Fans have been speculating for months about who was going to play the last tour, with guesses ranging from plausible to never-gonna-happen (*cough cough* a My Chemical Romance reunion). Alas, the lineup has been revealed and the consensus is split: some are very ecstatic about the lineup, and some are incredibly disappointed. As for me? I’m definitely excited, but I can see where people were disappointed.

Before I jump into my top ten picks, I want to address the certain marketing tactic that they used to announce the bands. As always, they post a photo with all the bands written on it in alphabetical order, with asterisks by the bands that weren’t playing the whole tour. This year, instead of asterisks, they put those bands in a purple font as opposed to the black font. At first glance, you don’t realize that they aren’t playing the full tour until you see the fine print at the bottom.

A lot of fans were upset about this, mostly because some really big bands are playing, with a lot of them only playing select dates. This sucked, because there are a lot of big names, Warped-esque bands, such as All Time Low, Asking Alexandria, Bowling For Soup, Sum 41, and Taking Back Sunday, that are only playing one or two dates. While they do clarify that they aren’t playing the full tour, one can’t really tell at first glance, which makes the lineup a little bit more disappointing.

But enough of that. I’m still pretty pumped about the bands that are playing the full tour, which all ten of these are.

1.) Movements

I CAN’T CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT TO SEE THIS BAND LIVE AGAIN. I saw them at last years Warped Tour, when they were on a small stage with a small crowd, and this year they have been upgraded to the MAIN STAGE! These guys released a killer album last October, titled “Feel Something,” which skyrocketed their career (hence the spot on the main stage). If you’re into post-hardcore emo, then you definitely need to check out this band.

Favorite song: Vacant Home

2.) The Maine

The Maine also released an amazing album last year, “Lovely Little Lonely.” I’ve only seen them once before, but that was before LLL came out and before I was really that big of a fan. The Maine are a rock band from Arizona, and they’ve played Warped shows in the past. Now that I’m into their music some more, I’m really excited to see them this summer.

Favorite song: How Do You Feel?

3.) State Champs

Tbh, I’ve seen State Champs like 5 or 6 times already. What can I say? They’re one of my all-time favorite bands that also happens to be one of the biggest in the pop-punk scene today. When I first saw them at Warped Tour back in 2014, they were still relatively small. I’m excited to see them again this year, back on the main stage, performing my favorite songs. Talk about coming full circle, huh?

Favorite song: All or Nothing

4.) Knuckle Puck

Knuckle Puck are a band that I’ve fallen deeply in love with over the last few years. They just released their sophomore album, “Shapeshifter,” this past October. It took a little while to grow on me, but I absolutely love it now, so I’m definitely excited to see them play some of their new material live.

Favorite song: Want Me Around

5.) Real Friends

Whenever I think about Real Friends, I think about the first time I saw them at Warped Tour 2014. If you couldn’t tell already, that years Warped Tour was an amazing year that got me into a lot of my current favorite bands. Real Friends are a pop punk band from Chicago, and they always give fun performances no matter where they play, but there’s something a little bit more special about their Warped shows.

Favorite song: Summer

6.) Grayscale

At this time last year, I had no idea who Grayscale was. And now, I. love. them. I discovered them shortly after the release of their 2017 pop-punk album “Adornment,” and now I can’t get enough of them. They’re still relatively small(ish), and I think those are some of the most fun sets to see live at Warped. I haven’t had the chance to see them live yet, and I hear that they’re awesome, so I’m excited.

Favorite song: Beautiful Things

7.) Broadside

Broadside are a pop punk band that I tried to see at Warped 2016, but just barely missed. They also released an album last year, “Paradise.” I haven’t listened to it too much, but from what I’ve heard of it, it’s pretty good. I loved their album “Old Bones,” and their sound overall, so I hope that I get to see them this year.

Favorite Song: Coffee Talk

8.) Simple Plan

You might be thinking, “Simple Plan are still around?” and the answer is yes, yes they are. I actually got to see them live here in Iowa City a couple years ago for the University of Iowa Homecoming (review of that here). While that was a fun, outdoor night show, I want to see them during the Warped atmosphere. They’re definitely one of the more popular Warped Tour veterans, having played the festival 1999-2005, 2011, 2013, and 2015. I’m excited to hear their most popular tunes.

Favorite song: I’m Just A Kid

9.) With Confidence

After some drama went down with the band over the past year, they’ve been kind of silent. But now, they’re ready to play Warped this year, and I’m pretty excited. I saw them as an opening band once, but what I’m really looking forward to is seeing them at Warped.

Favorite song: Voldemort

10.) Mayday Parade

And last but not least, Mayday Parade. I’ve already seen them live a handful of times, two of those being at past Warped Tours, but nonetheless, I’m still excited to see them. Mayday Parade always puts on a great show with their outstanding stage presence. They’re always so excited to be playing live, making the Warped experience that much better.

Favorite song: Just Say You’re Not Into It

So there you have it! Make sure to stay tuned for my review of the festival this summer. In the meantime, check out my review of Warped Tour 2016 here, Warped Tour 2017 here, and also my thoughts on the end of Warped Tour here.

