After leaving around 9 for the 1 and a half hour trip from Connecticut to Brockton we got off the highway at 10:30 and then 45 minutes later we had covered the 2 miles to the fairgrounds and into the parking lot.
The Starting Line had already started by the time we got in so we walked over to the main stages and caught a few minutes of their set before moving on to find out when the bands we wanted to see were playing.
At 11:30 we stopped by the Maurice Stage to see Yellowcard just beginning their set. Yellowcard needs to learn something, songs without violin = bad, songs with violin = good. They had a lot of energy, but had to force the crowd to get into it by telling them to start a pit, during which was not a very hard song. The only song I recognized was "Way Away" which sounded pretty good live. And it was good to see that the violin player was still moving around the stage when he wasn't playing.
We left Yellowcard during their last song and went over to the main stages where we heard the first few songs by Glassjaw when we figured out what we were going to do. The only song I recognized was "Mu Empire" which sounded pretty good.
Rise Against was playing at 12:05 so we headed over the check out them. We ended up going to the wrong stage at first and by the time we got there they had already started. "Heaven Knows" sounded awesome live and they played 2 or 3 more songs that were very good, though not many people were into them.
Next up was Mad Caddies, we headed over to the main stage and pushed our way into the crowd. They sounded very good and as soon as the started circle pits had opened up and people were dancing. The lead singer had a ton of energy but I didn't really see the rest of the band moving around much. They played a nice reggae-ish song and "Drinking For 11" which were both very good and a bunch of up beat songs that got everyone dancing.
After that we got out of the crowd and went over to the other main stage for The Ataris, by then I was pretty tired so I didn't feel like pushing my way into the crowd and there were so many people there that we couldn't even see the band. So we "watched" for a few songs which were "Unopened Letter To The World" and "So Long, Astoria". They sounded pretty good but they were nothing special.
We headed back to the Maurice Stage for Brand New who was playing in about 10 minutes. A Sublime influenced reggae band was playing on the Volcom stage called Pepper. So while waiting I watched them they we very good but I was pissed that the Brand New fans were yelling for them to stop so Brand New could come on. And soon enough Brand New came and opened up with "Okay I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun" don't and then went right into "Jude Law And A Semester Abroad". Other songs in their set included "Guernica", "Jaws Theme Swimming", "Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades", and they finished up with "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" and "Seventy Times Seven". Everyone in the crowd was singing along and the band was going crazy on stage. During the last chorus of The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" the lead singer was so out of breath that he couldn't even singing all the words. So I came out of the crowd tired as hell and went over to buy myself a 4 dollar gatorade and it was worth it.
It was 2:00 and there weren't many good bands coming up so one of my friends got some food and we went back to the Maurice Stage to watch All-American Rejects rather than Simple Plan who was on the Main Stage. All-American Rejects played a decent set inculding "My Paper Heart", "Don't Leave Me", "Swing, Swing", and "The Last Song" and a few others off their selftitled album. They were alright but they sounded way too much like their album and the lead singer sounded so annoying when he was talking to the crowd, over emphasising every word he said.
Then we moved up to the front as the crowd for All-American Rejects cleared out for Tsunami Bomb. Tsunami Bomb rocked. Their guitar rifts are awesome and Agent M is an amazing singer, her voice just sounds so good over the guitars. They had a ton of energy and opened up with "Take The Reins" and played "...Not Forever", "El Diablo", and "20 Going On..." which was the highlight of the set with fans pumping their fists as the guitarist and bassist shout "It Slips Away!". Agent M was jumping all over the place and they put on an amazing show.
After Tsunami Bomb we got ourselves more 4 dollar gatorade and went over to the mercandise booths, from there I heard the last 2 songs of Suicide Machines which sounded good. I was disapointed I missed them but it was worth it to see Tsunami Bomb. We searched a bit for the Tsunami Bomb booth to no avail and eventually went over to the main stage to wait for Dropkick Murphys. Playing there was Twiztid. Twiztid was horrible. They are 2 guys who were Twiztid shirts and face paint while rapping about having sex with your mother and killing people. We walked over in mid set to see them getting bottles thrown at them and they were getting pissed off. They kept threatening the kids in the crowd who didn't like them and at the end of the set one of them jumped off the stage to go after the kid, so as all the Twiztid fans went over to see what was going on I ran up the front and got into the second row for Dropkick Murphys.
