an electro-/house band from Florida could already heat up the vast halls of the Arena. 3 stages with non-stop music program made the crowd not just sing and freak out, but we could also spot some seriously good crowdsurfing skills and mosh pit talents out there. No matter if Anchors & Hearts, Gravity Lost, metalcore heroes Memphis May Fire or The Wonder Years from Pennsylvania - the louder, the better! By nightfall the venue was full of fans, impatiently waiting for bands the likes of Enter Shikari, Parkway Drive and headliner Billy Talent. Right next to the Monster Energy East Stage the European Vans skate team led by mastermind Danny Wainwright was up for three sessions in a miniramp. Crowdpleaser Daan Van der Linden showed his signature "Miller Flip", while Ross McGouran, Nick Baax and Kris Vile made sure that each grind, each air and each slide was shown to the fiery crowd. Big shout outs for Vans BMX riders Tobias Wicke, Tom van de Boogaard, Nicky van der Veen and Markus Braumann, we could see some really nice flairs! To round off the action the delicious Californian Vans waffles were distributed to the audience.
All in all the Vans Warped Tour kick off was an amazing success! Great sound, awesome skate and BMX action, fantastic atmosphere - thank you Berlin, and see you soon then!
Not to lose any time the Vans Warped Tour moved on to friendly Klokgebouw, Eindhoven/NL the next morning. It was the first time in 14 years that the American punk rock and skate festival visited the Netherlands. With over 6,000 visitors Vans Warped Tour NL was sold out. From 12:00 hrs thousands of visitors enjoyed performances by headliners Parkway Drive, Enter Shikari and Billy Talent. Dutch bands John Coffey and The Charm The Fury left their mark as well. The latter band will play at the Vans Warped Tour in London this weekend. Besides kick-ass music performances, visitors enjoyed the extensive festival market (where band signings and meet & greets took place) and demonstrations of European Vans Skate and BMX team riders. Pushing it hard and giving the crowd something to gasp and cheer Kris Vile, Ross McGouran and Dutchies Nick Bax and Daan van der Linden made sure the special Vans skate ramp gets rocked.
Photocredits: DONE. by Tjeerd Derkink & Set Vexy Photography Eindhoven
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.