Vans Warped Tour says farewell to Toronto on its final adventure

The Toronto stop of Vans Warped Tour involved over 50 bands, each ready to provide one last memory for fans of the event. A full day of music running from 11 in the morning until 10 at night, it is best described as an exhausting day full of energy.

Kevin Lyman brought together the first Warped Tour all the way back in 1995, and throughout the years it has produced some of the most well-known bands in the punk rock, metal, and hard rock worlds. Acts such as Blink-182, Avenged Sevenfold, Paramore, and My Chemical Romance all got their exposure to large audiences while on the tour. After 24 years and 1,700 bands later, Warped Tour is currently making its final run across North America and made a stop in Toronto on July 17.

Normally Budweiser stage hosts concerts in its amphitheatre, but for this event 5 stages were needed and plenty of room to host pop-up shops, band tents for signing autographs and more. As is tradition, bands almost never play the same time on back to back stops, and so fans don’t know until they get in the gates where each will be playing and what time. Walking on to the site about a half hour before gates opened to the public, the line stretched all the way from the entrance to Lake Shore Boulevard. If there is one thing that this festival is remembered for, it is dedication. Dedication on behalf of those behind the scenes, the bands, and most importantly, the fans.

When it was announced earlier this year that Underoath would be getting back together as a band and releasing new music, my goal was to see them live. And that goal was achieved, as closing out this stop was Underoath, a band that had garnered huge international success in the 2000s. Only being a part of 3 stops on the tour, Underoath knocked it out the park with a brilliant performance full of energy and intensity, playing old hits as well as a few new tracks from their latest album Erase Me.

The band that probably had the largest crowd of the day was Canadian punk rock juggernauts Simple Plan. The main stage of Warped was separated into two stages, named the left foot and right foot stage, so bands would take up half the stage and then the next band would begin as soon as the other finished. Simple Plan decided that since they were stuck on a smaller stage, they would jump off everything from amplifier stacks, monitors and anything else that was available. Pierre Bouvier took home the prize for highest jump of the day, jumping off a stack on speakers as the band began with “I’d Do Anything.”

Another notable show on the day was Every Time I Die. The band gives 100 percent every time they get on stage, and the crowd was the craziest of any of the bands. From standing on top of the crowd to jumping off drumkits, Every Time I Die is a show that you must see at least once if you’re into heavy music. Lead singer Keith Buckley proclaimed “Toronto is like a home away from home for us. … This is a true hardcore show.”

The theatrics were in full swing as well. Scranton’s Motionless In White brought the riffs and breakdowns, while Boston’s Ice Nine Kills were decked out in costumes of horror villains from the likes of Jason Voorhees to Michael Myers.

There was also plenty of upcoming talent, as Warped Tour prides itself in. Bands such as Doll Skin, Don Bronco, Palaye Royale and more all connected with the crowd, whether it be by jumping into the crowd with them to sing or hanging on the rafters of the stage.

The Vans Warped Tour is a highlight of the summer for a lot of people and has been for a long time. While it is sad to see it end, that sadness was not felt on Tuesday, as there was a lot of reminiscing of memories and looking back on the old days of the tour from both the bands and the audience. Warped Tour has played a huge role in the punk music scene over the years, and it is safe to say it won’t be forgotten.