The five Warped Tour stops in California were some of the stops I was most looking forward to outside of Denver. Partially because California is my home away from home and a familiar place, partially because of the weather, and partially because Warped is made for Cali! Vans’ headquarters is in Huntington Beach, and the tour originally started and ended there, so in my mind there’s no better place to experience it.
After my amazing day home with family and friends back in Colorful Colorado, Danny dropped me off back at the Dragon Wagon bright and early Monday morning, and the band and I began our drive down I-70 westbound for the second time in four days. Enjoying the beautiful ride through the Rockies, I was finally feeling a little bit more at peace with leaving town. Seeing how quickly and easily I can always find my way home, and with the promise of California waiting just around the corner, I was finally feeling ready to begin my first real week out on the road. Our first stop? Vegas!
We finally rolled into Las Vegas about 1am Tuesday morning. Some of the guys had never seen the city before, and were anxious and ready to take in all they could in their day off tomorrow. After checking into our rooms at the Rio Hotel (a huge, “Vegas” style hotel just off the strip, across the highway) we headed into the city to find some late night food. After roaming around for awhile, we settled on a food court just passed Margarita-ville, and ate, laughed, and told stories until about 3am. Unfortunately, I have a job to keep while I’m out and about having fun this summer, and had a shift scheduled the next day at the local branch of my retail store at noon.
Even though I wasn’t really able to take full advantage of our day off, I’m too young to be able to enjoy all of Vegas anyways and didn’t mind much! It sounds like the band had a blast while I was at work though they all were out going to pools, watching basketball games, and even hitting up the club at the top of the hotel. My day back at work was relaxing, and full of air conditioning, something I certainly didn’t mind at all! It was nice to be back in one stable place of work, wearing my uniform, doing what I love. It might sound silly, but my job at home and all my co-workers are going to be the things I miss the most while I’m out and about this summer! It was nice to find myself surrounded by another great team of great people, full of new stories and experiences. There are a few funny stories surrounding my shift out at my temp store, but those will have to wait for another day. Let’s just say one allergic reaction, and one random introduction made my shift very hilarious, and very worth while.
the view from my tent in Vegas... a little crazy, eh?
The next day was finally it, Warped Vegas! We all had been dreading this stop knowing the weather that awaited us. Temperatures were rumored to be reaching as high as 115 - something that’s definitely NOT fun to experience sitting in a giant asphalt parking lot all day without a fan (or a hope or a prayer). Yet there we were, 10am, unpacking the sprinter in the parking lot across from The Luxor Hotel. The tour had pushed doors back until 2pm that day to try and help with heat, and so bands were loading in later than usual as well. I welcomed the extra sleep no questions asked, but the idea that bands were playing late that night was a scary thought. That night, we’d be driving five hours to Irvine, CA for our next stop, and so the later a set time we got, the later we’d be able to leave, meaning less time we got to actually sleep in a hotel room. Just our luck, the band was slotted at 9:30 pm, meaning we’d be sitting around in the heat and the tent ALL DAY just waiting to play and be able to leave, barely making it to Irvine by 3am!
Although the day was fairly brutal, we ended up setting up our tent in the same area as a lot of the non-profit vendors because of lack of room around the stage. We got the chance to meet the awesome team at the Music Cares booth, who were super nice and really helpful. It was great getting to meet more people on the tour, not to mention a more diverse group than just the other bands! I really enjoyed having good, fun, new company all day long. Despite the ridiculous temperatures (which luckily only reached 106), the kids still came in packs, ready and waiting to see their favorite bands. It was really hot, and there were a lot of fainters, and a lot of kids needing medical attention, but at the end of the day I think the Warped staff did a great job helping make sure everyone got what they needed to stay safe and healthy throughout the show.
A Loss For Words with the crowd in Vegas
After our crazy late set time, we packed out as quick as possible, and piled into the Sprinter to head towards Cali. OH! Did I mention our dolley broke that morning? Cause it did. Our wheel broke right off in the middle of the parking lot as we were loading into the venue, which was terrible! That meant that whole morning we were carrying boxes around in 100-degree weather, it was bonkers! But the good thing is that the guys ran out during the day and picked up a brand new hand-truck that is INCREDIBLE! What used to take the dolley 3 people and two trips takes the hand truck one! We have the same one at my work back home which my team has hilariously named Jackson, and so as an homage to my gang back in Denver, I have named the band’s new hand truck Jackson as well. He’s super awesome, and kicks butt and makes my job a lot easier! I’m excited to keep using this for the rest of tour. Call me spoiled, but this hand truck is like the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. :) Funny how weird buys at Home Depot can make your day, eh?
