We Came As Romans is on Warped Tour this year? That is the
only reason I need to go! It had been almost a year to the day that I saw them
last, and I was beyond stoked because their new album, Tracing Back Roots,
dropped two days before my Warped date. I headed halfway to Atlanta the night
before to stay with my cousin so I would not have to wake up as early to leave
from my house, which is four hours away from Atlanta. Of course, as soon as you
walk into the door at Warped, you immediately go to buy the schedule to see
when your favorite band is going to play and you determine if you need to run
for your life to find the stage, or if you have time to get the lay of the land
and walk around a bit. For me, I had until 5:55 before We Came As Romans (WCAR)
came on. My first stop was to the Kia Tent to get my WCAR meet and greet poster
pass. When I was there, I also got VIP access to the Kia tent by the main
stages, which was awesome because it was in the shade and I had perfect
unobstructed views for several bands and ended up with some great pictures (as
you will see later). Before I saw any bands, I made it my mission to find more
meet and greets which included meeting Adam Elmakias, an awesome photographer
(also one of the reasons I want to pursue a minor in photography) and finding
out Chiodos was signing after their set. My first band of the day was The Black
Dahlia Murder. I watched them from the VIP tent and caught the last three songs
of their set, which included Statutory Ape, What A Horrible Night To Have A
Curse, and Funeral Thirst. They were not my favorite, but they were not the
worst band I have ever heard. I only waited through them because I wanted to
see Chiodos. I had not seen Chiodos since my first Warped Tour in 2009. Between
2009 and now, the band kicked out Craig Owens (their singer) and recorded an
album without him. Since 2009, Craig left Chiodos, started a new band,
D.R.U.G.S. (Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows), left DRUGS, went solo, then
rejoined Chiodos. I was so excited when I found out that Craig was back
because, it’s Craig Freaking Owens. When their set started, I swear every
teenager in that crowd, including myself, went absolutely crazy. It was one of
those moments that most of us had waited a long time to see. They played
The Undertaker’s Thirst For Revenge is Unquenchable. (The
Final Battle)
Thermacare
The Only Thing You Talk About (D.R.U.G.S. cover) (Cue me
freaking out because that is my favorite D.R.U.G.S. song)
There’s No Penguins In Alaska
Expensive Conversations In Cheap Hotels (New Song)
Two Birds Stoned At Once
The Words “Best Friend” Become Redefined
Baby, You Wouldn’t Last A Minute On The Creek
During their set, Craig talked about how the band loves
Atlanta and they are coming back in December to the Masquerade because they
have missed it so much. He also broke his bad news to the band that he
accidentally deleted their entire NBA game off their bus XBOX. Apparently, they
had been playing it all summer and they were almost to the playoffs and now
they have to start over. The band just laughed, as did I.
After Chiodos, I decided to walk around for a little while
before their meet and greet. I bought some merch and went to stand in line.
While I was waiting, Lou Cotton walked by me and I ran after him so I could
take a picture with him. Even though I was going to meet him within the next
hour, I would not be able to take pictures with him, so I took my chance. He
looked surprised but he happily agreed to the picture, which made me happy.
When Chiodos walked out, everyone in line freaked out. It was simply awesome. I
was excited because I have wanted to meet Craig since 2008. when I got to him,
I asked him for a hug, which he gave me and then he proceeded to tell me that
it was a great hug. I think I blushed. I gave him my card so he could look at
my pictures. So Craig, if you are reading this, I hope you like it! When I made
it out of the line, I ran over to take a few pictures of Black Veil Brides so I
could try to attract more people to this post. Haha! I was pleased with the pictures
I took considering where I was standing. I then walked by Like Moths To Flames
stage and heard them play one of their new songs. I still stand by my statement
from last year from Scream It Like You Mean It when I say that this band is
going to be big. They are great. I headed over to stand in line for the We Came
As Romans meet and greet which was about 30 minutes away. While I was standing
there, I was lucky enough to meet the founder of Warped Tour, Mr. Kevin Lyman.
I talked to him for a while and he is super nice. Kevin, if you are reading
this, it was really nice to meet you! When it was my turn to meet WCAR, I was
so happy because I finally got to meet the other three members that I did not
meet last year at SILYMI and I finally got the opportunity to tell them that I
used a lyric from their song Stay Inspired as my senior quote. Dave and Kyle
just smiled at me (they could not talk due to vocal rest) and Kyle gave me a
high five. Every single one of those guys are super nice and have so much love
for all of their fans and for each other. That is one of the many reasons why
they are one of my favorite bands. After their meet and greet, I headed over to
their stage even though they did not start for another hour. I had to get my
spot on the barricade. After all, they were the only reason that I bought a
ticket and drove for four hours so by George, I was going to be in the front. I
got there in the middle of Sleeping With Sirens’ (SWS) set. Even though they
are not my favorite, there is something to be said about their fan base. They
may be young, but they are super dedicated to their band. I love that. Billy
Talent followed SWS. I had not seen them since 2008 with My Chemical Romance
and I was pretty freaking stoked to see them again. They played
Devil In A Midnight Mass
Viking Death March
This Suffering
Devil On My Shoulder
Fallen Leaves (YESSSS!)
Surprise Surprise
Red Flag
Their fans are awesome too and I learned that BT has been a
band for 20 years. They even had a flag to prove it. I did not realize that
they were that old!
After them was The Wonder Years. They played
Passing Through A Screen Door
Local Man Ruins Everything
Woke Up Older
Washington Square Park
Dismantling Summer
Don’t Let Me Cave In
The Bastards, The Vultures, The Wolves
Logan Circle (YES!!!)
Came Out Swinging
Then *drum roll please* it was time for We Came As Romans!!!
I wish I could tell you how excited I was. It is also amazing what adrenaline
can do for you, because without said adrenaline, I would probably have a broken
nose or even be dead. The crowd was exceptionally rougher than I had
anticipated but still wonderfully painful. They played
Hope
To Move On Is To Grow
Fade Away (My favorite off Tracing Back Roots)
Broken Statues
Glad You Came (The Wanted Cover from Punk Goes Pop 5) (Best
crowd response from any band that day)
Roads That Don’t End And Views That Never Cease (my favorite
song of the day) (Somehow, Lou ended up playing bass and Andy ended up playing
guitar. It was funny)
Tracing Back Roots
To Plant A Seed (featuring Hance Alligood from Woe, Is Me at
the end of the song)
This is honestly the best I have ever seen We Came As
Romans. Every time I see them, I am reminded why I fell in love with them in
the first place. The coolest part of their live performance has to be when they
all jump in unison. It is one of those things that you honestly have to see for
yourself in order to believe me because words do not do it justice.
My last bands of the day consisted of The Used, Silverstein,
and Stick To Your Guns, which I saw on my way out. The WCAR pit really took a
lot out of me and I still had a two and a half hour drive ahead of me. It was
one of the best days I had in a while, which was actually the theme of Warped
this year: Best Day Ever. Oh, and they
do not call it Hotlanta for anything. Never forget that!
