8 Tips For Proper Public Performance At The Vans Warped Tour
Written by Matt Bailey
Recently, it was announced that one of the largest music festivals, The Vans Warped Tour, would return in 2025 after a seven-year hiatus. It is now more crucial than ever to be reminded how to survive the chaos of attending this tour with your dignity intact. Although the tour is where strangers gather, it is a public space, and one of the few public spaces where touching or invading another’s bubble can be looked upon favorably if you abide by the correct rules of engagement.
1. Stay Together
If you are one of those lucky individuals who has friends who can attend the concert with you, then you must make sure you stay together! You are not just two separate beings. You are an interactional unit: a group within the larger public who know each other and move together within that space. So act like it! Move as if you are one with the poise and planning of hired assassins. One unwise movement, like running towards the stage, to not miss the artist, could result in you losing your partner in the vast sea of people for the rest of the day. This is not a small concert. Tens of thousands of people have been known to attend each tour venue on any given date. If you want your partner to stay with you and not make new friends, you must have a backup plan. The best option is to choose a place to meet if you get lost. Make sure it’s an identifiable landmark and not a random hotdog stand. A place I suggest is the giant, colorful, inflatable billboards that are a prominent staple at Warped Tour. Do not rely solely on your cell phones! Phone calls never work at concerts. Good luck hearing your friend above the insane decibels. Texting can be a viable option, but if you haven’t established a meeting point, you better be a more excellent navigator than Christopher Columbus! Establish a meeting place! Don’t let India become your America or Warped Tour become your nightmare.
2. Regulate Your PDA
Sometimes, you may be lucky enough to bring more than a friend to enjoy the concert with. It is very normal to display some forms of public affection, like kissing and holding hands, when you are enjoying each other’s company. However, some people seem to take the concept of “minimal main involvement” (Humphrey 369) to the extreme. They think that “legitimizing your solitary presence” (Humphrey 369) in public means you become the main attraction. Don’t be those types of people. It is already hard enough for most people to be caught next to a bunch of sweaty strangers, and it is even more awkward if you are that guy stuck next to the couple, aggressively making out or doing more than that. If you wouldn’t do it at other public areas like a bus stop, you probably shouldn’t be doing it at a concert. A concert is a place where people pay to watch and enjoy music. They do not pay to watch other private performances. They don’t need unwanted distractions, nor do they care about your love life.
3. Maintain “Civil Inattention” as Much as Possible
Most people attend concerts to watch the performers or spend time with their "interactional units", also known as family and friends. There are times at the concert when you will be forced to engage with the public, which we will discuss soon. All concerts are negotiations between the private and the public. However, when you are not required to engage, try to avoid anything that would bring attention to your interactional unit and distract others. This is known as civil inattention: choosing to avoid direct social interactions (Humphrey 369). Make sure you have good hygiene and deodorant so no one is forced to smell you. Consider your height in terms of other people. Don’t block others’ views. Don’t talk louder than you should, and try not to eavesdrop on conversations. Treat others as their own private spheres as much as possible. Avoid unneeded attention outside of your interactional unit. This is your call to be anti-social when opportunity allows.
4. How to Navigate the Mosh Pit
Probably the most antithetical public experience that contradicts everything your mother taught you about behaving in public occurs in the mosh pit. The only time it is encouraged to essentially “rough-house” with public strangers. That is why I encourage you not to do it. However, if you have to release that pent-up anger and stress, there is a proper way to go about doing so. For those who don’t know, moshing is an extreme form of dancing where participants push and slam into each other. It is savage at best. However, there are rules. It is not meant to be like Lord of the Flies. There are ways to be respectfully violent, so to speak. Moshing is dancing, not fighting. Here are some valid rules from the article titled Rules of Mosh Pits: How To Stay Safe by Marzzacco Injury Law. Yes, that is how serious I am about moshing.
- Don’t Drink: It should be very self-explanatory as to why that is not a good idea.
- Don’t Throw Stuff into the Mosh Pit: That is a good way to possibly have fights break out.
- Wear The Right Clothes: Necklaces and glasses probably are not a good idea.
- If Someone Falls, Pick Them up: This is just common etiquette for reacting in any public space. Being respectful.
- Never Drag anyone into the Pit: A mosh pit is a form of counter-public. It self organizes itself within a bigger public. Don’t force people to be part of a space they have chosen not to participate or organize in.
- Protect Your Head if Necessary: With body parts flying around, your head is a vulnerable spot. Take that into account, and remember not all hits you may take are purposely lethal. You are engaging in a naturally dangerous environment.
