SAN ANTONIO – Empty mosh pits and leftover trash all over the floor. No punks in sight as the last Van’s Warped Tour ended its cross-country tour with one last stop in the Alamo City.
Motivated by mosh, the tour had begun its 24-year run back in 1995. Founder Kevin Lyman didn’t mince words on its last breath saying, “I truly am happy to get the chance to travel around the country one more time to thank you for your support, and bring you another best day ever.”
Punks across the U.S. cried in unison after the announcement (just kidding). Warped Tour veterans Simple Plan joined the stage in SA alongside, We The Kings, Hail The Sun, The Maine, Mayday Parade, and festival favorite – Everytime I Die.
The tour had become a summer staple for outcasts in San Antonio to get lost in a variety of tied-together genres. The chance to see bands that never would tour San Antonio and made a pit stop because of the tour.
You could see an empty calm in a lot of the guests around each stage, some with blank stares, some with vigorous energy, and those early to late 30-somethings that had seen it all and were enjoying the tour’s last remaining moments.
Warped Tour newcomers Hail The Sun spoke about being on the tour for the second and final time and also about their upcoming album, Mental Knife.
Our mindset has always been go go go, book whatever we have to do, even if it seems impossible. We know what we have to do, even though it feels like a ton of stuff we still get it done,” Hail The Sun lead singer Donovan Melero when asked about juggling touring while preparing for the new record.
On being on the final run for the tour, “This is awesome because we are on a bigger stage, we can definitely see our own growth in a lot of spots, just seeing the people out there wearing our merch. It’s been a blast so far, it’s been an honor, we’ve all grown up listening to bands playing on the tour,” the band said.
“I think we kind of double downed on our Hail The Sun sound. A lot of what we do is we write music we would love to listen to and would be fun to play, that was the mindset going into Mental Knife. We know our sound and we know our style so we like to own it,” when talking about their unreleased album.
Aside from bands touring from across the country, some local bands made the cut as well. Tour vets Like Ghosts based out of San Antonio had the chance to play in the 2015 iteration of the Warped Tour after winning a battle of the bands contest for Ernie Ball.
“It’s sad man but like. I don’t know I’ve been like to everyone since 2007. I’m glad its ending because I would not stop going, playing or not playing, I would be one of the guys that died of heatstroke in my 40s. I’m glad they’re finally kicking me out. I can’t stop man, this is our childhood,” said Like Ghosts’s lead singer Alexander Gage.
When asked about surprises on their new album Gage said, “A lot of times you have a vision and it goes through 6 different filters and this new song came out exactly how I envisioned it. It was awesome but not only that but people we’ve shown the song to think its unique and they are pretty hyped.”
Their new album is supposedly releasing at the end of 2018 tentatively.
The tour gave major bands and many local bands the chance to shine and play the big stage. While the tour may be over, there are lasting memories involved surrounding the tour.
Seeing the last mosh pit for Everytime I Die was a work of art. It was a proper send off to an annual summer of moshing and loud music.
Until next time, it was fun Warped Tour.
This article was originally published for News 4 San Antonio.
Jamie Barrientos | Music, Art, and Entertainment 