Vans Warped Tour pushes back door times, increases safety precautions for extreme Phoenix heat

Ed Masley | The Republic | azcentral.com

Show Caption Hide Caption Phoenix Vans Warped Tour Highlights Gwar, American Authors and more will play Phoenix June 22.

The Vans Warped Tour stop in Phoenix on Thursday, June 22, has pushed back its door times and increased safety precautions in anticipation of excessive heat.

The Vans Warped Tour team has worked with Fear Farm and decided to open doors 12:30 p.m. instead of 11 a.m.

To ensure fan safety throughout the day, the following precautions have been implemented:

Fans are now allowed to bring in sealed bottles of water upon initial entry

Cool Gear will be hosting a Hydration Station which includes complimentary filtered water.

There will be multiple on site water-misting trailers and they've added extra shaded tent areas as well as a Slip N' Slide.

Warped Tour founder, Kevin Lyman says: "We enjoy having Warped Tour in Phoenix every summer and are always conscious of the heat. Although we cannot control the weather, we will do everything in our power to make sure everyone stays hydrated and comfortable. Be sure to sunblock responsibly as this is an outdoor music festival and be ready to enjoy the show."

If you're going, the Warped Tour is bringing its usual eclectic assortment of genres, from hip-hop to screamo to pop-punk to Gwar. Here's a look at a handful of the higher-profile and/or worthwhile artists on the bill. But there are dozens more. This is the Warped Tour, after all.

Blessthefall

These local metalcore sensations are back on the road in continued support of 2015’s “To Those Left Behind,” their third consecutive release to go Top 40 on the Billboard album charts. Alternative Press responded to the album with a rave that concluded, "‘To Those Left Behind’ charges out of the gates on a rousing, anthemic note before lead guitarist/backing vocalist Eric Lambert shamelessly steals the show. Add in thoughtful lyrics delivered through the hypnotically clean vocals of Beau Bokan on tracks like the closer ‘Departures,’ and you’ve got what is easily blessthefall’s best offering yet.”

Futuristic

Zachary Beck is a mainstream-friendly hip-hop act whose latest album, “As Seen On the Internet,” is his sixth release in five years. That’s exactly the sort of determination it takes to be seen on the internet. And he’s working it hard. This is his third release to hit the Top 10 on the Billboard rap charts. The first was “Rise,” on which the first words out of Futuristic’s mouth were “Yo, I’m the most underrated,” which he followed with “XXL, man, I want the cover / There’s no way that I’m not in the conversation.” The conversation continues on “As Seen on the Internet,” which features guest appearances by Hopsin, Devvon Terrell, Karmin, Goody Grace and Shia LaBeouf.

Memphis May Fire

These metalcore veterans expanded the scope of their sound on this sixth album, "This Light I Hold," and Alternative Press was impressed, declaring it their most engaging work to date. "Having taken a significant amount of time off to write and develop this record, there’s a level of maturity on this album seldom seen on their prior releases," their critic continued. "Fans get a taste of ’80s hard rock that’s subtly employed throughout tracks like “Wanting More” and “Live It Well,” while the more heavy-hitting, ‘core side of Memphis still shines through on tracks like “Out Of It” and “Sever The Ties.”

Hatebreed

Led by singer Jamey Jasta, these metalcore veterans hit the Hard Rock album charts at No. 2 with “The Concrete Confessional,” their seventh album. A reviewer at Metal Injection awarded the album an 8 out of 10 while noting that although it’s “no reinvention by any means, there is enough variety of material and reinvigoration in the band's energy to establish it as one of the best Hatebreed albums of the past decade.” And Loudwire raved, “More than two decades after their formation, there is no sign that the band’s well of passion and anger is anywhere near empty.”

I Prevail

It may seem a bit odd on the surface that one of the fastest-rising names in modern metalcore first tasted fame was a cover of Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space.” But given the pop sensibilities they flex on the chorus of tracks like “Scars” and the aptly named “Stuck in Your Head,” the first two singles from their full-length debut “Lifelines?” I’d imagine you would find all sorts of music playing in their van that doesn’t sound a thing like Converge or the Dillinger Escape Plan.

Andy Black

Black Veil Brides front man Andy Biersack adopted the name Andy Black in 2014 to explore his love of goth and '80s synth-pop. Alternative Press responded to "The Shadow Side," his first solo release, with a rave: "Romantic, modern, vintage, classic, spinning pop illusions while sublimely dancing with the dark arts - there’s a definite 'vibe' throughout 'The Shadow Side' and the mainstream would be better for it, should the world surrender themselves to Andy Black’s deceptive embrace."

Silverstein

These Canadian post-hardcore veterans have an album titled “Dead Reflection” dropping in July. It’s their first effort since concept album called "I Am Alive in Everything I Touch," the concept being that each track was set in a different city and featured sound clips from that city. Revolver declared it "a sonic ride worth taking" while the Alternative Press reviewer noted that the unusual format doesn't overshadow the songwriting.