That’s it for now! I am SO happy Vegas is done and over with. I’m excited and ready to finally get started on our dates in California, my home away from home! Tomorrow we play Irvine, followed by Pomona, San Fran, Ventura and San Diego. It’s sure to be a great week, so be sure to follow along :)
Xoxo
-M
Yesterday was probably one of my favorite days I’ll have this whole tour: we played my hometown! It feels a little bit like a tease for me to have to leave, then come back so fast, and then leave again, but all at the same time it was very reassuring to know that I’ll somehow always find my way back as quickly as I left.
After a crazy day in Salt Lake, the band and I finished re-packing all of the merch and condensed enough to fit ALL our luggage into the Cargo Bay (YAY!) and began the “quick” 10-hr drive back to Denver. The drive was easy enough, no problems, no traffic, nothing getting in our way, but it still took all night, and we rolled into town as the sun began to rise over the Mile High City. I managed to finally get some sleep in the hour between Fort Collins to Denver, and then another two once we finally found our way into the parking lot at the stadium. Once 8am hit, I was back up and at it, and the band and I took a few minutes to get ready in the parking lot before we loaded in for the day. It was a super funny, and pretty ridiculous watching us all running around half dressed, brushing our teeth and putting on deodorant, all in the middle of a cement ocean and a herd of sprinters. Welcome to life on tour, I guess!
sunrise over Denver as we drove into town.
Having the band play Denver was AMAZING! I Fight Dragons has received great radio play in Colorado thanks to the local radio station 93.3fm KTCL, beings as JJ (their manager) is also from Colorado, so the crowd was really pumped up to see the guys. We had a great 1pm set time, and although it was a little early in the day we had a HUGE crowd! The band sounded great despite some insane heat, and the fans reacted really well. We all had a ton of fun running around doing signings, meeting fans new and old, and getting so see some familiar faces from around town.
the "robots" walking around in the crowd.
The best part of the day for me hands down was getting to see so many friendly faces, friends, and family. My mom and both little brothers were able to make the show, as well as some friends from the blog I write for in Denver, Ultra5280, and my boyfriend Danny. It was so exciting to share this new part of my life them: my new daily routine, the van, the band, and Warped Tour. I’ve been going to Warped Tour since I was 12 or 13, and after all those years when I was younger and my mom dropped me off, she never actually had come inside until yesterday. Although it was a long and tiring day, I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. Denver is such a unique, beautiful and genuinely interested crowd. My city has one of the best music scenes in the entire country, and it truly shined through; I was so proud to see my city come out, ready to show all the bands just how much we love music. It was really also very cool for me to get to see the behind the scenes part of Warped in Denver after years and years of participating from the public perspective. After the gig I got to spend a little bit of time with my family, and some time with Danny finishing errands and relaxing. This R&R was a perfect reminder for me that my loved ones will all still be there for me once I get home, no matter how far away I travel, or how long it takes. I’m very lucky...very lucky.
Today as we drive through the desert I’m finally feeling much more at peace with this realization that i’m finally leaving Denver. Being able to spend time relaxing with Danny last night and today made me so happy, so calm. He’s the person I think I’ll be missing the more than anything else as I’m away from Denver, and so getting to spend so much fun and easy down time with him was a great reminder that even if I’m gone for awhile, nothing will change between us. For my birthday this past Monday, he got me a build-a-bear Polar Bear dressed like him, my very own “Tour Boyfriend” to take with me on my travels! I’m excited to have a new companion along for the ride. :) He was running around yesterday and today helping us pack the Sprinter, selling merch, and hanging out with the guys. Seeing him embracing my new job and “tour family” put a huge smile on my face all day long.
me and the band at a beautiful overlook in Utah
Right now we’re about halfway through Utah, and it’ll be another five hours or so until we finally make it to Vegas and stop for this evening. The sun is setting over the beautiful desert valley, and the band and I stopped off to take some awesome pictures at a scenic overlook. JJ, our manager, joined up with us today and will be staying with us until we reach Los Angeles, which makes me super stoked. He’s been living outside of the state the entire time I’ve worked for him, so It’s very rare that we get to spend this much face time together. I’m super excited for the fun we’ll have at shows these next few days as we head through California! Tomorrow is our day off in Vegas, and we’ll be relaxing, sleeping, and swimming and taking in the sights. Our show in Vegas on Wednesday is supposed to be a hot one, with temperatures possibly hitting 118 degrees! SCARY! I’ll be sure to keep you updated as things happen, but that’s it for now :)
Xoxo
-M
I know we’ve all taken our turn on little camping trips with family being the one trying to fit the unimaginable amount of gear into the trunk, squeezing bags and pillows into tiny little nooks and crannies all over the trunk (and the rest of the car) until it all works. Let me be the first to tell you, Cargo Bay Tetris is a whole nother ball game all its own.
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