Don’t work; get Warped. It’s time for the nearest passing of the (modest) star-studded constellation known as Vans Warped Tour. The three-dozen-or-so acts are coming to Cincinnati’s Riverbend Amphitheatre tomorrow, July 29.
This is the 15th anniversary of the tour, the logo on the main stage has birthday candles, and you can expect to see plenty of audience members young enough to have been conceived in the parking lot after the very first edition of the tour.
The lineup this year is more nostalgic than bleeding-edge. You can figure on good, reliable work from bands large and small — but Cincinnati isn’t getting one of the prominent headliners (veteran post-punk clowns NOFX). Some bands that you will see, with photos here from an earlier stop on the tour, are TAT, The Devil Wears Prada, Streetlight Manifesto and Underoath.
The first bands start up around noon, there are 6 stages to hop between, the booths of band merchandise are interspersed with an admirable number for public-service groups, and the day will run around 8 or 9 hours. Tickets are $27.50 (but bring plenty of cash for hydration’s sake). —T.E. Lyons