together a new schedule for the set times. Bands were juggled among the stages and set lists had to be cut, but the show went on, even in the rain.
Something unique, yet sometimes frustrating, about Warped Tour is that they don’t release their schedule until the morning of, which potentially leads to conflicts. What do you do when two of your favourite bands are playing on different stages at the same time? So 2013 was the year I adopted a more carefree attitude, having been forced to prioritize seeing some bands over others. I saw a wider variety of bands that year, running to and from different stages, catching just bits and pieces of each artist’s set.
It rained again in 2014. My sneakers squished all day as I jumped up and down and danced to songs by Real Friends, The Maine, The Story So Far, Yellowcard, Mayday Parade, and PVRIS. I wore the same pair of cerulean blue Converse whenever I went to a concert, and this time was no exception. Throughout the summers, my shoes have been worn down, muddied, and completely soaked. I still have that pair of sneakers in the back of my closet, though I wear them less often now. The last time I went to Warped Tour was in 2015. I’d arrived with a few of my friends, but I split up with them early in the day to wander off on my own. I saw 18 different bands that day — more than I’d ever seen in one day. The great thing about the festival was that there was always music playing somewhere on a stage, so there was never an excuse to be bored. Some were good, others I don’t remember as much.
Warped Tour skipped having a Canadian stop on the tour in 2016 and 2017. The usual venue was the shared fairgrounds of Molson Canadian Amphitheatre/Ontario Place/Echo Beach, but since Ontario Place was being renovated in the next few years, the festival was left without a suitable venue. All good things have to eventually come to an end. It was recently announced that the 24th anniversary of the Vans Warped Tour in 2018 would be its final run. Luckily for Canadian fans, the 37 date tour includes a return to Toronto on July 17, 2018. I fell in love with rock music at Warped Tour. Pop punk, alternative, indie, emo — it didn’t matter what you called it — I loved it all. My music tastes have changed since I was a teenager, but I still get that wave of nostalgia when an All Time Low or A Day to Remember song plays on shuffle. I mourn the loss of Warped Tour, for the kids who will start listening to rock music too late and will miss their opportunity to see their favourite bands play, and who will miss out on the great experiences I had.
I used to imagine myself in the role of the girl when Mark Hoppus sings, “I fell in love with the girl at the rock show,” during the chorus. Because how exciting would it be to fall in love with a beautiful stranger as your favourite band plays your favourite song? While that never happened, I realize that instead I’ve become the girl who fell in love with the rock show.
Photos by Karen K. Tran/The Ontarion