2015 Warped Tour rocks Darien Lake
On July 15 we at The Xtra Mile had the privilege of attending the Buffalo, NY (Darien Lake) show of Warped Tour 2015. With the sun shining and the weather being a bit colder than most summer days, this was a nice change compared to last years overly rainy and hot day. It seemed as though all the Canadian bands/ acts were up first (Saywecanfly, Silverstein, PUP).
Having seen this band a few time before I was curious to see if the same problem would arise, however at this venue the problem seemed to be fixed. Everytime I have seen Hands like Houses the lead vocal are always WAY too low, at times you can’t even hear Trenton Woodley singing at all. This time his vocals were where they were supposed to be and honestly it made their performance 10x better compared to all the other times I have seen them. As the band played through songs such as “Lion Skin”, “Introduced Species” and “Wisteria” it was clear that both the band and crowd were having a good time.
Directly after we headed to see Bebe Rexha. After hearing a bunch of good things about her before the set we knew that we had to see her. When she took the stage you could hear her fans chanting her name, one fan even began crying. From writing songs for Eminem to singing along side Pete Wentz in “Black Cars” she has a lot of credibility to her name. After watching her preform “Take Me Home”, her own rendition of “Monsters” and “I’m Gonna Show You Crazy” it is easy to see how the world is going to go crazy for Bebe one day.
On our way over the hill you could hear the crowd cheering as Slaves made their way on stage. As they launched into “The Upgrade pt. 2” the crowd began to move and as soon as Johnny Craig (Lead Singer) started to sing the crowd began to sing along. Sadly I was only able to catch the first three songs, but out of the three songs I heard/ watched, the band as a whole were really good. From the whole band’s stage presence to Johnny’s heart-felt vocals I can see this band getting even bigger than they already are, even with all the things Johnny Craig (and his band members) have gone through.
As we made our way to the main stage to see Blessthefall, the crowd was building and the more people that came… the rowdier the crowd became. Even though the band hadn’t even started everyone was pushed right up to the gate. As soon the as they started the crowd was even more crazy. During the third song “Guys Like You Make Us Look Bad”, Beau Bokan (Lead Singer) was joined by Craig Mabbit (Lead Singer) of Escape the Fate. Craig was the original lead singer of the band until he left in 2007. This was extremely cool to see as a long time fan of the band. Overall the set was just like every other Blessthefall set I’ve seen before. (Which is a good thing)
Beartooth was another band we decided to check out. Having also seen them a few time before we knew that their set wouldn’t disappoint. With their heavy sound and killer stage performance they put on a great set.
After interviewing Mikey Chapman from Mallory Knox and hearing all about what we could expect from their set, there was no way we were going to miss it. Mallory Knox’s set was full of musical passion. Playing songs such as “Lighthouse” and “Shout at the Moon” it made it easy for those who have not heard of them before to really enjoy the set. With a performance like that, there is no doubt that this band will see the same success in North America as they do in the UK.
From the number of people waiting to buy merch at the Pierce the Veil’s tent throughout the day I knew that this was a band a lot of kids came to see. Opening their set with confetti and smoke cannons got the crowd very excited. The excitement from the crowd did not seem to slow down as Pierce The Veil played some of their best hits including “Hell Above” and “Caraphernelia”. Right before they played “Yeah Boy and Doll Face” Vic Fuentes (Lead Singer) introduced the song as being one the crowd might not know since it was from their first album back in 2007. Looking back now I am happy to see how much they have grown as a band since then. Pierce the Veil went out with a bang (literally) as thousands for string confetti shot out from the stage. “King for a Day” was the final song of the set.
Metro Station hasn’t played a show for over five years, and when they announced they were going to be on this year’s Warped Tour my 13-year-old self was screaming with excitement. Right when I got to the stage they were already midway into “Control”, which was then followed by “Seventeen Forever”. Metro Station played a couple new songs, one of which features Ronnie Radke (Falling in Reverse) called “Getting Over You”. They ended the set with fan favourite “Shake It”. This set was full of dancing and singing from both Trace Cyrus and Mason Musso, as well as the crowd. With that being said I am glad Metro Station is back.
One of the last bands I managed to catch was Senses Fail. It had been a while since I last saw them play live. Last time I saw them they were good but this time they were even better! The energy that Buddy Nielsen (Lead Singer) showed on stage made it extremely easy for any warped attendee walking by to be drawn in. With split jumps, handstands, twirls and much more, it was a mystery how he could do this for the whole set and still be able to sing, but he did it. Senses Fail played a mixture of both new and old songs, some of which included “Calling All Cars”, “Buried a Lie” and “The Importance of the Moment of Death”. Honestly I would say that this was one of, if not the best performance I have seen in a long time, it was raw and full of energy and passion.
Overall, all I have to say is that this couldn’t have been more of a perfect day. The weather was amazing, saw some awesome bands and talked to some great people. The count down for buffalo Warped Tour 2016 starts now!
Big thank you to Danielle Mardhal, Kevin Lyman, Live Nation and everyone who makes Warped Tour possible
