Vans Warped Tour ‘07 Entertainment Art First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre Chicago, Ill. July 28, 2007

Every year Vans Warped Tour brings a few big names and a ton of the buzz bands, yet there are still plenty of bands that are equally worthy but might be off your radar. Some names to look out for are NY’s Bayside, the aloha reggae of Pepper and San Diego’s My American Heart.

Another one in particular that impressed me was a band from Manhattan called The Toaster. This ska band has been around since ’81 but was unknown to me, yet their saxophonist and lyrics immediately brought both myself and the crowed in for a closer look. This year they are celebrating their 25th Anniversary after just releasing a new studio album and proved to me that today was going to be an education.

If you’ve never been to a Vans Warped Tour then you are in for a treat. Everywhere you look there’s another stage and another opportunity to open up your eyes and ears and find your next favorite band. There’s a great mixture of styles for one to absorb at any given point of the day so make sure you arrive early.

Some bands I just stumbled on, like Meg and Dia that I found playing at the Hurley Stage in the pavilion. I enjoyed kicking back in a seat watching the sister act play their up beat punk music. Let’s face it there’s something enjoyable about watching girls sing and play guitar. Especially when they are easy on the eyes and it gave me a moment to relax and hide from the sun.

Of course you could still seek out those name bands like New Found Glory and Coheed and Cambria as well. Both these bands owned the crowd and sent an energy throughout the venue that got everyone hyped and ready to mosh around. Another Vans Warped veteran, Bad Religion, proved their staying power and it showed with the turn out they had at their set alone. I even found myself tempted to join in on the moshing but instead decided to observe from a safe location in the back.

When you need a break from the music you can take a walk through the sea of booths set up for bystanders to take a peak at band gear and other types of clothing. I was able to walk around and hear all these different bands while tempting myself to fork over cash for the variety of merchandise. Oh and if you get thirsty go make your own sno-cone with the variety of self-serve flavors at your finger tips.

The one downfall to the whole experience is finding the stages. The layout is different at every venue so there’s no maps and if you want to see a particular band you have a 50/50 chance of finding that stage in time. I probably went to the information booth six or seven times to find out where and when a certain band was playing. There were very few schedules posted around so it was frustrating to say the least.

Overall, the performances were excellent, however the organization and the set up of the venue was not the best that I have seen. My experience was one that I will remember and I went home with a larger knowledge of the music that is out there. In fact, I went and bought a couple of the bands CDS when I got home. Hopefully Vans Warped Tour will keep up the good work and continue to be one of the most successful touring festivals in the world.

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