Vans Warped Tour 2013 SUNDAY 17TH @ Alexandra Palace

Back again for another hard hitting punktastic day filled with many more talented bands to mark the final day of Warped UK 2013.
Exhausted from last nights performances, the Sunday of Warped took a back seat, as a lot of filler bands were chucked around the place, giving us time to save our energy for the mighty headliners, Enter Shikari.
After being absent for a year, it was Shikari's return to end the tour in full havoc, as they shortly then announced 2014 will be another static year for them as their focus goes out to writing a new album, so not all is loss.

Not feeling the Sunday bands entirely, as only five sparked my eye to see, I thought i'd go and see the skaters at the half pipe in between bands, seeing as it was Vans Warped tour, there must have been some decent ones there. Surprisingly enough there was only one female skater called Lizzie, who showed to be even better than all the men together. Watching the skate area, as more and more skaters joined the ramp along with two BMX bikers, they put on one hell of a show, taking it in turns with each other as one showed off, the other closely followed, trying to show more skill than the last. Their little competition lasted half an hour, as the crowds eyes were glued following the skaters travel from one side to the other, flipping the board in the hair, twirling around before they caught the ground and imitated the same on the other side. Pure, raw talent was shown here as a variety of contestants from all ages proved their unique abilities to skate at pro standards. My personal favorite was of course the BMX'ers as they could ride head level into the air, with no hands, and do double flips, causing the crowd to cheer even louder.

First band up on my list was new pop punk emergence DECADE! as they filled the early set of starting at 1:55, the band took to the Jagermeister stage, with already a large sized crowd behind the barriers, Decade started off their set straight away.
First time seeing them live, they put in a great energetic show joined with a crowd full of enthusiastic fans at the front, jumping around in beat with the music. Filling up a half an hour set, Decade were a great band to introduce you to warped, getting you prepared for what was to come next.
An early start to the signings as at 1:30 Enter Shikari had announced that they would be doing one, causing one mammoth queue leaving the main stage, following the door in a trail of fans, desperately awaiting to meet Shikari.

From one signing to the next, the merch area soon became packed with While She Sleeps announcing their early one at 2:45, an alarmingly long queue formed, with more and more people joining as they found out along the way.

While She Sleeps

While She Sleeps

While She Sleeps

Whilst in the queue we heard rumors that A Day To Remember had arrived and were ready to do a signing at 4, which then followed with an intimate acoustic show at 5:55 at the Jagermeister stage moments after, hearing the news a day before, I wasn't entirely sure wither it was true, however once reaching the main hall we soon found a short line, an hour early waiting for the famous ADTR.
Waiting for over an hour, the band finally decided to show up, with crowds of people eager to see them the line doubled in size of the Shikari one, as not many people knew that they were playing Warped this Sunday. The excitement was building up within everyone's faces, as the thought of being a meter away from them, being able to make eye contact was exciting enough, let alone actually meeting them.

Jeremy  McKinnon

Kevin Skaff

Neil Westfall

A DAY TO REMEMBER

3/5th of A DAY TO REMEMBER greeted us at the signing, all with warm smiles and welcoming conversations which lead us to wait for them yet again for their short acoustic set.

Starting their set of with a song close to home, just off their new album Common Courtesy, "City of Ocala seemed to be the perfect settlement. With an overwhelming crowd already, the space was packed out with thousands of heads all trying to get a piece of them before the guards had to shut the doors off.


The raw echoes of Jeremy's voice just sent shivers down my spine, as hearing an acoustic is much different to hearing them normally, the basic, stripped sound is so powerful yet in its raw state, the sounding filled my heart with happiness and pleasure, accompanied with the soft strums of the guitar. As well as the echoes of everyone in the room, signing back the song, boosted the atmosphere to a further true acoustic set in motion, following their new album, "Right Back At It Again" swept into their next song, keeping in touch with the same atmosphere and movement of the bands journey. (Watch it live here)

Live Acoustic set

Right back to an oldie, "All Signs Point To Lauderdale" was next, as this was a song everyone could join in, relating to through the lyrics, screaming it right back at them with full rage and passion. (watch)

Drawing to an end, the band had only one song left, which of course had to be All I Want, finishing their four song set, ADTR made up for such a short play by bursting right into the first verse, joined with the crowds voices, accompanying it perfectly for a finished ending. 

Warped Tour, made the right choice in having them play a secret set for the Sunday, as it added to the high spirited day, and also brought a sense of surprise to what seemed to be an immaculate night. (All I WANT)

As soon as the last strum vibrated into the air, I left imminently to the West stage to catch While She Sleeps, as they had already clashed, only missing three songs, I joined the packed, sweaty room ready to get some energy flowing.

Like always, Sleeps know how to put on a show, even at Warped they seemed to grab everyones attention with their fast paced music, keeping the crowd moving constantly in aggressive states, forming pits all over the place.

More than ever, the band have progressed, in the way they interact with a live crowd, as big as Warped, they seemed to direct them all in the right hardcore movement. 

Just a few hours away from the headlining band we were all waiting for, Enter Shikari, three more big bands were set to play just before. One being Yellowcard who have always been a personal favorite to me, listening to them from such a young age, and now being in the same room as them, watching them play live was another thing. It took me back to my childhood, where they were all  I used to listen to, and when they played Ocean Avenue to end their set, the whole crowd went insane. The main thing that struck me about Yellowcard was their diverseness as a violinist was in the band, which you wouldn't normally see in a pop punk genre or any band set up.

They played such happy and upbeat music it was hard not to fell the rhythm flow through your body, the mood was set in high hopes, as they promised a return to the UK soon as it had been far too long. The first time seeing them live, they capture their sound on CD and amplified it into the crowd 10x better, as for a live band goes Yellowcard hit all the right notes.

But before the main headliners would take to the stage, Billy Talent and Rise Against were up just before, which was a plus for me getting to actually see them for the first time.

Certainty great in position, the two bands got the room packed,  and the crowd going, all hyped up just before Shikari took to the stage.

9:30 rolled around and it was time for the last ever band to perform at Warped 2013, Enter Shikari hit it all off with a slow introduction to System.... Meltdown! As one by one each meter joined the stage, with the crowd greeting them with lyrics.

With a 13 song set list, the band had chosen the right bangers to fill it up in true Shikari style, as right away people started to loose their shit and go mad along with the music, letting themselves flow along with the manic electronic music. The set up for Shikari was with their usual logo, strobing lights, flashing all over the crow. Picking up the pace a little bit, "Sorry You're Not A Winner" then followed with its lively, broken down guitar rifts, infused with its erratic verses.

 The whole set was only an hour long, however it seemed to take up the whole afternoon, filling time for hours rather than just once, they certainly kept us interested and feeling alive, with each song placed to set a different motion and atmosphere for the night, the band kept us interacted with their hardcore electronic music.

Halfway through I even noticed a guy in a wheelchair, centered in the pit with his friends safely guarding him, I guess nothing would stop anyone from having a good time tonight.
Infusing old songs with new ones, Shikari's set was lined perfectly, causing havoc and chaos all over the place, tearing down Alexandra Palace for the final night of Warped tour, ending with Zzzonked the place was left in complete ruins.

Once again Warped tour has brought bands from all over the world to the UK for two special days of madness, and I look forward to seeing it happen all over again, next year!