auburn

Vans Warped Tour // Auburn, WA [Pt. IV]

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My apologies everyone on the delayed post.  For those who have missed them, here are the prior parts: one, two, and three.

To begin, I personally did not see myself seeing PVRIS (pronounced Paris) as I had heard nothing about them, but I was recommended to them by both Tyler and Carmin.  Things had worked out since I also had a block in my schedule to shoot them.  Their style is something I haven't necessarily heard earlier but it's something electronic-y and alt/pop/rocky.  The band themselves are fairly new into the game, with only two prior EPs and one album, and I feel they do have a lot of growing up to do.  This aside; however, they do have a loyal fanbase and I do hope to hear them accelerate through the charts much like LIGHTS had since her debut.

So...if glam rock met post-hardcore, and had a baby, the result would be the Black Veil Brides.  Although I haven't heard too much of them, and wasn't necessarily drawn by their music - they put on a fun show!  Similar to many glam rock and hair metal bands of the 80s (I'm looking at you Poison and Motley Crue) BVB delivered the stage theatrics with the silly makeup, long hair, studded jackets, smoke and pyrotechnics.  I wish I could have stayed longer but I could never miss a chance to see...

...Beartooth!  Gone are Caleb Shomo's day of crabcore with Attack Attack! Instead comes a vicious post-hardcore/metalcore act where the crowds seem to grow every time I see them.  The fans were some of the rowdiest, despite being later in the day.  Crowdsurfers flew as the band tore up the stage, and even more so when the cover of Blitzkieg Bop came on.  Although some of the notes were missed, the intensity made up for it.  I would highly recommend any headbanger to join the pit and see them on tour.

Finally!  I have waited years to see I Killed the Prom Queen since the release of their album Music for the Recently Deceased came out in 2006 (which I'm still rocking out to, btw.)  I don't think they'd ever made their way to Vancouver and I was even more heartbroken when I heard of their breakup in 2008, but time had finally come when they reunited for their latest record Beloved (sans JJ Peters, however.)  For some reason, bassist Benjamin Coyte wasn't present but the show carried on with Jaime Hope (ex-The Red Shore) growling at the top (or bottom) of his lungs and Jona Weinhofen slaying it on the cleans.  Although the crowd (and set) was smaller than I expected, the pit was wild and I ended up getting kicked in the back once or twice (I thought it was just elbows!)  With Aussies Northlane, Parkway Drive and Deez Nuts hitting up Vancouver, I can only dream for a headlining Canada tour with IKTPQ.

 

Setlists

PVRIS

  1. Fire
  2. St. Patrick
  3. Mirrors
  4. Holy
  5. White Noise
  6. My House

Black Veil Brides

  1. Faithless
  2. Heart of Fire
  3. Coffin
  4. Wretched and Divine
  5. Kickstart My Heart (Motley Crue cover)
  6. The Legacy
  7. In The End

Beartooth

  1. The Lines
  2. Relapsing
  3. In Between
  4. I Have a Problem
  5. Beaten In Lips
  6. Dead
  7. Blitzkrieg Bop (Ramones cover)
  8. Body Bag

I Killed The Prom Queen

  1. Your Shirt Would Look Better with a Colombian Necktie
  2. Thirty One & Sevens
  3. Calvert Street
  4. Sharks In Your Mouth
  5. Say Goodbye
  6. To the Wolves

 

Vans Warped Tour // Auburn, WA [Pt. III]

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Cheers to the weekend, everyone!  For those who missed out, you can find part one here and part two, here.

The first band for this post goes to Memphis May Fire, a metalcore act from Dallas, Texas.  Despite having many lineup changes, their sound has undergone a fairly natural progression with their latest record, Unconditional, feeling very theatrical.  Although I haven't tuned into much of their discography, their performance was fun, jumpy and I'd say the instrumentalists outdid Matt Mullins in terms of stage presence.  All-in-all, nothing that stands out from the crowd but a otherwise very solid performance.

Up next is currently one of my favourite bands currently on repeat, The Amity Affliction.  These Brisbane natives came by Vancouver not too long ago, and although I love their studio albums, I felt their live mixing was a little on the weaker side both then and now.  In particular, I felt that Ahren Stringer couldn't quite nail some of the higher notes - but then again, I could be a little harsh assuming that it was the last day on the tour.  Regardless, Joel Birch's screams were heavy and the crowd participation, particularly during the breakdowns and refrains were excellent.  

Oh, I'm going to get a LOT of flack for this, but I actually can't stand the music from Pierce the Veil.  But then again, I'm also known for my brutal honesty - so here it goes.  Firstly, the security had held us back due to the abundance of CO2 canisters by the stage which started their set with a fuck-load of confetti.  After that, we all rushed in a single file line and were unable to really navigate the stage due to the onslaught of crowd-surfing fan girls (hence the same angle shots in most of the pictures.)  Regardless of my disdain for their "whiny" vocals, they definitely had the energy, stage presence and theatrics that I wish many of the bands I loved would show more often.  Even seeing these guys open for A Day to Remember, they definitely competed in terms of confetti, explosions and pyrotechnics.

