As soon as the Warped Tour lineup comes out, the anticipation for the day-long music festival begins. Rain or shine, fans line up early in the morning to beat the rush. In the case at the Mansfield, MA stop, it was no shine, and all rain. The weather, however, did not stop anyone’s dedication to stand in the pouring rain walking from stage to stage and jam out to their favorite bands.
Some band members shared their thoughts about the gloomy day. Bryan Garris from Knocked Loose stated, “I heard it rains in Mansfield, MA, every Warped Tour.” John Floreani from Trophy Eyes was not too happy about the rain either and “generally [doesn’t] like being out in the rain,” and [he] “hates getting wet, but it’s okay”. Despite the weather, they both were hoping that sets wouldn’t get cancelled like previous dates on the tour. Barb Wire Dolls lead gal, Isis Queen, who’s from Greece, stated she loves hot weather so the rain was not comforting to her either.
After dwelling on the rainy day, various band members shared their thoughts on the Warped Tour experience. Bands that are playing on the Full Sail Stage this summer seem to be getting along pretty well and joke on social media with one another. Trophy Eyes mentioned Knocked Loose in a tweet saying, “If you only watch one band this summer make sure it’s fucking @knockedloose”. K//L is definitely a must see this summer that joke around with their fans and even replied to someone who fractured their arm during their set, “How silly of you to think you could survive a @knockedloose pit”. Although Knocked Loose is one of the most hardcore bands this summer, Garris does not like that, “Some people are scared to see our shows because they don’t want to get hurt”. Although the members of Knocked Loose make sarcastic remarks, Garris gave reassurance that, “they’re all jokes”.
Bands on the tour are having an incredible time making friends that become family, but it is also about promoting their music and working hard to get their name out there. Isis Queen shared her band’s struggles while touring previously in the U.S describing- “we get stuck in a lot of places because of money, so we end up staying in that place and creating residencies in a bar or venue, so we end up playing every week in order for us to make money…”. Floreani explained why Trophy Eyes is only playing songs from the newest album, Chemical Miracle, “Well we have 25 minutes sets everyday, about 6 songs, and we have a brand new album out and obviously we want to promote that as much as possible. I kind of think that displays where we are at now as a band. It’s not a huge change in our sound but it’s definitely a change and that’s the kind of thing we want to promote now”.
Barb Wire Dolls, Trophy Eyes, and Knocked Loose, are just three among the large group of Warped Tour bands touring from city to city, playing sets in the hot weather and trying to have a killer time with friends and grow their fanbase. Judging by the crowd reception and their live sets, they’re all exceeding expectations and have a bright future ahead of them. Check out some of the pics from the Mansfield, MA date of Warped Tour 2017:
