After a full day of electric performances, Katy Perry, Paramore, Say Anything, and Gym Class Heroes closed down Warped Tour with killer sets and just a little drama.
Katy Perry
Pop darling Katy Perry rocked an upbeat set, playing a coral pink Gibson SG to match her pink hoop ear rings. Perry performed songs off her 2008 release One of the Boys, including “Ur So Gay” and her #1 Billboard Hot 100 single, “I Kissed A Girl.”
Paramore
Fan favorites Paramore, playing on the Route 66 stage, delivered one of the most highly anticipated sets of the St. Louis date on their debut for the 2008 tour. Hayley Williams and band ripped through an explosive set that had the massive crowd begging for more.
Say Anything
Pop punk rockers Say Anything threw down a ferocious, high-energy set, with lead singer Max Bemis performing at the edge of the stage and in constant motion throughout the performance.
Gym Class Heroes
Travis McCoy and friends closed down the day in rock star style with a fierce, short set that saw the most intense crowd action of the day. As one of the very last performances, Gym Class Heroes drew a huge audience and played to a pit primed for combustion, with crowd surfing coming fast and furious toward the stage.
Photographer's Notes:
This day was an absolute blast, even if these last four shows had me running to different stages almost immediately after the first three songs of each shoot.
The 6:30, 6:45, and 7:00 set times for Angels and Airwaves, Katy Perry, and Paramore, respectively, in particular had me doing a little jogging to make the start of each set.
Unlike the earlier sets, as the sun lowered in the sky, the Route 66 stage received a dose of full sunlight on wide half, while the other was still bathed in open shade, which made exposure more of an interesting challenge. By Gym Class Heroes' set, however, the sun had lowered enough to neutralize this lighting issue.
End Notes:
I'm looking forward to next year's Warped Tour. Again, a huge thanks goes out to Bethany for helping coordinate everything.
The backstage 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.
