Yes, you know this and I know this, but just in case you are new to this I'll let you know the skinny.
Background first: I never went to the Warped Tour when it started because (1) I didn't believe I should support Vans because they moved their operations overseas. Yes, that was a long time ago, but so was when Warped Tour started. (2) I didn't like the idea of mainstream bands seen as some sort of good representation of music from an alternative side of things. I was offered free tickets to go to Warped Tour twice over the years and I turned down the offers.
Last year I was offered a free ticket to go to Warped Tour and decided to throw in the towel and check it out. I didn't feel like I missed much over the years, but I did get to see the band D.O.A. who I wanted to see for many years. All those who go for the first time please be warned, the show for the band you want to see will be roughly 40 minutes. It was interesting to also see what the kids were into and it wasn't a pretty sight.
As a side note, all of this relates to going to see Warped Tour in Marysville (which is now, because of ZIP code boundary changes, in Wheatland) at the Sleep Train Amphitheatre. Also note, there will be a ton of police all around there (even before you hit Marysville) so don't do stupid shit or they'll crack down on your ass.
I had a good time last year (2009) so I thought I'd go again this year (2010), but this year I had to actually pay to get in. I thought $20/$25 not too bad. But, I didn't realize that they up the amount the day of. Always get it ahead of time. You can get it online, but be warned that you have to go through TicketMaster/LiveNation which is a pain in of itself. The ticket went up to $38 the day of and as a courtesy (yes, I'm thinking the same damn thing "What courtesy?") they charge you $10 on top of that. My friend waited to get to the event to get his ticket and paid $40! So, if you really have to wait until the last day then get there when it opens and pay the lower price.
The other thing to be warned about. You can take bottled water in, but it must not be opened. All beverage containers must be unopened and I don't know if they let other things in other than bottled water. Also, you'll pay through the nose if you want to eat anything while there. A cheese burger (or burger) costs you $6. A cheese burger with fries and soda combo will set you back $13! A regular sized soda will cost you $4. I can't remember the cost of the bottled water, but I do remember it costing more than the soda so I think it was $5. They have giant containers of free water and gatorade so I suggest drinking that stuff. If you bring in an unopened bottle of water you can reuse that to fill up. Also, a very tiny personal pizza is $6. The chicken tenders with fries (actually looked good) is $8.75. The cheese burger and hot dogs are puny and not of good quality. I went to put condiments on my cheese burger and the guy across from me had a hot dog and we were both looking at our stuff going "What a fucking rip off!" Make sure to get a good meal before going to the event and plan on getting a good meal after the event.
Hope this helps someone out there!
Cheers!
M. Riots