- Be Aware of the Size of Others: If you think you can mosh with a big guy or a person smaller than you. Physics says you probably can’t. Take in mind other people’s sizes, and respect your safety and their own.
Moshing is truly a counter-public formed within a larger one. If you remember that and the rules you were given, then you will be prepared to engage with the proper understanding of that environment. You have a choice to join or not, but if you do join, you must adhere to the rules of that public. Keep in mind that mosh pits can happen unexpectedly at any time.
5. Adhere to Proper Crowd Surfing Communication
Crowd surfing can be one of the more leisurely and fun activities you can engage in at Warped Tour, but once again, it is a public affair. Sometimes, interactional units within a public are simply the people who have to interact with you to navigate the larger sphere. (Humphrey 369). You have to communicate and coordinate with the strangers around you to avoid danger to everyone. Communication and timing is key. If you decide to naively jump into a random crowd of people, you can hurt them and yourself. If possible, try to surf from front to back, which means from the front of the stage to the back of the crowd. A lot of times, if you try to surf with peoples’ backs towards you, they may be caught unaware, and inevitably, you may fall because someone is not paying attention to your safety. If your only option is to surf from the back to front, get a boost from friends or people around you, and communicate that you intend to crowd surf to all those around you.
Once you are successful at communication and are in the air, lay flat, avoid grabbing others, and have a good time. Make sure you have appropriate clothing that won’t hurt you or others and that won’t involve you getting touched inappropriately. Unfortunately, that can happen. Those can be the consequences of engaging the public. Not all strangers have your best interest in mind.
6. Help Others Crowd Surf
The most important public participation you can have at a concert is helping others crowd surf. Crowd surfing can be very fun but is arguably more dangerous than moshing. People can be dropped to the ground, and not all venues are on grass. Many are on pavement. Crowd surfing is a peculiar ritual where you place your trust in strangers whom you wouldn’t even trust with your child, all to ensure your safety. Your safety is in the full trust of a stranger. The same goes for someone else crowd surfing. Their full trust is in you. So stay vigilant.
Like moshing, you never know when someone might be crowdsurfing behind you. Concerts are a place to unwind and relax, but they aren’t a place to completely privatize yourself. I have witnessed people being thrown to the ground and seriously injured because others were not participating in this public sphere as they should have been. Also, as it should go without saying, don’t touch a person inappropriately when they are crowd surfing. Not only is it not dignified, but it can lead to criminal charges.
7. Respect the Concert Staff and Security
The most forgotten participants in the concert public sphere are those who are employed to run the show and those looking out for your safety. Every careless thing you leave on the ground or the impatience you display toward a service worker can have negative effects that go beyond being a jerk. Some venues or concert tours have been known to avoid coming back to certain areas due to such abuses. Just like when you litter in other public places, you are creating unattended discourse about your local public sphere and a big mess that you wouldn’t want to have to deal with if you were a concert employee. The same logic applies to treatment of security guards. They are there to help you. Don’t make their work hard by endangering yourself on purpose. And stay vigilant and report any specific suspicions to security. Like with moshing and crowd surfing, it is your duty as a participant in this public space to be aware of your safety and the safety of others. Public spheres thrive on communication and interaction.
8. Conduct Yourself Properly at Meet and Greets
Warped Tour is known for having the unique ability to have meet and greets with artists where no VIP status is required. It is a simple affair where the artist sets a time to meet with fans. Usually, the artists sit at a table, and fans form a line to have brief conversations with the artists. This is a type of communal affair where you are not just conducting yourself in front of other strangers but the artists themselves. So don’t embarrass yourself! The most important thing to remember is that artists are human, too, and they deserve to be respected. So don’t pry into their privacy, be courteous, thank them for their time, and don’t kiss-ass. It is pretty simple. Based on some research, aka Reddit, I have found it is also a common practice, if you want an autograph, to bring artists some gift in return. To show respect for their gift to you, which is their time and attention. Also, consider other fans; don’t embarrass and disrespect the other fans by holding up the line. You are not royalty.
Conclusion
So there you have it. Eight simple tips to help you survive festival concerts like Warped Tour. It’s important to remember that a concert is a public space filled with strangers. Even though you’re there to have fun with your friends, your actions are not always private. At times, you’ll need to interact with others and navigate the balance between private and public space. If you keep this in mind and act respectfully, you should have a stress-free concert experience.
About the Author and Editor
Matt Bailey is currently a senior at Utah Valley University, finishing his English Degree in Writing Studies. Most importantly, he is also a Warped Tour veteran. Having ten years of attendance under his belt, he has seen it all. The good, the bad, and the ugly realities of the concert public sphere.