Michigan Bands Shine @Vans Warped Tour

Michigan Bands Shine @Vans Warped Tour

Several Detroit area bands had their day in the sun during last week's Vans Warped Tour down at Comerica Park in an all day marathon that was nothing short of spectacular! A great day to be in The D, this year's event, now in its fifteenth year, featured an array of different artists across many genres, including the Warped Tour staple of punk, yet also featured everything from electronica, metal, country, rap to hip-hop to straight up rock & roll! Dr2 just loves this festival style event, with up to 8 stages of non-stop action on, as well as in front of, each , as one continuous sea of bodies jumped and crowd surfed till their hearts were content, truly an amazing site! Michigan-based bands dotted the schedule this year and Dr2 was lucky enough to catch quite a few of them, starting with an all out, blow out on the Local Stage where Lies Unknown shook the rafters of Comerica, turning the heads of quite a few new fans, followed by an amazing set from The Maine, a band out of Tempe Arizona, recently signed to Warner Brothers, who've been tearing up the Hurley Stage at every stop! One of Dr2's favorite Michigan Bands, Every Avenue!, took over the Smart Punk Stage to a thunderous hometown crowd, treating the 1,000's of crowd surfing maniacs to one of the best 30 minutes sets we've seen. This Marysville based band cranked through both their Fearless Record releases, finishing up with our favorite, Where Were You. Every Avenue has been taking the scene by storm of late, hitting the road across the pond, before spending 2 months headlining their tour in the US. As if that wasn't enough, Every Avenue! Toured Japan for a month, returning to ride the entire Vans Warped Tour party bus before heading back overseas for another month long European Tour! Look for Every Avenue to return to Saint Andrews Hall later this year wsg The Maine, should be a good one! A bevy of Michigan connected bands were splattered across the Warped Tours various stages including the Country Rock of Shooter Jennings featuring Detroit's own Bobby Emmett on guitar, Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte out of Grandville played the Ernie Ball Music Man stage, giving Dr2 some time to talk them up afterward, What Happened In Vegas, Hiding in Thailand and The Silent Years all from The D followed, before Dr2 headed on over to the Vans Main Stage to catch a Warped Tour Favorite, from Davison, MI, Chiodos, who had a headlining slot immediately before Bad Religion & 3oh!3. Chiodos, currently trekking cross country for the entire Warped, has risen to lofty heights via this annual event, using it as a springboard to headlining tours worldwide. Ripping it up on the main stage, Chiodos' fans came out in force, shutting down the photo pit after two songs, bringing with them a waterfall of people ending their ride across 20,000+ outstretched arms, pure chaos! Dr2 anticipates this tour every year. We've been attending the Warped Tour since it's inception, and this years event featured some great sets across the grounds as bands like AlexisOnFire, All Time Low, Versa Merge, InnerPartySystem, even rapper P.O.S. who performed his entire set in the middle of 5,000 fans. This is what keeps Dr2 coming back. One of the coolest aspects of the Vans Warped Tour is the ability to get up close and actually meet most of these guys and gals in these bands in their merch tents, or it's not unheard of, if you keep your eyes open, to run into these same people carousing the festival themselves and usually are more than eager to talk with us. In fact, one of our very own Dr2 Crew members spotted DJ Wilson, bassist for the band Scary Kids Scaring Kids, who caught our eye during last years event, literally tearing up the Hurly.com Stage this year in front of 10,000+ crowd surfing maniacs, as we were walking down the streets of Detroit afterwards. Getting the scoop on the band, DJ had high praises for our city, explaining how "neat this city is, most stops on the tour don't even come close to this!" before asking "so where is a good place to eat? The guys sent me out to find a place." As always, Dr2 gave him a number of choices from Greektown, The Hard Rock, but it was the Hockeytown Café that they decided to try. Be sure to stop by the Dr2 Photo Gallery for all the pic's from the event and remember that Great Music, Great Times, & Great People are always on the menu at the Vans Warped Tour, check it out yourself as the 2010 version will certainly be rolling through The D next summer! DetroitRockReview.com - The Only Place For Local Music News & Reviews!