By the time Mest started their set at the other stage the Murphys' stage was packed so I was glad I was in there. Mest sounded alright I recognized a few songs including "Fuct Up Kid", "Untill I Met You", and "Rooftops". There set was filled with "Let's Go Murphys!" chants from the DKM crowd.
After what seemed like a very long Mest set, I heard the sounds of "Foggy Dew" grace the speakers and it wasn't long before Scruffy Wallace and 4 or 5 more pipers came out on the stage and started playing "Cadence To Arms" soon Ken Casey, Matt Kelly, James Lynch and Marc Orell came out and joined and then they went right into "Do Or Die" and Al Barr came out just in time to start singing the verse. Murphys played mostly older stuff off Do Or Die and newer stuff off Blackout. Songs included "Road Of The Righteous", "Barroom Hero", "Time To Go", "Caught In A Jar", and "Tattoos and Scally Caps". Hightlights were "Worker's Song" where they invited Andrew WK out to sing one of the verses, "Dirty Glass" and of course the last song of "Skinhead On The MBTA" where they brought out Lars Frederiksen and Tim Armstrong to play along and invited people on stage to sing along. I couldn't get on because the 2 guys in front of me weren't budging so I stayed put. Dropkick Murphys were amazing they had the loudest fans and the best stage presence. Al Barr is an incredible front man.
After what seemed to be a way to short set for such a good band I heard Me First and The Gimme Gimmes take the stage. I would have liked to see them but I didn't want to lose my spot for Rancid who was on next. So I listened to Me First who played some good songs including "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" and "Rocket Man".
Finally Rancid took the stage and started off with a band playing "Radio", "Ruby Soho", "Roots Radical" all in a row. They had lots of energy and Matt Freeman rocks at the bass. I still can't see how Tim Armstrong plays with his guitar down by his knees but most of the main guitar parts were played by Lars. They played an awesome set including "Maxwell Murder" with a longer bass solo, "Journey To The End of The East Bay", "Dead Bodies", new songs "Fall Back Down" and "Red Hot Moon",and Lars played "The Wars End" by himself. Then they brought out Marc Orell of Dropkick Murphys to play guitar on "Listed M.I.A.". Marc Orell played a kick ass solo complete with nice facial expressons to show Rancid how it's done. They finished with an awesome rendition of "Time Bomb" and then threw their setlist out into the crowd it came down right ontop of me as about 10 other fans went after I went down yet still didn't come up with it.
My brother and I headed back out to find we has lost my friend. So we walked over to watch a few songs by Big D and The Kids Table, who sounded as good as ever and then back to look for the Tsunami Bomb booth and my friend. We found neither and decided to go rest and watch Pennywise. Pennywise was playing at the same time as River City Rebels so we had to make a desicion. We had seen RCR before and they are always around New England so we decided to check out Pennywise. Pennywise was good, they played a few songs I recognized including "Fuck Authority" and "Pennywise" and they played a new song called "God Bless The USA". In the middle of their set my friend found us.
As soon as Pennywise finished up I was on my way to the other stage to catch the last act of the day, Less Than Jake. They opened up with "Gainsville Rock City" as I pushed my way into the crowd. Next up they played "All My Best Friends Are Metal Heads" as I got into the circle pit and started dancing. Next they played "Johnny Quest Thinks We Are Sellouts" which was the only song they played off of Losing Streak but it was a great choice. Then they played a new song "The Ghost Of You And Me" and instructed everyone to jump up and down when they played the chorus. Next up was 2 more from Hello Rockview, "Help Save The Youth Of American From Exploding" and "History Of A Boring Town" which included more dancing and singing along. Then they played "Science Of Selling Yourself Short" and "Look What Happened" both on Anthem but they played the horn part right before the verse like on the verison on "Borders and Boundaries". All set they had been trying to get the crowd to make a figure eight pit and it wasn't working so for the last song they told half the people to go one way around one of the tents and the rest to go the other way around a different tent. I can't tell if it worked but the entire crowd was trying it as Less Than Jake blasted out "Al's War" and fired confetti out from the stage at the end.
After Less Than Jake we headed to get some Merchandise before we left and I picked up Tsunami Bomb - "The Ultimate Escape" and Rise Against - "Revolutions Per Minute" and headed back to the car where we moved about 20 feet in an hour trying to get out of the parking lot. We then moved into a different line of cars that seemed to be moving more and a guy on a golf cart with a car following him came by and told us to follow him so we could get out easy. Warped Tour rocked this year, Dropkick Murphys put on the best show of the day but Rancid, Less Than Jake, Brand New, Tsunami Bomb and Mad Caddies were awesome too.