Attila

"Not an album for the easily-offended." That's how Rock Sound responded to Attila's latest effort, "Chaos," which hit the Billboard album chart at No. 30, suggesting that plenty of people are not easily offended. "Outspoken, outrageous and frequently out of order," the Rock Sound reviewer continued, "the band have won notoriety as one of metalcore’s most potent and unpredictable forces. A combination of piercing honesty and slamming riffs has won them a sizeable fanbase – despite their ongoing vulgarity – and the band have become seriously hot property from out of nowhere."

American Authors

These Brooklyn indie-pop sensations may be best known for their breakthrough single, "Best Day of My Life," a triple-platinum triumph that took them to No. 11 on the Hot 100. Their debut, “Oh What a Life” was on the folky side of pop. And they’d expanded their horizons by the time they followed through with last year’s “What We Live For,” where All Music Guide heard them refining “their upbeat, foot-stomping brand of pastoral Mumford rock” and setting it “on course for the tier occupied by pop/rock chart-toppers like OneRepublic and Imagine Dragons.”

Hawthorne Heights

Released in 2013, their latest album, "Zero," was an effervescent pop-punk concept album about a group of teenagers fighting a totalitarian corporation with a few residual traces of their screamo heritage. Absolute Punk called the album "their best effort yet," saying they'd "honed their talents and refined their music nearly enough to be a different band, and one that sounds better than ever before."

New Years Day

Ash Costello has the perfect voice to deliver the introspective lyrics of "Malevolence," these California rockers' latest effort, for maximum impact, her vocal presence somehow as commanding as her striking goth-glam image. "More than ever you can really feel the blood and tears in these lyrics," the singer says. "It wasn't an easy process because it was so emotional but what came from it is honest and real. It's therapeutic and angry but still shows vulnerability." Alternative Press responded to the album with "Her wrenching lyrics and piercing vocal turns prove that her makeup is there to keep the scars hidden while flashing a warning sign lest you think about f--king with her."

Municipal Waste

These speed-metal veterans are releasing “Slime and Punishment” later this month. It’s their first new release since 2012’s “The Fatal Feast,” to which Kerrang! responded by hailing Municipal Waste as “a band who've proven that 21st-century thrashers can give their predecessors a run for their money.” The tongue-in-cheek lyrics and flyaway drumming of the album’s more infectious tracks, from “New Dead Masters” to “Idiot Check,” place these guys squarely in the Suicidal Tendencies camp with Anthrax, which is always welcome.

Gwar

These guys have taken Alice Cooper's shock-rock template to grotesque extremes in the course of advancing a visual concept based on portraying a band of interplanetary warriors, their costumes made of latex, styrofoam and hardened rubber. Their stage shows are the stuff of legend, outrageously violent and far more sexual in nature than a Cooper show, including simulated mutilations of "celebrity" guests, from O.J. Simpson to Adolf Hitler, Pope Francis and Snooki. They're also known for dousing the fans down front with copious amounts of fake blood.

Sick Of it All

It’s been three years since these New York City hardcore legends’ latest album, “Last Act of Defiance,” which hit the ground running with “Sound the Alarm” and maintained that explosive momentum through highlights as intense as “2061” and “Get Bronx.” Alternative Press responded: “Really, no one does it better than these guys. While other old-school NYHC hardcore bands have a waft of fromage floating off the gang chants and breakdowns, SOIA have always managed to just rip and shred.”

The Acacia Strain

These hardcore metal veterans are about to drop their first release since “Coma Witch,” a brutal seventh album to which Rock Sound responded with “They’ve succeeded in making a devastatingly heavy record that, bar the odd predictable breakdown, manages to steer clear of deathcore clichés and sets them apart from their peers.” They’d rather that you didn’t call them deathcore, though. PopMatters quoted singer Vincent Bennett, the only member of the current lineup who’s been on board since 2002’s ...And Life Is Very Long,” as saying, “Deathcore is the new nu-metal. ... It sucks. And if anyone calls us ‘deathcore’ then I might do something very bad to them.”

Dance Gavin Dance

These post-hardcore veterans are playing the Warped Tour in support of "Mothership," their seventh album, on which Jon Mess' unhinged howls of terror are offset by soaring ethereal vocals from Tilian Pearson. Alternative Press declared it their best effort yet while Kerrang! noted “Naturally, those married to traditional song structures need not apply, but if you fancy feeling like your brain’s in a pinball machine, then Mothership will take you out of this world.”

Neck Deep

These U.S. punks are set to hit the streets in August with the long-awaited followup to 2015’s “Life’s Not Out to Get You,” a contagious collection of effervescent pop-punk songs to which Kerrang! responded with a perfect score. “Neck Deep are the most fully formed British rock band to rise to prominence in ages,” their critic raved. “And in ‘Life's Not Out To Get You’ they haven't as much made a record as created a world.” Meanwhile, Alternative Press responded with “Attention Citizens of Warped: ‘Life's Not Out To Get You’ is the album you've been craving.”

