Where The Kids Are At

As I had previously mentioned around here, I took my 14yr old niece Anabelle to the Vans Warped Tour this past weekend. Yeah on Sunday, when the heat index was something like 106.

Here she is ... planning her day out with the $2 piece of paper they charge you for with the days schedule printed out. She was pretty organized and methodical about her time.

In case you have never heard of The Warped Tour, its an all day intensive barrage of punk/emo/scremo/so-cal punk/ska/ bands all playing short intense sets on multiple stages, in an outdoor setting, in the middle of summer, and it is the highlight of many a teenager boy and girl.

There is Fist Pumping.


There is Crowd Surfing by boys.


There is Crowd Surfing by Girls.


There are plenty of humorous/ironic Tee Shirts.


There is Skating.


There are Circle Pits.


There were these guys?!


*side note- I asked Anabelle if she liked blogging. She said: yes. When I asked her what kind of blog she would write, she said she wants to start a blog about all the concerts she goes to. So... I asked Anabelle if she would type up a brief about her day and do a guest post here today, and so this is what she had to say about her day at the Vans Warped Tour.

Take it away Anabelle --

PICTURE THIS: Hundreds of vicious fan girl teenagers that are desperate to see their favorite musicians while stuck in 100 degree weather. They also probably smell like body odor from being smashed together with a whole bunch of other people who were all rocking out to the same song. It doesn’t sound lovely, does it? But no matter how hot it was, if it was raining or windy, or even if some freak snowstorm happened, I was still determined to go see the 2010 Vans Warped Tour. It’s just a great place to see tons of rock bands. Almost all of them have autograph sessions and meet and greets, and it’s pretty cool to see bands that you’ve never heard of or pictured yourself seeing. Even if you aren’t a big fan of the music, it’s still tons of fun to see the crowd that Warped Tour attracts.

This year, some bands who were on my “Top Bands to See ASAP” just so happened to be on the tour this year: Sum 41, Pennywise, Reel Big Fish, Mayday Parade, and We the Kings. Luckily, I got to see all of these bands along with two other ones my uncle recommended I saw: Streetlight Manifesto and Face to Face. Every show I saw was extremely good, and at almost every show, I ended up reaching the railing in the front of the stage because of all the people moving to the mosh pit. (YAY!)

Penny Wise



Reel Big Fish


Just so you know, Warped Tour is the day to use your outdoor voice. Most people didn’t understand this concept, especially during Sum 41’s show, where some chick yelled at me for screaming “YEAH!!” when the singer/guitarist asked if we were ready for a good show.

“Um, do you really have to scream at every song?” she says. *scoffs and rolls eyes at me*

“Yes,“ I exclaim, “It’s a rock concert!” *smiles sweetly*

I don’t understand why she freaked out on me and not the half naked sweaty man rubbing up against her that was screaming every lyric to the songs in her ear the whole time.

Sum 41 probably had the best memory of the day. I’ll probably forget about Ms. Let’s-Be-Quiet-at-a-Rock-Concert, but I’ll never forget when the singer/guitarist asked “WHO WANTS TO BE ON STAGE FOR THE REST OF THE SHOW?” Um, can I?
While everyone that was screaming their hearts out to get the band’s attention, (I was too!) some 50 year old man lifts me up off the ground and sits me on his shoulders. I was a little terrified. I had no idea who this man was or where he came from and I never saw him after this creepy event, but since I still wanted to get up on stage, I kept on cheering like a wild maniac. One of my really great friends who I met up with at Warped freaked out and starting yelling “GET HER DOWN!!“ and could have possibly smacked him across the face. Good fun. Sadly, I wasn’t chosen to be on stage, but I had a fun time trying to get up there.

Sum 41





I’m glad I got to go. I’ve been wanting to ever since my mom had told me that she had seen Pennywise, Flogging Molly, Rancid, Bad Religion, and the Mighty Mighty Bostones at Warped Tour almost 10 years ago. It’s such an amazing experience and totally worth standing in the mid-summer heat with more than 50 bands and their annoying, hyper, crazy fans. Consider going next year, you won’t be let down. Please make sure if you go, wear shorts and tank tops, ONLY DRINK WATER, and wear sun block. (Your skin will be fried and burnt if you don’t.)

Recovering after Sum41 planning out the rest of the day.


Thanks Uncle Ryan! This was such an incredible vacation and it was fantastic to see you and Cole along with my two cute cousins. Let’s go again! :D

All the Love in the Universe ~ Us

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