After a big dose of backstage action, I headed out for some live coverage at Warped Tour, starting off with Jack’s Mannequin, The Academy Is…, Against Me!, and Angels and Airwaves.
Jack’s Mannequin
Andrew McMahon and crew kicked things off with the piano rock, ripping through a tight set that had the pit churning with every pound on the ivories.
The Academy Is…
William Beckett, sporting a shorter haircut than many fans have been used to, dispelled any associations with Samson as he and The Academy Is… left it all on the stage.
The frontman took frequent trips to the stand on the monitors at the front of the stage and gave the bass stacks at the sides of the stage plenty of action, much to the appreciation of the fans in the pit.
Against Me!
Punk rock band Against Me! laid down a fierce set in a performance that had the pit heaving from start to finish.
Angels and Airwaves:
Former Blink-182 singer and guitarist Tom DeLonge got his rock star groove on with Angels and Airwaves, hitting the power stance with his Gibson and putting his hands in the air at every chance he got. I’d photographed AVA back in February and it was fun to see these guys again.
Shooting Notes:
Warped Tour was a lot of fun to photograph this year. As with most festivals, the band schedules had me running between stages and all over the venue.
Luckily, all the above four acts were playing in open shade, so exposure for this first half of the day was not a problem. It wasn’t until the last few acts that there were more hotspots.
One nice thing about Warped Tour is the relatively low stages, which are great for allowing photographers to get in close, so I highly recommend bringing your wide-angle if you’re shooting this festival.
End Notes:
I’d like to extend a huge thanks to Bethany, the on-site press coordinator for this year’s tour, who was simply amazing at making everything happen. If you see Bethany in the press area, say hi to her for me.
Stay tuned for the second set of live performances from Warped Tour, as well as a full set of backstage portraits from these bands and acts like Family Force 5, Cobra Starship, Paramore, and others.
In the meantime, check out a slideshow of images at RollingStone.com, where these shots first hit.
18 Comments Add your own
1. Celso | July 8th, 2008 at 6:51 am
Hey Todd nice shots! I’ve been seeing a lot of stuff on Flickr about this Warped Tour thing, but I have to admit that I haven’t take the time to read it thoroughly…
Now about the pictures, I love the attention you give to detail, like your always in the “zone” trying to find THE shot. And really nice control of the light in that picture that you’re against the sun.
Best Regards!
2. Todd | July 8th, 2008 at 6:52 am
Hey Celso, thanks for the feedback. Yup, Warped Tour is big touring festival that plays for one day all across the United States.
I hadn’t been in a few years until shooting this year, but it was a blast.
Yeah, I lucked out for most of the day until the last few bands in that these four performances had the stages facing away from the sun, so the band is all in open shade.
3. jason | July 8th, 2008 at 6:56 am
Tom Delonge and Craig Finn should hang out and practice their moves together (http://flickr.com/photos/jberg/2630671793/in/set-72157605937105058/)
4. Todd | July 8th, 2008 at 8:57 am
Hey Jason – they should! Do you think they’re making airplane noises in their head when they do this? I think Tom is going to take it to the next level soon and get some wire work going, Peter Pan/Crouching Tiger style.
5. Emma | July 8th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Beautiful shots! I’ll be doing 4 Warped dates this year and I’m really looking forward to it. I won’t be credentialled, so it will be just point-and-shoot, but I hope I get lucky with stage angles as well.
6. Todd | July 8th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Hey Emma, thanks for the comment! Four Warped dates is a lot, but I’m sure you’ll have a blast.
I actually saw one or two people who brought DSLRs into Warped this year who didn’t have a photo pass, though I also talked to some kids who couldn’t bring theirs in. Smaller cameras will be fine, there were tons of those.
Good luck shooting!
7. David | July 8th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2282/2636993104_40d44dfda2_o.jpg
8. Todd | July 8th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Ha! Thanks, David. Was this shot during Jack’s Mannequin?
9. David | July 8th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
it was either during jack’s or paramore i can’t remember… either way, amazing photos!
10. Todd | July 8th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Thanks, again, David, and it was nice meeting you at Warped even though we were only shared the pit for a few bands.
I actually ran into someone yesterday at Less Than Jake/Goldfinger who asked if I was you.
At the same show, a kid came up to me said, “Hey, my friend saw you guys in London and loves you guys!” He went on to say how he enjoyed my performance. Some other kids in the front row made similar comments and asked about the tour. Apparently they thought I was the lead singer for Suburban Legends, who opened for LTJ/GF.
Personally I think he looks like Bruce Lee – but what do I know, all Asians look the same to me.
11. Mike | July 8th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Wow, once again, you captured Angels & Airwaves brilliantly. I love these.
12. Todd | July 8th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Hey Mike, thanks! Glad you like these shots as well. It was really a different experience shooting AVA on the Warped Tour Highway 1 stage compared to shooting them at the Pageant.
13. David | July 8th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
haha wow actually someone asked me if i was you at warped… he said you took some pictures of him at a rancid show a few days earlier. he was all worried about coming off as racist it was pretty funny.
14. Warped Tour: Katy Perry, &hellip | July 8th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
[...] shots are coming up next, so stay tuned for those. In the meantime, you can also check out the first set of live shots with Jack’s Mannequin, The Academy Is…, Against Me!, and Angels and Airwaves. [...]
15. Warped Tour — Backs&hellip | July 10th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
[...] Warped Tour: Jack’s Mannequin, The Academy Is…, Against Me!, Angels and Airwaves [...]
16. diana | July 12th, 2008 at 10:00 am
As always, nicely shot, nicely done!
That Academy Is… guy is SO SKINNY. Your wide angles accentuate this fact.
17. Todd | July 12th, 2008 at 10:59 am
Hey Diana, thank you. Nice to hear from you. Yes, the WA shots definitely made TAI rock the skinny jeans to the extreme! Crazy wide distortion at 14mm.
18. Jack’s Mannequin | &hellip | August 11th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
[...] Be sure to check out images from the band’s Warped Tour set if you haven’t already: Warped Tour: Jack’s Mannequin [...]
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