Back in the day, the Vans Warped tour was THE tour for punk, metal, core and even some hip hop and pop acts (Eminem and Katy Perry played the 1999 and 2008 editions respectively). It was the occasion to earn their chops on the road and to help amass a following. But like most travelling festivals, the strain on the financials sheet but also on the body of founder Kevin Lyman took a toll, so he decided to put an end to it in 2018. And besides a small 3 cities run in 2019, there was nothing ….until 2025 where it was announced that the festival would be back to 3 cities: Orlando, Washington, DC and Long Beach. With the success of those editions, they decided to come back in 2026, and when we saw that Montreal was on the list for the first time since 2014, we knew ACR had to be there!
First off, I’m not gonna get too much into the venue itself, as if you’ve been reading our past Osheaga reviews, you know how much we love Parc Jean-Drapeau as a concert set up. I was curious to see how the layout would be. Basically, it’s pretty much the same, with exception of a new small stage focussing more on the local talents near the two main stages, and no big 2 secondary stages at the end of the venue. So no more long walks and those big staircases. You can get around the venue in about 10 minutes, which is a good thing as there was a LOT to catch, so a lot of walking around for the 2 days! So lets get on with it
Chase Petra
We started off with the duo of Chase Petra, who managed to do the most they could with their 30 minutes slot, playing mostly from their latest EP “A Terrible Ennui” (which features Josh Freeze on some of the drums). The set was a good indie energy with a hint of emo to the delight of the crowd that made the effort to arrive on the site at 12h30 for their performance, because yes, the Vans Warped starts really early, plus they only unveil the schedule the moment the gates are opening, so you better get there early!
Initiate
After a quick stop at the main stages to watch some skate and bmx action (this is the Vans Warped, lets not forget), we went back to the Ghost Stage to catch the start of the Hardcore part of my schedule; Initiate. The SoCal band came out swinging for the fences right from the start with an explosive performance of “Your Own Means” with the screaming of lead singer Crystal Pak, and not stopping for the next 35 minutes! We even got the chance to hear two new songs, from their latest EP which came out a few weeks before and showed us that they don’t plan on toning down anytime soon.
Fair Warning
Let’s go now to the Paget stage which was more focussed on local talents. While most of the bands playing on that stage are in the “up and coming” bracket, for now, we were about to witness a Montreal Hardcore history moment with Fair Warning. The band was formed in 1983, only going for 4 years and releasing just one album (the highly influenceable “You Are The Scene”). They reunited in 2004 and have been doing sporadic shows ever since, with their last one dating back in 2009. I’ll admit I wasn’t sure what to expect from a band where members were well after their 50/60s, but wow was I surprised. I’m currently listening to their album while writing this, and I can say that they sounded pretty much exactly the same; vocally and musically. It was truly a history lesson for all the young folks (myself included) that never got the chance to witness them earlier.
BigWig
Lets keep it hardcore, but with a more punk flavor with BigWig at the Castor Stage (Beaver Stage). The New Jersey band always had a soft spot for the province of Quebec (since 2022, they only played a handful of shows, pretty much all of them in Quebec), and it shows with how the crowd reacted to them. Singing pretty much every word of the 14 songs, of the 40 minute set, and even daring moshing on hot pavement! For a band that is barely touring and hasn’t released anything for over 20 years, it’s always surprising to see how popular they still are, but after watching them play, it’s clear that their fans will follow them until they truly decide to pull the plug.
Silverstein
Time to stay near the big stages for a bit of Canadian’s own, Silverstein! The screamo band delivered an amazing performance with the perfect balance of heavyniness and melodic sing-along that has been the signature sound of the band for over 25 years! Digging all over their discography from “When Broken is Easily Fixed” to their latest album “Pink Moon”, they managed to put a smile on their entire fanbase!
MxPx
Now let’s go with some veterans of the Vans Warped (their 8th year), MxPx arrived and knew exactly what to do to get the crowd going with the opening riff of “My Life Story”! Even with a tight schedule, lead singer Mike Herrera took the time to thank the crowd also saying how Montreal is the Canadian Punk capital (they have played Montreal 15 times, which is double the amount of time they Played Toronto). That set was just a joy to watch and dance from start to finish with the crowd asking for more even after the 50 minutes was over.
