Does anyone here go or has anyone gone? It is nearby soon and I was considering buying a ticket. I don’t know most of the bands, but I guess they will put up 5 stages or so so I can always walk around to find new bands.
My only problem is it seems like it is geared towards people younger than me, so I don’t know if the bands will be to my liking. But there will supposedly be over 60, so I’m sure I’ll like some.
Has anyone gone, and did you enjoy it? Was it worth going?
Was this supposed to go in Cafe society? I really don’t know.
I went in 2006 when I was 29. It was excellent. It also confirmed for me that the older I get, the less I like crowds. I had a panic attack when the crowd surged for Billy Talent, and I spent the rest of the day by myself, under a tree. I enjoyed the music and the people watching. My days of standing in the crowd are over.
I don’t mind the crowds, but I get the impression Vans is more aimed at high school students and college students, and I am way older than that. Normally when I go to a concert there is a good mix of age groups, and I didn’t know if Vans was mostly devoted to people way younger than me.
TheKid, age 17, has gone for the past 4 years and loves it. It is geared for the high school / college crowds (in fact, they have a “daycare” for parents). What she likes most about the Warped Tour is just how accessible the musicians are. After a set they’ll hang around and talk to their fans.
Yeah, threads about concerts typically go there, but no harm. I’ll move it for you now.
I would have been in my early thirties last time I went and didn’t feel all that out of place. If you like punk and/or people watching at all it’s worth a go.
last i went i was 19 in 2005 and even i felt a tad older than the intended crowd (mostly high school juniors and seniors). the older guys/girls walking around with the beers looked like they were still having a good time though, but i can’t imagine it being too fun if you’re going by yourself as an older person. as for the shows itself? like missTake says, very intimate. some of the middle-tier bands play on stages that are nothing more than soapboxes really and you get unbelievably close to the action. most of the people there are for the big names anyway, leaving the pseudo-indie and indie band shows relatively open. For me, Emory, Hawthorne Heights, and… someone else i forget… all had less than 75 ppl and that in itself was worth the price of admission.
I went a few years ago and it was good, but this year I don’t really like the bands. If you like that sort of music bring a notepad or be ready to mark a list of bands as there were several new bands I saw that I liked but I can’t for the life of my remember who they were!
I’m in my late 30’s and never felt out of place at a concert, as a matter of fact I feel more in place now that I am more used to concerts. Ironically, the only time anyone expressed surprise that I liked the band we were seeing was at a Coheed and Cambria concert (ironic it should be that band because they are the Classic Rockiest band still likely to have young fans.)
We haven’t gone in a few years, due to less punk rock bands they started to bring in. But it was always a great time. Even if you don’t like most of the bands they have other activities (extreme sport showcases, performance art, and i even saw a puppet show that was great). Like was said earlier, the bands are real approachable, and you will see them walking around after the set. My best two memories is having a beer with the lead singer of Civ, and talking to the singer from The Living End for a hour after he got caught looking down my girlfriends shirt. 
This. Of course I tended to work the beer stands but there was always time to walk around and people-watch. I always enjoyed it. If you even think you might like it, you probably will.
What is it you’re most worried about? Music is music, so unless your tastes have changed radically, I really don’t think the music has changed so much you wouldn’t find things to enjoy. Probably quite a lot of them. You do have to be in the mood for crowds, of course, but it’s more like state fair crowds, and pretty bearable for the most part.