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.
