Warped Tour In A Day: Auburn Hills, Michigan

July 22nd, 2012

Grant Trimboli

Warped Tour 2012 had finally arrived in Auburn Hills, Michigan on July 6 and the UTG crew was ready to take on this great day of live music from some of our favorite bands. The morning started off fairly slow due to the fact that UTG staff member JP and I spent half the night waiting for our good friends Larry G(EE) tour bus to arrive. There is nothing like partying a little too hard before spending 8 hours in 100+ degree heat.

We left for The Palace Of Auburn Hills around 10:30am and arrived at 11:45am to go grab our passes for the day. Traffic sucked (just like any normal Michigan day) considering I only live 25-30 minutes from the venue. As soon as we stepped out of our cars the sweat immediately started pouring off of our brows. I saw many familiar faces and could tell by each one of their expressions that it was going to be a day to remember.

By the time we made it into the crowd of band t-shirts, tie-dye pants, and awkward teenagers, I realized we had only a little time before The Used’s set ended. The most exciting part of their set was when my friend Ryan Logan was pulled onstage with lead singer Bert McCracken to perform “A Box Full Of Sharp Objects.” Perfect.

We were ready to experience Every Time I Die for the seventh or eighth time and each time they perform with even more energy. I witnessed a guy getting elbowed in the first twelve seconds of the opening song and blood started pouring from his mouth. What would the set be without a little blood being spilled.

After the onslaught of ETID goodness, the two of us wandered over to catch our hippy hop friend Mod Sun and Pat Brown’s stage show. Everyone loved Mod’s carefree spirit and great stage presence. He ended his set with his new single “Happy As Fuck.” The crowd sent him out with the biggest applause and he exited with the biggest smile on his face.

It was our mission to head back to the Ourstage.Com stage right after Mod Sun to enjoy unsigned rockers Larry G(EE). These guys turned up the R&B/soul for all of us in attendance. They brought along serious charisma and musicianship, with every note, and the crowd was feeling Larry’s smooth delivery. Right after downing copious amounts of vitamin water, H2O, and energy drinks, I met up with some friends from back-in-the-day to relive the magic of Yellowcard at the Kia stage. Their music encouraged everyone to sing
up until the last chord rang off on “Ocean Avenue.”

New Found Glory was the next stop on the nostalgia train, performing their songs “Understatement,” “My Friends Over You,” and an epic cover of Green Day’s “Basket Case.” This set brought back great memories of middle school and the MTV Total Request Live (TRL) days.

By the time NFG ended, my friends and I were too tired to continue on another set so we headed inside for refreshments and a late lunch. We were not the only ones with this brilliant idea unfortunately. It seemed as if thousands of concert-goers had made their way into The Palace to cool off. After all the monotony, I decided to chill backstage with the Ourstage.Com crew and relax until I left the venue. My bones were sore.

As a final statement, I’ll say that Warped Tour 2012 was perfect in every single way. Each of the bands brought a unique flavor to the tour and made it special. Be sure to catch the Under The Gun Review crew in Cincinnati, Ohio date, on July 31, when we invade the festivities again.

Rock on and stay hydrated!

Written By: Grant Trimboli