Vans Warped Tour – Day 2 – Mountain View CA – July 21st 2019

Highlights of day 2 for me….
Andrew WK brought the party he promised.   My favorite of the day, but to be fair they were also my most anticipated band of the day.  I told one security guard to expect the word “party” a few hundred times in 30 minutes, and he rewarded me with a fist bump as I left the front.
Street Drum Corps was a great Noon time first band to play the small stage. 100% Drums and energy
Vigil Of War was a great mix of punk rock and Iron Maiden.   We’re one of the new bands I had not seen before I was looking forward to, and they brought it.  They have a great look too, the whole band (even the drummer) in black leather jackets.
Atreyu, Sum 41 and Dance Gavin Dance were all bands that I had listened to albums before, and they just didn’t grab me.   All three were captivating live and will make me reconsider that with the visions of the live show while listening.
Quicksand was also in that group, but live they were even a step above.   Together for a few shows this year after rejoining a couple years ago for the first album in decades, they looked like that were having a lot of fun, and doing it loudly.
The crowd was behind The Dollyrots from note one.
Bad Cop Bad Cop was my favorite of the day I had not heard of before, and I saw them by accident.  I was expecting to see someone else on a different stage at the same time, but set time shifts brought be back to their stage.  Exciting, Passionate, and songs full of hooks.   The last album is great too.  A new fan here.
Four Year Strong closed out the small stages, and did it with a rowdy set.   I saw them at Warped last year and thought they were okay.  I understood them this time, with the help of the mosh pit in the crowd, they only one I saw all weekend at the small stage seating with bolted seats.
Can’t have a festival without some drama, and that came at the end of the night.   At 9:30pm, when the last band, NOFX, was scheduled to play the main stage, tour founder Kevin Lyman announced on stage that they weren’t there yet.  They had played in Quebec the night before, and their flight was cancelled. So in true punk rock style, they were on a private jet going to land in 20 minutes, with a police escort to the venue!
While loyal Warped fans waited, members of bands like Goldfinger, All American Rejects, Thrice, Atreyu, Sum 41, The Starting Line and more converged to play NOFX covers, and Lyman told stores between set changes.   A spontaneous moment for people to talk about, and say “I was there”.  The last song even featured a couple people picked from the crowd to sing, before they were joined on stage by NOFX leader Fat Mike.
NOFX closed the night out as conquering Warped heroes to the thousands of worn out people still there, not ready to give up.
Review and photos by Brian Curski