Vans Warped Tour 2010 at the Comcast Theater 7/11/10
Hartford, CT



A year ago, I may not have ever considered going to the annual traveling music festival, the Vans Warped Tour. However, I got the great opportunity to go this year and also get press passes to meet up with many of the talented artists found on this year's tour. The drive took over an hour, but was assuredly worth it. The sign in went very smoothly and I headed over to the press area to get signed in for interviews. A few bands were already out, but I did not recognize many.

I then headed over to the Kevin Says Stage to catch Celtic punk rockers Flatfoot 56 on their first day of the tour. Unfortunately, their set was already drawing to a close and I only caught two songs, due to arriving an hour after gates opened. The Chicago natives played "We Grow Stronger" off their album Black Thorn. They had a moderately sized crowd, that surprisingly formed a circle pit on the closer, which is something I wouldn't have expected to see. The song was not theirs, but instead the classic hymn "Amazing Grace." Seeing an aggressive circle pit and plenty of energetic moshers move to the hymn was something that I certainly would never have guessed. Relentless, Flatfoot 56 had a great live set from what I saw.

Due to the drive, I went to the indoor facility that led to the ampitheather that staged both the AP/Advent Stage and the Glamour Kills Stage. I regret it, but had to sacrifice catching Confide's set on the Skullcandy Stage, sponsored by the popular headphone brand, for some lunch. I caught a bit of the AP/Advent stage who had The Casualties playing. To be honest, I had never heard of the band before and was not completely impressed by their hardcore punk styling. They did seem to have a large fan base that was loving their set. Due to a number of interviews I had set up, I headed back to the press area to meet up with The Rocket Summer and a few others. I could make out the sounds of VersaEmerge's set will standing around in there, but didn't hear most of their darker pop rock flavored set.

After I got out of the press area, I headed over to the Glamour Kills Stage to watch Enter Shikari. I was not planning to see them at all, but a lack of bands that had my interest brought me to watch them. They played a few electronic flavored metalcore tunes, ending with their hit "Sorry, You're Not A Winner." Pop rockers The Cab followed up on the AP/Advent Stage. A bit of the way through their set, I realized that they had a huge crowd of girls mainly, which wasn't too surprising from their lyrics.

Gladly, I headed to the tent and merch section of the tour and found Tooth & Nail's new acoustic pop duo Poema playing a short acoustic set. They played "Boys and Bugs" and "Blue Sweater," before ending their set to a small crowd. I thoroughly enjoyed them live, relentless of the fact that I was one of the only guys watching them.


















I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business

I took the long walk all the way back to the Glamour Kills Stage to watch one of the bands that I had been looking forward to, named I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody's Business. Playing an indie/acoustic style that was reminiscent of Mae and Copeland, both of who I Can Make A Mess... have toured with. They opened with the first single off the album The World We Know titled "Old Man......." The frontman Ace Enders is also no stranger to the scene, with another band that goes under his name. The rest of the set consisted of a few more acoustic driven songs, such as "Ever So Sweet," ending the set. Enders had a great stage presence and even got the crowd square dancing, stating that "this is the only type of dance you all won't be doing today!"

After an interview with Confide, I headed out to check out some of the merch tents, including the Tooth & Nail/Solid State tent, which was set up rather nicely. According to them, there will be new albums coming this fall from Underoath and a live CD/DVD releasing from August Burns Red named Home. I ended up leaving at about six, missing a few bands who I was planning on seeing, such as The Rocket Summer. It was a great day that was certainly tiring. Some advice to anyone going out to Warped this year, be sure to bring plenty of water!

Confide Interview

The Rocket Summer Interview

Flatfoot 56 Interview

Artist: Flatfoot 56

Album: Black Thorn

Release Date: 3/30/10

Label: Old Shoe Records

Celtic punk rock is an interesting genre. Picture the likes of MxPx accompanied with mandolins and bagpipes and you get Flatfoot 56. They are not everyone's cup of tea, more of a band where you need to like the style specifically to enjoy the full sound. The lyrics and vocals are strong, but the music itself doesn't quite catch me.

Songs like the title track embrace the mandolin as a key part of the album, along with the gang vocals and chugging lyrics, where "Smoke Blower" utilizes the use of bagpipes to bring the strong Celtic sound of the Chicago natives' sound. Among the fast paced tracks come the acoustic ballad "Shiny Eyes" which is one of the strongest and slowest songs on the album.

Rating: 6/10 Something with Black Thorn from Celtic punk rockers Flatfoot 56 just didn't seem to click with me. They certainly have a strong punk sound but just not of my kind. Not the best album, but not the worst either. There are a batch of strong tracks, found in the likes of "Smoke Blower" and "Shiny Eyes."

Tracklisting:

1. The Escape (Intro)
2. Black Thorn
3. Born For This
4. Courage
5. Smoke Blower
6. The Hourglass
7. Shiny Eyes
8. We Grow Stronger
9. Son of Shame
10. Stampede
11. You Won Me Over
12. Way of the Sun
13. Hot Head

(Buy Here)