Vans Warped Tour, Pomona CA 2013, by Niki Kniter
This past Friday, I was lucky enough to be sent by Fanattac to my first Warped Tour experience ever. The slogan plastered on the t-shirts, posters, and wristbands read “Best Day Ever”, and, indeed, there are thousands of people who would agree. Right at 11:00 a.m. a long, bustling line of people was let loose into Pomona’s Fairplex, and with the sun going strong, I joined them.
There were multiple stages, starting with the two main stages close to the entrance, where most of the big names played, and then all the others spread out through the rest of the venue. In between were countless stands, everything from artist’s merchandise, to novelty t-shirts and hats, charities, and of course overly-priced, greasy food. There was a free place to fill up your water bottle, which was definitely critical for the whole event seeing as the heat started right at the beginning of the day and didn’t break until about 8:00 p.m. There was also a water slide, which I didn’t take advantage of but it was an attendee favorite.
There were two or three large white tents just for people to sit on the grass and take a break, and you could see a stage from all of them so you didn’t feel as if you were suddenly removed from the fun. I have to say I appreciated the stages breaking up some of the different genre’s being represented, the Monster stage had more metal, and then there was even a stage with some EDM and rap going (with obligatory beach balls bouncing among the crowd). That being said, every crowd at every performance I went to was into it and having a good time, and it was a great way to be introduced to new artists. Some were returning artists, some were new, but a crowd full of excited people lip singing and jumping is infectious.
Over all, I saw some of my favorite performances at warped tour, definitely including Never Shout Never, a band I’d liked since 8th grade, and their performance was charming, funny, and lamentably short. The people who attended were generally friendly, happy, and most of all they were devoted fans of the music. If you’re looking for a good time Van’s Warped Tour is an artist favorite, a fan favorite, and as of this year one of my own favorite music experiences. Thank you for sending me, Fanattac, and hope to see you next year, Pomona!
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