Oh boy, I don't even know where to start with While She Sleeps.  They were definitely in the top 3 performances of the day, the other two going to Blessthefall and Senses Fail.  The boys from Sheffield, and in particular, front-man Lawrence Taylor just tore the crowd a new one.  These guys are absolutely bat-shit crazy and I love it.  The aggression in the lyrics really comes out in their actions, they're jumping, head-banging, hanging off of shit, tearing shirts off - the list goes on.  All I'm going to say here is that if you can, see these guys live.  You won't regret it.

August Burns Red.  This band from Manheim, Pennsylvania is probably one of the most progressive bands in the metalcore genre and are ALWAYS pushing the agenda in terms of technical prowess and introducing their influences into their music.  Be it little country-esque riffs to jazzy/bluesy outros, this band has it all.  What I can really respect about these guys is that, despite being an all-Christian band, they're not there to shove it down your throats, and would rather the metaphoric lyricism be interpreted as you wish.  It was awesome to see JB shred through all those solos and for Jake Luhrs to let out his extremely heavy screams, but also to see his passion and dancing (cue Internal Cannon).  I'm so sad that I missed them when they were last in Vancouver, but given the chance, I would find a way to see them again. 

Setlists

Memphis May Fire

  1. My Generation
  2. Prove Me Right
  3. Beneath the Skin
  4. No Ordinary Love
  5. Stay the Course
  6. The Sinner 
  7. Vices

The Amity Affliction

  1. Pittsburgh
  2. Never Alone
  3. Death's Hand
  4. Open Letter
  5. Chasing Ghosts
  6. Don't Lean On Me

Pierce the Veil

  1. The Divine Zero
  2. May These Noises Startle You in Your Sleep Tonight
  3. Hell Above
  4. Bulls in the Bronx
  5. Yeah Boy and Doll Face
  6. Caraphernelia (ft. Jake Luhrs of August Burns Red)
  7. King for a Day

While She Sleeps

  1. Death Toll
  2. New World Torture
  3. Brainwashed
  4. Trophies of Violence
  5. This is the Six
  6. Seven Hills

August Burns Red

  1. Fault Line
  2. The Wake
  3. Provision
  4. Identity
  5. Composure
  6. Internal Cannon
  7. Back Burner
  8. Empire
  9. White Washed

Vans Warped Tour // Auburn, WA [Pt. II]

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Welcome back, everyone!  For those who missed the first part of this blog, you can find it here.

Picking up where we left off, Attila came on next.  They are probably the most controversial in the metalcore scene right now, either you love them and their DGAF attitude, or you absolutely despite them and hate everything they stand for.  Regardless of where you stand, their stage presence and setup is a spectacle in itself (hell, it included beer pong).  Fronz, may have missed a few notes here and there but the crowd sang at the top of their lungs, never missing a lyric, which is pretty admirable.  The performances for all the songs off of About That Life were probably their strongest.  (E.g. see the fan picture of Middle Fingers Up below!)

The 7th band for the day was Canada's own Silverstein, a post-hardcore act from Burlington, Ontario.  Although I'm not too familiar with them, their fan-base has been known as loyal, contributing to their excess of a million records sold worldwide.  The performance was solid but not the best I had seen for the day (wait for Blessthefall...).

Holy fucking shit.  Those are all the words I have for Beau Bokan of Blessthefall.  They easily stole the show for me out of the 20 bands that I had run into for the day.  One second he's here, the next he's jumping off stuff, and then he's jumped into the crowd.  Oh, and the rest of the band was on point too!  Moreover, the setlist was pretty neat, incorporating both old and new tunes.  They even brought out Craig Mabbitt, the former lead vocalist (he's not in Escape the Fate) for a performance of Guys Like You Make Us Look Bad, a song off their first record!

After the awesomeness that was BTF, we had a quick break and I caught up with my friend, Jessica Dawn, who mind you also models.  We ended up catching Our Last Night while waiting for our next big band.  OTL is a post-hardcore act forming in 2004, with their newer releases becoming more melodic and containing less of a focus on unclean vocals.  The show was mediocre in the grand scheme of things, and felt a bit generic for me.

The last band for this post goes to Being As An Ocean, a fairly new act forming in 2011 specializing in melodic hardcore.  Their sound is extremely unique, jumping from spoken-word, poetic verses and then into unclean choruses.  The fusion and lyricism is profound, and in-fact, quite beautiful.  Joel Quartuccio absolutely nails what they were set out to do and their live performance is an excellent rendition of their studio recordings.