The Adolescents

These pioneering veterans of the Orange County punk scene have been at it since the very early ‘80s, although bassist Steve Soto is the only member of the current lineup featured on their now-iconic blue self-titled debut. Sizing up that albums legacy years later, punk historian Jack Rabid credited the Adolescents with having “established the mid-tempo, punk-pop 'Southern Cal sound', led by the long, great, pummeling, Johnny Thunders-derived solos of the two Agnew brothers, Rikk and Frank,” adding that the songs “endure precisely because they're not just aggressive and speedy: they're super-catchy, heavy-riffing rock & roll, proving again that punk was the true heir to the likes of Chuck Berry, Larry Williams, Bo Diddley, and Eddie Cochran."

Trophy Eyes

These Australian punks have expanded the scope of their sound to dynamic effect on a second album called “Chemical Miracle.” They haven’t turned their back on the melodic hardcore of their debut, “Mend, Move On.” There’s still plenty of throat to be shred. But hearing John Floreani pine his way through the quieter parts of “Heaven Sent,” you have to wonder if he just discovered Morrissey. Sputnikmusic hailed the album as “an unanticipated punch to the gut - one that will leave the listener reeling as it rightfully earns its spot among the genre’s most passionate and achingly honest albums.”

Movements

These California punks should have no trouble speaking to the Warped Tour demographic with the songs on last year’s “Outgrown Things.” A six-song EP driven by post-hardcore urgency, its highlights ranged from the post-punk abandon of “Kept” to the monologue the singer slips into the emo ballad “Nineteen,” shouting “I refuse to sacrifice my aspirations for an income. And security? What the hell is security?”

Creeper

These British goth-punks are touring in support of a stunning debut called “Eternity, in Your Arms.” A richly detailed concept album about a paranormal investigator, it offsets punk intensity with echoes of musical theatre and classic glam, at times recalling the best of My Chemical Romance. Alternative Press said it “could easily be a musical score as much as it is a step forward for abrasive punk” while Kerrang! said “it is by turns beautiful and brash, driven and divine.”

The Dickies

We’re coming up fast on the 40th anniversary of these pop-punk legends’ seminal debut, “The Incredible Shrinking Dickies,” which offset original tracks as brilliant as “You Drive Me Ape (You Big Gorilla)” – among the greatest punk songs and songs involving monkeys ever made -- and “Give It Back” with snotty, over-caffeinated covers of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid,” the Monkees’ “She” and PF Sloan’s “Eve of Destruction.” Their debut finished 10th LA Weekly’s countdown of Top 20 Greatest L.A. Punk Albums Ever and made our countdown of the ‘70s best punk debuts at azcentral.

Playboy Manbaby

These locals are hitting the road in support of an album called “Don’t Let It Be” that's on my shortlist of the more electrifying albums of 2017. These guys are firing on cylinders I didn’t even know existed, setting the tone with the scathing political satire of “You Can Be a Fascist, Too,” a track they shared in the wake of November’s election because as they noted on Facebook, “We feel like every societal catastrophe deserves a proper theme song.” It’s the perfect introduction to an album that goes on to make its way through such obvious highlights as the sax-fueled “Last One Standing,” “Cadillac Car” and “Don Knotts in a Wind Tunnel” while Robbie Pfeffer’s unhinged vocal stylings underscore the brilliance of his lyrical approach. I’m not sure if the metalcore fans this Warped Tour bill is certain to bring out in droves will know quite what to make of Pfeffer’s brand of showmanship, but I can tell you there’s no other band on this bill that I would rather see (except maybe the Dickies).

Doll Skin

I’m pleased to say I was able to present these local rockers with their first award – Best Breakthrough Band – at last year’s Heavy Metal Television Awards. They also rocked the house that night with a performance that served to underline how much they’ve grown from all the touring they’ve done since hooking up with David Ellefson of Megadeth, who signed them to his imprint, EMP, distributed by Megaforce, the label responsible for launching the careers of Anthrax and Metallica. In addition to hooking them up with a label, Ellefson produced the aptly titled “In Your Face” EP, which landed the girls on a list in Alternative Press of “7 of the Best Rising Bands Under 21." By the time they take the Warped Tour stage in Phoenix, they'll have followed "In Your Face" with "Manic Pixie Dream Girl," an album produced by Cage9 frontman Evan Rodaniche.

The Fantastic Plastics

It's not for nothing that the first four letters of "Devolver" spell Devo. The Fantastic Plastics have mastered the quirkiest quirks of the New Wave era on their latest album, echoing Devo, the B-52's, "She Blinded Me with Science," Gary Numan's "Cars" and more. The first track finds them chanting "We Are Obsolete" over analog synth riffs while roboticized voices offer, "This is not romantic." On the synth-rocking "Overtime!," they make a chorus hook of "We clock in / We clock out / We bring the numbers up / We push the costs down." And those are just the first two songs. The end result? Fantastic.

Vans Warped Tour

When: 11 a.m. Thursday, June 22.

Where: Fear Farm, 2209 N. 99th Ave., Phoenix.

Admission: $40-$49.

Details: vanswarpedtour.com.