This image post groups 2 bands that I pretty much knew nothing about but was pleasantly surprised by. Tonight Alive and Motion City Soundtrack. You can check out my first wrap up post with 5 bands HERE and my second wrap up post with We Came As Romans + 3oh!3 HERE.
Ok… I somewhat lied. I know the name of the band (it’s one of those that is pretty hard to forget) but I would never put any money down on me being able to name any of their songs. They took to the main stage around 6pm and seemed to have a pretty packed crowd to play in front of. The one thing that stood out from this rock/pop punk group was how fun Jesse Johnson was to photograph while he played his keyboards. This guy was constant movement, back and forth, intensity in his face… artists like that are always a treat to shoot as you are guaranteed great shots… but on the flip side, you need to tear your lens away from him and shoot the rest of the band as well!
Sorta wished I hung around for more of their set, but after my 3 songs I moved to the shaded area beside the other main stage and just took it easy as by 6pm, walking for already 7-8 hours in the 43c heat, I was getting a wee bit tired and still had at least 5 more bands to check out. I was digging their mix of catchy pop punk tunes mixed in with some funky synthesizers.
And props to singer Justin Pierre, not only for having a cool last name (although works better as a first name 😉 ), but for also rocking a Lemuria shirt on stage!
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Tonight Alive
Now, one of the joys of my job of being a music photographer is getting the chance to discover bands. And each festival I shoot, I usually come out with 1 new band that I just love. Warped 2012 was Polar Bear Club. This year, that goes to Tonight Alive. There is something about their catchy pop punk songs, mixed in with the energy and fun they are having on stage (and probably that lead singer Jenna is just damn cute, what I can I say, I’m a sucker for that Australian accent) that had me from the get go.
From Australia, the band took the Domo stage around 3:45pm. I was already chilling out in the shaded amphitheatre, and pretty happy that I was else I wouldn’t of caught their set. They remind me very much of Paramore. Great rapport with fans, which is something I love to see. Yep, Tonight Alive was my “coup de coeur” for this year’s Warped.
Aight… more than half way done my posts on Warped. Still a few more bands to go including Reel Big Fish, Handguns, The Used and The Wonder Years!
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