Setlists

Attila

  1. Prison Riot (Lil Jon intro)
  2. Middle Fingers Up
  3. Rage
  4. Shots for the Boys
  5. Party With the Devil
  6. About that Life
  7. Payback
  8. Proving Grounds

Silverstein

  1. Vices
  2. Smile in Your Sleep
  3. A Midwestern State of Emergency
  4. Broken Stars
  5. Massachusetts
  6. Heaven, Hell and Purgatory
  7. My Heroine

Blessthefall

  1. You Wear a Crown But You're No King
  2. Youngbloods
  3. Guys Like You Make Us Look Bad
  4. 2.0
  5. What's Left of Me
  6. See You on the Outside
  7. Up in Flames
  8. Hollow Bodies

Our Last Night

  1. Same Old War
  2. A World Divided
  3. I've Never Felt This Way
  4. Road to the Throne
  5. Home
  6. Sunrise

Being As An Ocean

  1. Sleeping Sicarii
  2. Mediocre Shakespeare
  3. Little Richie
  4. Death's Great Black Wing Scrapes the Air
  5. The Hardest Part is Forgetting Those You Swore You Would Never Forget

Vans Warped Tour // Auburn, WA [Pt. I]

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August 8, 2015 - Dreams really do come true!  I got the opportunity to shoot the Vans Warped Tour at the White River Amphitheater, special thanks to friend in the photo community, Tyler Wenzel.  Along with two of his friends and the talented Carmin Edwards, we embarked on our trip to the final date of 2015's Warped Tour.  Although we had some resistance at the border (and getting pulled over for having 'too much professional equipment' and being accused of working illegally) we made it through!

For less-clutter reasons, I'm going to divide this blog post up in to four parts, with approximately five bands each which will include my synopses and the band's setlists.  Most of the bands will fall into either post-hardcore, hardcore or metalcore genres.

Although arriving a bit last minute to the venue, Tyler and I rushed to the media tent and realized that Crossfaith were first to start the day.  Tyler recommended them as he had seen them in years prior, and boy did they live up to his hype.  For those who don't know, they're a Japanese metalcore band from Osaka incorporating some electronic and industrial elements.  All five members were constantly headbanging and all over the stage.  They definitely made the start of my day all-the-more exciting and I would love for them to have a tour in North America.

Next up came Hundredth, a melodic hardcore act hailing from South Carolina.  Known for their work with Hope Into Humanity, the boys tore up the stage with aggression, energy and gave me opportunities for awesome photos ;).  Although I couldn't stay for the whole set, from what I saw, they definitely made their last day worth it and weren't hungover unlike some of the other bands on tour.

...and the reason I couldn't finish Hundredth's set was because I was running back to see Senses Fail, the post-hardcore act that every emo kid at my high school would listen to.  Although I would say the peak of their popularity was in the mid-2000s, we saw a massive crowd consisting of both new and old fans.  Buddy Neilsen, the vocalist and front-man announced his fight against discrimination towards "sexual deviants" and noted that he himself identified as queer.  This brought on massive cheers by both myself and the crowd.  Oh!  And the man sure knows how to dress to impress!

Rushing back to the Unicorn stage, We Came as Romans were next - a metalcore act from Troy, Michigan.  Although I'm not particularly fond of their sound (mainly the clean vocals) they can definitely put on a show as I've seen before when they opened for other bands in Vancouver.  They fed off the crowd's energy and just slayed it.  Also they have an Asian drummer which I think is hella rad :).

The last band for this post goes to Fit For a King, the Christian metalcore act from Dallas, Texas.  Although the band featured lots of chugging, I feel that their sound hasn't really matured or changed at all since the release of their first record, Creation/Destruction in 2013.  The performance itself wasn't very fun or upbeat unlike the earlier acts of today but the matching uniforms were fun!

Stay tuned for the other 14 bands coming up over the next few days!

Setlists

Crossfaith

  1. Monolith
  2. Jagerbomb
  3. Ghost in the Mirror
  4. Countdown to Hell
  5. Xeno

Hundredth

  1. Break Free
  2. Inside Out
  3. Free Mind / Open Spirit
  4. Unravel
  5. Remain & Sustain
  6. Weathered Town
  7. Soul

Senses Fail

  1. Canine
  2. Can't Be Saved
  3. Take Refuse
  4. Buried a Lie
  5. The Importance of the Moment of Death
  6. Calling All Cars
  7. Bite to Break Skin

We Came As Romans

  1. Tracing Back Roots
  2. Ghsots
  3. Fade Away
  4. The World I Used to Know
  5. Regenerate
  6. Broken Statues
  7. To Plant a Seed
  8. Hope

Fit for a King

  1. Hooked
  2. Hollow King (Sound of the End)
  3. Ancient Waters
  4. Slave to Nothing
  5. The Resistance
  6. Warpath