The Word Alive performs at the Vans Warped Tour during its stop at Monmouth Park, Oceanport, on July 24. PHOTOS BY LAUREN CASSELBERRY OCEANPORT — July 24 saw the reappearance of theVansWarped Tour at Monmouth Park racetrack in Oceanport. Now in its 17th year, the Warped Tour has certainly seen its change of lineups. Originally starting as a punk and third-wave ska tour, the tour now incorporates genres such as metalcore, post hardcore, pop punk, reggae and hip-hop.
This year many acts spanning different genres appeared at the venue, including The Devil Wears Prada, A Day To Remember, August Burns Red, Asking Alexandria, and Attack Attack! (with an appearance by Dee Snider of Twisted Sister), who were all playing the main stage.
Many other bands played the Advent, Nintendo 3DS, and Tilly’s/AP stages, including The Wonder Years, Dance Gavin Dance, Enter Shikari, Of Mice & Men, Set Your Goals and Simple Plan.
This was my first visit to the Warped Tour, and I was very excited with how the day turned out. Starting off the day by seeing D.R.U.G.S. (Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows) on the main stage, and then moving on to SetYour Goals at theAdvent stage was great.
The highlight of my day was seeing and meeting The Wonder Years, a pop-punk band from Philadelphia that has certainly gained a major following over the years. It was my first time seeing them, and I can easily say that I have never seen a band put on a live performance as good as theirs.
Their energy was unmatchable on stage, and the energy in the crowd was incredibly high as well. Crowd surfers tumbling over the crowd like rocks down a cliff, people pushing and shoving left and right to try to get that much closer to the stage, the feeling was unmatchable.
After they finished playing, my friends went to sit down for a while and then we got to meet The Wonder Years at their signing (a time set aside for band members to greet fans and sign autographs).
I have never been more excited to meet anyone in my life, because The Wonder Years are such a great band that deserve a lot more respect than they get. I got my copy of their new album, “Suburbia I’ve Given You All and Now I’m Nothing,” signed by the entire band, and I was so happy I had that opportunity.
In addition to meeting The Wonder Years, I got to meet Enter Shikari, an electronically influenced post-hardcore band from St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England. Enter Shikari are known for their high-energy stage performances, dancing around during their songs, climbing on the scaffolding on the side of the stages, and interacting heavily with the crowd.
All in all, the day was an absolute success. I am eagerly awaiting next year’s Warped Tour, hoping it will be as good as it was this year.
Nathan Rosman will be a junior at Freehold Township High School in September. He is serving as an intern at Greater Media Newspapers this summer.