I can't believe it's come to an end. Its been a great 4 years of Vans Warped Tour & just last week I went to my last ever one; I played myself so hard & didn't get a warped shirt from the Vans tent like I always want because the closed there tent when I was done my last show. As sad as I am that it's over I'm grateful for the years I got to experience at this amazing festival (you can read about 2015 & 2016). It's funny cause I thought this festival would never end & was planning to bring my kids to it one day but you know what they say all good things must come to an end. If I can find any other festival where I feel comfortable being me & welcome as hell please let me know about it; it's also where the artists are just people & not like these big famous people, (which they are but they are also people just like us) you see them walking around the grounds of the festival & they will stop and say hi to you & you can have conversations with them at there tents; it's super chill.
There was so many people I wanted to see & listened to all their songs to prep for the festival. I wanted to: We the Kings, Issues, State Champs, Simple Plan, Tonight Alive, The Maine, Silverstein & 3Oh!3. the two people I HAD to see was Don Broco & Amity Affliction because they are my favs. You never know the schedule until you get there & see whose playing when & if there are bands overlapping which you pray they don't. On top of that there is meet & greet times so you gotta make sure all the timings work out & you have to start choosing who you want to see more.
So I ended up seeing almost everyone I wanted to except for Silverstein, Simple Plan & Tonight Alive because they played during times of other bands & when I had gone to a backstage acoustic set. I ended up making it for a bit of The Maine's set which I had skipped to go to the Amity meet & greet but didn't make it because I needed a bracelet. I also got to mean Tyler from Issues, Don Broco, We the Kings, & saw Ryan from State Champs.
The day started off with Issues at 11:30 am which was a good show but not as great as it could've been but Tyler was also sick so his voice wasn't as amazing as it could've been. It was different seeing Issues without Michael Bohn but I'm interested to see in which direction they head into for their next album. Right after that show we left quickly to get to the other stage to make it in time for Amity Affliction who played at 12:30 pm.
Amity was the best show I've ever seen at Warped & the best show by far that day. I gave my bag to my friend & went deep into the crowd that got so crazy from the first song; I honestly don't know how I survived those 30 min in that wild crowd but it was so amazing it was worth getting kicked & bodies being thrown as they crowd surfed. I knew every song except one & lost my shit the whole time I raged so hard. I wanted to crowd surf but was way to nervous because it was so crazy plus I didn't want to leave from where I was in the crowd. I later tried to go to their meet & greet bu missed out because all the wristbands were gone but I still got to leave with a shirt & definitely gonna make it to their next concert which shall be sometime next year after their new album, Misery drops next month.
After Amity we had a break until State Champs who played at 4:30 pm so we went to get food where I stood in a line for a good 30 min after waiting 30 min for an atm. At that point I made it to the Don Broco meet & greet for 2:30 pm. I saw them back in March when I didn't know them & they remembered us & I told them we will be front & centre and ready to jam. Waterparks ended up having an acoustic set that we got to check out backstage on a boat which was amazing. Once that was over we made it over to State Champs as quick as possible & we got there right in time and up close to the stage.
We stayed where we were because State Champs played on the Journeys Left Foot at 4:30 pm then We the Kings played on the Journeys Right Foot at 5 pm and then 3Oh!3 played on the Journeys Left Foot at 5:30 pm. It was a pretty wild 1.5 hours. State Champs released a new album last month so they played a lot of new things from the album & it was crazy as hell. It was also the perfect set to crow surf & I chickened out again ugh. they are also going on tour for their new album sometime next year so I am definitely going to see them & rock out again.
We the Kings played next & they were amazing as usual & then we got to see their acoustic set backstage too which was cool as hell. At the end of the show they were asking us where they should play next & there was quite a few people who said Ottawa & who know they may show up one time for it.
3Oh!3 was beyond amazing. I was obsessed with them back in high school so getting to see them live was so surreal & they definitely know how to put on a show. for one of the songs they brought out travis from we the kings & they had some synchronized dance moves; I have a video on my Instagram. the crowd was also huge as fuck & crazy too I saw a video travis posted just as they finished & 3Oh!3 started & the crowd was insane; they were there from State Champs & stayed until 3Oh!3 was done so you can imagine it was a mission to get out.
After the acoustic set we went straight for Don Broco's set which was our last one for the day because we had to make it to our Greyhound to make it back home to Ottawa. Don Broco was beyond amazing & since I had been listening to them about everyday I knew almost all the words I was rocking the fuck out. From the first song I was in it & there was space behind me so I was getting it. It was funny because when t-shirt song came on I was ready because that's like my favourite song & I had my shirt on the barricade ready to whip that shit (I didn't take my shirt off ahaha I had a shirt I bought that day which I used to whip). 
"they're saying there's one song left
no time for no regrets
I take my t-shirt off
swing it around my head"
I lifted my shirt around my head & swung it. I think I was like the only one & was gonna stop but some girl behind me was like get it girl so I kept going. Plus the band on stage saw it & were like yeaah with their eyes because you know they were in their song. It was a great way to end the day of an bittersweet day.
Vans Warped Tour thank you for all the good times & adventures it's been amazing. Thank you to all the bands for being apart of the tours, hanging out with us, showing us who they really are behind the music & letting us express how their music makes us feel & what it means to us. Thank you Vans for introducing us to all the vendors; there is quite a few that I still follow & buy their products ex. To Write Love On Her Arms (I buy their calendar every year). Ima just stop their & go look at my pictures & just relive the moments for Warped since there is no next year to look forward.
till next time
xoxo
lamrou
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