Pennywise
Now if MxPx are Warped Tour veterans, Pennywise are just plain Legends of the tour! This year was the 14th time they took part in the festival! They arrived with a big crowd of people, not only in front, but also on the side of the stage, which included Warped’s founder Kevin Lyman. The set was a well oiled machine going through all the classics (“Homeless”, “Society”, & “My Own Country” just to name a few). They even went on a small NoFx run covering “Bob” and “Kill All the White Man”, telling us that they think Fat Mike will come back on stage in about 2-3 years (fingers crossed). The final stretch of their set was just pure pleasure with the still relevant “F Authority”, the cover of “Stand By Me”, and of course the classic “Bro Hymn” with the entire side coming on stage to sing with them. An always truly magical moment of any Vans Warped tour!
Spike and The Gimme Gimmes
At the Ghost stage, it was time for one of the most popular cover bands there is, which is now known as “Spike and The Gimme Gimmes” (not Me First and the Gimme Gimmes.) While most of the more well known members are no longer in the band, we were lucky enough to get CJ Ramones on bass playing with them! The set was there to put a smile on our faces and dance the entire time! They went through all their classics (“Jolene”, “Wild World”, “Straight”, and the list goes on), but also dug into some newer stuff, by doing an Olivia Rodrigo cover (“good 4 u”). Seeing all the punk fans singing every single word of the entire set just shows how diverse a Warped crowd can be.
Taking Back Sunday
About 20 years ago, my cousin sent me, through MSN Messenger, the song “Cute Without the ‘E’ (Cut from the Team)” from Taking Back Sunday. I remember hearing it and really liking it. While I kinda dropped from the emo wagon as the years went by, they were always a band that piqued my curiosity. So I was very glad when I saw that they would be a part of the lineup. The emo band walks a thin line between Punk and Pop musically but does a very good job of a perfect blend where a less experienced band could get lost in the mix and god forbid, being called a “sellout”. I’m taking the time to also point out the over the top positivity/joyfulness of lead singer Adam Lazzara. Like we always see/hear how bands are happy to be there, but Adam was 1000% serious about this claim, and you believe him. The set was a good mix of older and newer stuff to gather fans from all periods, and kept “My” song for the last stretch of the show.
Sublime
Now for the highlight of the day, when Sublime was announced as one of the bands to play the Montreal edition, people were hyped! The band hasn’t played Montreal and Canada for over 20 years. Now fronted with Bradley Nowell’s son Jakob, it’s insane how if you close your eyes, you can barely tell the difference. And they went right at it from the start with the double punch of “Date Rape” and “Wrong Way” and it continued that way for the almost 20 song set of classics, but also some songs from newer (and really good) album “Until the Sun Explode”. They even had the visit of Fletcher from Pennywise doing a few songs with them but also talked to the crowd on how “legit” this reunion is and how Jakob is doing it to keep his father’s legacy alive. But to be honest, I don’t think we needed to hear it, we already knew simply by looking at the smile on everyone’s face that it was purely for the love of music!
Gob
For the final performance of the day, we decided to head out to the Ghost stage to watch Canadian legends; Gob. Some people might think the word Legend might be a little too strong, but considering the setlist consisting of hits after hits after hits (think of a single, they played it), but also the fact that Kevin Lyman (founder of the Warped tour) decided to watch their set instead of the main stage headliner, A Day to Remember, it says a lot! The set was energetic, non stop punk that made people banging their head and kept the mosh pit going for pretty much the entire 50 minutes!
And that’s a wrap for Day 1 of the Vans Warped tour! For a festival that hasn’t come to Montreal in over 12 years, its crazy to see that the vibe stayed pretty much exactly the same, except we just got a lil bit older, so we know that tomorrow morning will be just a little bit harder, but the love of music will make us take that subway ride and doing it all over again!