Warped Tour hits Atlanta

Vans Warped Tour 2008
July 9, 2008
Lakewood Amphitheatre

This year’s Vans Warped Tour is proving to be one of the most diverse. With a little less than a month into the tour and more than a month to go, 2008’s Warped Tour is entertaining fans with the usual punk acts such as The Secret Handshake and Cobra Starship, plus radio favorite Katy Perry, and hardcore, metal rockers including As I Lay Dying.

As the tour rolled into Atlanta yesterday, there was plenty of crowd support in the form of mosh pits, crowd surfing and bottle throwing but also a lot of artists supporting their fellow peers. Katy Perry was seen taking in Cobra Starship’s backstage acoustic set while many other band members were seen high-fiving and chatting up different group members between media interviews.

“This is my fifth or sixth [Warped Tour], and this year has been great,” shares Andrew McMahon from Jack’s Mannequin. Having performed at his first Warped Tour in 2002 with Something Corporate, Andrew’s considered a tour veteran. “I’d be lying to say that it’s not a hard tour, but for me it’s about meeting fans and tour camaraderie.”

From Warped Tour pros like McMahon to tour virgins like 3Oh!3’s Nate Motte, this tour is a great opportunity for fans and performers. “It is really going great,” says Motte. “This is not only our first Warped Tour, but our first national tour. It’s so great to see so many people and kids just going ape sh*t at every show.”

“This is our second Warped Tour,” shares Matthew Thiessen of Relient K. “We were bummed last year that we had to leave early, but we’re glad to be back. We know what to do this year. It’s nice knowing the ropes: what to do and what not to do. We have a bus with a shower on it this year, and that solves so many problems.”

A cold shower would be a nice amenity for summer concert series known for its all day steamy temperatures. But even the hot weather cannot damper the fervor of the crowds; the intensity of the fans is a show in itself. Whether its teenage girls supporting their favorite group in one-of-a-kind painted t-shirts or stoners crowd suffering, everyone was out to soak up sun, listen to great music, and forget their usual weekday responsibilities.

Crouton from Family Force 5 sums up the experience best. “[Warped Tour] is incredible,” he says. “It’s completely sweaty, sticky, dirty and great.”

Keep checking AMG for exclusive band interviews with Warped Tour performers.

Pictures can be found HERE