The Vans Warped Tour started in 1996 as a travelling tour, venues comprising of parking lots, amphitheatres and anywhere that would provide a suitable backdrop. After a 12 year hiatus, the mainly US based festival returned to the UK in 2012 and has provided revellers with some of the hottest bands on the punk, pop-punk, ska, emo and more recently metalcore circuit. With the concept of travelling running around our minds, we thought it might be interesting to look at where this year’s bands are coming from in order to play the Warped Tour at Alexandra Palace – either from their home or their last tour date ahead of the festival.
John Coffey
344 Miles from Paradiso, Netherlands
If anyone saw highlights of their performance at Pinkpop Festival in Holland this year, where lead singer David Achter de Molen catches a beer thrown from the crowd, while crowd walking before necking it with consummate ease and coolness personified (hopefully it was beer), then you’ll know these punky, swagger filled Europeans are ones not to miss. Get your bevvie and your throwing arm ready (in order to test the previously mentioned theory that Achter de Molen could also be an outfield cricketer, not for the usual beer throwing reason) because John Coffey are going to rock your socks off. Moustaches are a definite; similar awesome catching ability not necessarily to be repeated.
Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes
87 Miles from Patterns, Brighton
Frank Carter without festival appearances is like Dec without Ant or a Truck Festival without any large, bearded, tattooed, beer drinking men. It is much better when Frank Carter plays your festival as his and the Rattlesnakes’ performance at Reading Festival proved it earlier this year. He is always interesting and the Rattlesnakes possess an onstage vigour and dynamism that will be hard to topple on the Warped Tour this year. Expect him to get in the crowd and generally be rather entertaining and good value for money – perhaps avoid the melee if you’ve just bought a juicy kebab with all the trimmings or are wearing your favourite suit. If you didn’t know, Frank’s back, and seriously, where have you been? (See you in the pit.)
Reel Big Fish
5,318 Miles from San Bernardino, California (It’s Not Dead festival)
Reel Big Fish have amassed some mileage since 1992, playing all over the world with their infectious form of American ska punk. With 21 band members to date (currently six) and counting, they are a band that has most certainly been there, done that and not just got, but also made a million or so t-shirts along the way. Their live performances are energetic, sweaty and barrel loads of fun. If you want to smile throughout and burn some calories along the way, then you could do worse than skanking one off to these seminal, classic and downright awesome legends.
Creeper
87 Miles from Patterns, Brighton
Creeper are getting some serious traction and are covering some distance themselves, both through touring and through the charts, hearts and minds of many listeners, including several Punktastic contributors. Their recent Old Blue Last Show enhanced this and surely they are set for a bigger stage, having amassed a loyal following in the process. With their new release ‘Callous Heart’ hitting the stores, this promises to be a special one, full of huge sing-alongs and probably lots of sultry looks and black hair, black jeans and black everything really.
Rob Lynch
5 Miles from his London pad
Rob Lynch is popping over from his London pad to serve up his emotional tones and allow everyone to just chill out for a bit, amid the probable chaos some of the other bands will serve up. Stuff your hands in your pockets, get your lighters out, or your mobiles (queue groans at the modern tech age ruining live performances) and just enjoy Mr Lynch for what he is; an excellent singer songwriter and a smooth, confident performer. With some classics already under his belt in ‘Broken Bones’ and ‘Whiskey’, it could prove to be an epic sing your heart out performance that will have everyone feeling warm inside and wishing they had gone to Warped with that special someone so as to use the appropriateness of the moment to declare your love (see other romantic, sentimental scenarios).
Chunk! No Captain Chunk!
369 Miles from Bochum, Germany
With possibly the coolest and most ridiculous band name for quite some time, Chunk! No Captain Chunk! are sailing in with their unique blend of pop-punk, metal and hardcore. 2015’s ‘Get Lost, Find Yourself’ highlights this mad blend perfectly, the poppy sentiments being overlaid with some viscous breakdowns and throaty roars. The name hails from the classic film The Goonies, released in 1985, a cult reference and point of escapism for anyone born up to around 1990. Prepare for gushings of warm, American sounding melodies before the heavy parts insight some flailing arms and serious shape pulling.
Young Guns
87 Miles from Concorde 2, Brighton
Young Guns keep being hailed as the band to save the English music scene, as if it needs saving! With their third and latest release ‘Ones and Zeroes’, Young Guns have stepped to the plate with a beautifully blended mix of energetic rock mixed with more prog moments. Fists pumping will be a must as they bring their big choruses and dance fusion beats to the palace.
Anti-Flag
5,318 Miles from San Bernardino, California (It’s Not Dead festival)
‘American Spring’, their latest full length release explodes with rhetoric surrounding the Arab Spring, asking Western listeners to wake up from the heavily propagandised media and to open their eyes to the sins of the west. It is heavy stuff, but you’d expect nothing less from Anti-Flag who have been taking their deeply woven, politicised punk and layering it with catchy hooks for twenty years. Expect mohawks, bottles of used hair bleach and tightness, both musically and jeans related.
Moose Blood
72 miles from their home town of Canterbury
Achieving a gut feeling like that of Jesse Lacey and crew, Moose Blood play big, warm tunes that take you on an emotional journey from start to finish. The result is gut wrenching and beauty personified. There is real excitement surrounding this band and their inclusion on this year’s Vans Warped Tour proper enhances the hype. With a short journey from Canterbury, Moose Blood should be firing on all cylinders and this would seem one not to miss. Take your singing voice and your selfie stick and get down the front!
Black Foxxes
200 miles from their home town of Exeter
200 miles isn’t too bad. In fact, we’d recommend that you travel any distance ever to catch Black Foxxes live. Having absolutely smashed their ridiculously early set at this year’s Reading and Leeds Festival, most unsuspecting Warped Tour goers are in for a huge surprise. It’s a mesmerising blend of dense atmospherics, thunderous guitar riffs and emotive vocals that will have even the strongest equally on the brink of tears and fired up. It’s seriously neigh-on perfect.
ROAM
85 miles from their home of Eastbourne
Completing our preview of bands to check out is the mighty ROAM who have come off a recent tour with insane crowd reactions and will be looking to continue where they left off at the Warped Tour. This fast paced Pop Punk band from the south coast are here to nail those smiles fully on and help complete the very British persona to this year’s Warped tour. Expect crowd surfing and lots of raw snare usage. They are one of the UK’s most promising pop-punk bands around, and you’d be a fool to miss them.
Vans Warped Tour UK will take place on the 18th October 2015 at Alexandra Palace. Tickets are available via the official website.