Punk rock or not, Warped Tour is a huge corporate brand. Now in its 19th year, the tour has become big business bringing in top corporate sponsors like Vans, energy drinks and cell phone companies. The tour usually finds itself in a random parking lot or field all across the nation, as opposed to traditional venues like clubs or arenas.
Because of growing corporate pressure and the lack of cushioning on the ground, Warped Tour seems to have banned moshing, stage diving and crowd surfing at their shows this summer. This is something that has been going on with festivals for a while now. Mayhem Fest and Ozzfest before it fine bands who try to stage dive or tell the crowd to. It's nothing new, and it's a way to ensure that people won't get hurt and sue the festival for millions of dollars.
But it seems like Warped Tour isn't doing a great job enforcing the rule. Over the weekend, Every Time I Die, who are on Warped, ended their set with guitarist Jordan Buckley crowd surfing all the way through the crowd:
Guess the security was on break or something? Have you been to Warped Tour yet this year? Has there been moshing or crowd surfing? Let us know in the comments.
Update: Metal Insider reached out to Warped Tour promoter Kevin Lyman who offered this statement:
“This is really a reminder to be safe and take care of each other,” Lyman told Metal Insider. “No one has been kicked out for moshing.”
[h/t Lambgoat]