The post Jen’s Top Ten’s: Bands I want to see at Warped Tour 2018 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

My alarm woke me at 7 am on Sunday, June 25th, 2017. Honestly, I probably didn’t need it — you know that feeling you get on Christmas Eve when you can’t fall asleep because you’re too excited for the day to come? Well, that’s the feeling I get every year before the Vans Warped Tour. Let’s be real, I’m more excited for Warped than I am for Christmas (which is when you know that Warped is legit).

If you don’t know how the Vans Warped Tour works, check out my last Warped Tour review, where I pretty much explain all that you need to know.

We arrived to the venue early again, and got in the Express Entry line. As soon as we got in, we bought the schedule and planned out our day. Honestly, there weren’t that many bands that I was dying to see this year (unlike last year), so everything pretty much worked out in our favor. We took a lap around the venue, figuring out where all the stages and stuff were, before we arrived at our first stop for the day: I Prevail.

I Prevail is an American metalcore band from Michigan that formed in 2014. It’s pretty impressive that after only being around for about three years, they’re already playing one of the main stages at Warped Tour. They kicked the day off at 11:50 am, and I can guarantee that there wasn’t a still person in the crowd. While I’m not super familiar with their music, it was easy to jam out with them. Their type of metalcore sometimes leans on the lighter side, which attracts fans more on the rock/punk side of the spectrum. They played most of their popular songs, such as “Stuck In Your Head” and “Scars“.

As soon as I Prevail wrapped up, we headed to the Full Sail stage to see Trophy Eyes, a punk rock band from Newcastle, Australia. While I wasn’t suuuper into them before today, they definitely put on a show that convinced me to check out the rest of their discography. They opened with one of their most popular songs, “Nose Bleed“. If you haven’t already, I would definitely check out their most recent release, “Chemical Miracle” which came out in 2016.

Up next was a band that I was really looking forward to seeing: Our Last Night. The last time that I saw them was at Warped Tour in 2015, and I was stoked to see them live again. OLN released a 7 song Ep titled “Selective Hearing” on June 9th, 2017. They opened with a new kick ass song, “Broken Lives“.

One of the things I like most about OLN is that their music is a hard rock/alternative with some thematic/borderline electro elements to it. Their last studio album, “Younger Dreams“, is definitely the most thematic of what they have released, but “Broken Lives” definitely sounds familiar to their music on “Younger Dreams.” Their stage presence was also very thematic — lead vocalist Trevor Wentworth danced all around the stage as water cannons sprayed the crowd. They finished their set off with their popular tune “Sunrise“, as Trevor and guitarist Woody jumped out into the audience.

Right after OLN’s set, they held a signing at their tent. We briefly got to meet the guys, who were humble as hell. I would definitely recommend checking them out.

At 2:45, we headed back to the Full Sail stage to check out one of my new favorite bands, Microwave. Microwave is a rock band from Atlanta, Georgia. They played fan favorites, such as “Lighterless“, “Stovall“, and “Vomit“. Microwave offers a refreshing sound that still has the angsty and disenchanting lyrics that we all love. Microwave is SUPER underrated, so if you check out anyone that I’m talking about in this article, make sure it’s Microwave.

After sitting down to eat and regain some energy, we headed over to the Journey’s Right Foot stage to see one of my favorite pop punk bands, Neck Deep. Before Neck Deep stepped up to the stage, a speaker from the nonprofit organization Hope For The Day came out to speak about suicide awareness. Every year, they hop on the tour and talk about the importance of speaking up and seeking help (for more information, check out their website here). The crowd takes on a somber tone, until the speaker prompts the audience to chant for Neck Deep.

The crowd chanted “Neck Deep” and then erupted into applause as the guys jumped on stage. One of the things I love most about seeing Neck Deep live (which I have now seen them live 4 times) is that they have so. much. energy. Lead singer Ben Barlow always seems super happy to be performing, as seen in his goofy facial expressions. Their setlist contained mostly songs from their most recent record, “Life’s Not Out To Get You“, with the addition of their two newest songs, “Happy Judgement Day” and “Where Do We Go When We Go“. This was definitely one of the best sets of the day, considering the enthusiasm and adrenaline coursing through everyone.

I was glad that after Neck Deep we had a couple hours to spare, because they definitely wore us out. We sat at the Full Sail stage, waiting for the next band, Movements. Movements is a post-hardcore/emo band from SoCal. And boy, did this set make me emo as hell.

“If you guys don’t already know, we don’t really make happy songs,” lead singer Patrick Miranda said as they jumped into a new song about Alzheimer’s disease. What makes them stand out to me is their mix of singing and spoken-word vocals. You can really feel the angst, hurt, and desperation in Patrick’s voice when he performs the spoken-word portion of their songs. I recommend checking out “Vacant Home“.

We finished the day off with Counterparts, a melodic hardcore band from Canada. I’m not too familiar with their music, however I enjoyed myself during their angsty, head-banging music. Their set made me forget about my aching feet, the dried up sweat, and the fact that the day was wrapping up. I’ll definitely be listening to more of their stuff, especially with their new album coming out in September.

The best part of the day was definitely this punk rock lady who had to be somewhere in her 60’s. She’s my idol, my inspiration. This is gonna be me at Warped when I’m 60.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr where I upload concert pictures and you can be up-to-date on where I’ll be next.

The post Festival Review: Vans Warped Tour 2017 @ Denver 6/25/17 appeared first on KRUI Radio.