Saturday, July 17^th The Warped Tour hit Long Island, NY. The parking lot of Nassau Coliseum was host to the tour’s six stages, 50+ band and record merchandise booths, and sponsor tents for Day 20 of the traveling festival. The Wonka Tent had free photos, gummy slugs, bugs, and the like; the Trojan Condom Dome and Scream Machine also had enjoyable freebies. Stickered fans paraded and sprinted across the concrete, many offering free hugs and most minimally clothed in accordance with the low to mid 90-degree heat and cloudless sky.

The Kia Kevin Says Stage came to life first at 11:10, followed by the AP Advent Stage five minutes later and then Altec Lansing, Ernie Ball, and Skull Candy all at 11:30. By 1, the festival was in full, unparalleled swing: Hey Monday had just covered a Jason Derulo song, Motion City Soundtrack lead singer Justin Pierre was mid cross-main stage leap while skateboarders tricked up and down the half-pipe at the Vans Skate Ramp just next door, and fans swarmed the blow-up slip and slide and traded cold, hard cash for colder water and Gatorade.

The smell of spray-on sunscreen, sweat, and dirty pavement pervaded the entire lot, but Warped goers became quite oblivious as their pleased (and sometimes blown out) eardrums overpowered their pained noses. 

The charity presence at this year’s festival was unmistakable: a row of non-profit booths lined the walk between the Glamour Kills, AP Advent and Altec Lansing stages; the Keep a Breast booth, directly across from the Altec Lansing stage, was busy all day and into the evening as Four Years Strong began at 6:10.

As the day went on and the sun went down, the heat did not follow: the scorching heat gave way to a stagnant, dry hot air. The 2-3pm sets featured flying flip-flops and a few drops of a tossed water bottle, but Mayday Parade’s 5:05 and Sum 41’s 5:45 introduced the chucked sneaker and makeshift rain from several thrown bottles.

The music itself was a solid, summer live set, most of it taking on an open and raspy texture. Everyone fed off of the crowd: Sum 41 commented after every song on the abnormal energy of the fans, and Four Year Strong choreographed several different circle pits and crowd-surfing events during their set, seizing the out-of-body exuberance of the kids standing on the pavement.

Merchandise booths packed up at around 6:30, and some fans took breaks in the dead spots on the pavement between stages where the playing bands’ sounds mingled into white noise.  The port-a-potties were certainly less inviting than they had been at noon, but the communal sweat of the day lessened the gross factor altogether.

Fans seeped out of the festival grounds to their cars and the bus stop, nursing tired backs, sore throats, drawn-on skin, and accomplished exhaustion. 

*This review was composed by Emily Coch