Vans Warped Tour – at The Pomona Fairplex – Pomona, CA

Day One of Vans Warped Tour Pomona, CA was a day full of music, fun, and plenty of surprises. Held at the scenic Pomona Fairgrounds this year’s tour marks Vans Warped Tour 18th year in existence. 

 

What began in 1995 as an extreme sport and music festival has since evolved to incorporate the digital media and constantly expanding array of musical acts in an effort to keep the tour relevant to the current generation of tour goers.

One of the first bands to play this year's Pomona, CA date of the tour was the Architects on the monster energy stage. Established in 2004 in Brighton, England the Architects are known for their intense Metalcore style music. Though the Architects have seen a few band member changes since their establishment they have since seem to have found an artistic line-up that works for them. Their performance on the Monster Energy Stage was marked by emotional intensity that seemed to speak to the audience in a way that was reminiscent of Hardcore Punk Rock acts on the 1980s. A musical tour-de-force unto himself Sam Carter (lead vocalist of the Architects) brought everything he had to the stage, and delivered a front man act to remember. Playing tracks that consisted of “These Colours Don’t Run” and “Alpha Omega” the Architects did more than their part in kick off the day’s festivities.

Memphis May fire a band from Dallas, TX took the KIA soul stage at Just before noon on day one of Vans Warped Tour Pomona. Known for their Post-Hardcore music style Memphis May Fire took command of a four hundred plus crowd by opening up with a scream "How the fuck are you Pomona?" and immediately began playing “The Victim.” Towards the end of their set Matty Mullins (lead vocalist of Memphis May Fire) asked for the biggest circle pit the lead singer has ever seen. At the end of their set Mullins thanked the audience for their awesome energy and thanked Warped Tour for allowing them to join the experience today. Memphis May Fire left the stage in the same way they entered, to the cheers and applause of their fans.

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Joey Briggs acoustic set began at 1:10pm on the Acoustic Basement Stage. Known world-wide as the lead vocalist of The Briggs; Joey Briggs’ band that found notable success from their track “This is L.A.” that has since become a fight anthem for many Los Angeles, CA sports teams. His performance brought musical lyrics that spoke of growing up in Los Angeles, and the wisdom he has gained in life. The audience sat in silent contemplation throughout his entire set while he played "Happy Being Miserable," “Lose Our Voices” and “Suburban Kid.” Not to be daunted by the loud music of other bands playing at other stages Briggs set was energetic and well done.

A little while after his performance Joey Briggs took some time to talk with Big Wheel about what he is currently up to and “For about 3 years now I have been writing and performing my solo material. I started it because I was writing songs on the road with my acoustic guitar and sometimes I think of a song, and think that it’s not quite a Briggs song. That led me to putting out my own album. Currently I am working on a new album for The Briggs, and well as a handful of other projects on top of touring.” When asked about how he felt about The Briggs success with their song “This is L.A.” Joey had this to say “We did not mean for it to be a sports anthem, but for some reason the song did become just that. I mean it is an honor and crazy to hear my song be played the L.A. Kings win the playoffs when that role is usually given to a Pop song that was written explicitly for that purpose.”

Like Moths to Flame played the Monster Energy Stage at 1:40pm. A Metalcore band originally from Columbus, OH Like Moths to Flame formed in 2010, and has since released three albums. Upon taking the stage Chris Roetter (lead vocalist of Like Moths to Flame) exclaimed “What's up Pomona!” and opened up with "The Worst in Me" and played an entire set with high energy.  At end of set the Architects lead vocalist Sam Carter joined the band of the stage to sing “You Won’t be Missed.”

Kevin Seconds played an acoustic set at in spite of a calf muscle injury the occurred when “I [Kevin Seconds] was doing a sweet stunt on stage at a show 7 Seconds played in Canada. I nailed the stunt but landed wrong.” Known for both his solo music and his work in 7 Seconds (a Punk band that has been around since 1980) his set consisted of his signature style harmonic musical style with a distinct Punk flavor. During Kevin’s set he mentioned to the audience the last time he played Warped Tour was 1999, where he toured with Eminem, Black Eyed Peas, Blink 182, and Dropkick Murphy's. Kevin played a set that was made for "The broken and the bent" that spoke from his knowledge and wisdom he has gained over the year's playing Punk and living a life that is full of musical sacrifice and hard earned joy.

3OH!3 played the Kia Soul Stage and opened up with "PUNKB*TCH" and "IMNOTYOURBOYFRIENDBABY" and brought the crowds energy up to an insanely high level with little more than a synthesized beat and a charismatic performance. From Boulder, CO 3OH!3 formed in 2004 and have since found commercial success with their album “Want.” They kept the energy of the tour up showcasing how music can revived a crowd that has been in the heat since 11am.

The Aquabats, a band from Huntington Beach, CA that formed in 1994 and has since made a name for themselves with their kids television show entitled “The Aquabats! Super Show!” They arrived to stage on a giant Vans Sneaker.   Their set consisted of a cover of “Institutionalized” by Suicidal Tendencies, as well as their hits “Fashion Zombies,” “The Shark Fighter,” and theme song to their kid’s television show. Half way through their set MC bat Commander (lead vocalist for The Aquabats) brought a kid named Kailey on stage and asked her what her favorite T.V. show was. Kailey responded with “Mickey Mouse” was her #1 choice making “The Aquabats! Super Show!” #2 pick. During the end of their set MC Bat Commander instigated a Where’s Waldo fight while MC bat Commander noted to the audience “We have Waldo’s wiggling and slamming into each other, I don’t know why all of you are even watching us. We are old and fat and there are plenty of other better bands playing today.” The Aquabat’s set brought with it a lighthearted vibe to the first day of the Pomona, CA stop of Warped Tour.

Bring Me the Horizon played to an audience that had been waiting patiently for their set to come up. From Sheffield, Yorkshire Bring Me the Horizon formed in 2004 and has released four albums since. Upon taking the stage Oliver Sykes (lead vocalist for Bring Me the Horizon) exclaimed “We're a bit disoriented because we literally just flew in,” and immediately began playing for the excited Warped Tour audience. Their entire set was marked with high energy from the band and fans in attendance. 

Day one of the Pomona leg of the Vans Warped Tour finished up with a performance by Goldfinger on the Tilly’s Stage. From Los Angeles, CA Goldfinger has been playing their signature mix of Punk/Ska music since 1994. Their set consisted of John Feldmann (lead vocalist of Goldfinger) crowd surfing while they played tracks like “Spokesman,” “99 Red Balloons,” and “Superman” and the audience skanked danced. At one point towards the end of the bands set Darrin Pfeiffer (drummer of Goldfinger) had an audience member eat a Twinkie out of his butt, bringing Day one of the Pomona leg of Warped Tour to a memorable close.

       

    More photos of the show can be seen HERE

-Ryan R.-
Big Wheel Staff Reporter

 

 

 

 

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