I am physically sick today. I got home from the show last night and instantly found myself on the floor of my bathroom hugging my toilet and really haven’t felt like leaving that spot since. I dragged myself to work this morning but still long for the feeling of the cold tile floor.

I hurt so bad. The aloe that I bathed in doesn’t seem to help much at all. I was putting on sunscreen literally every fifteen minutes but, being a ginger, it just was not enough and now the shade of my skin has gone from Casper white to firetruck red.

The smile on my face has yet to go away even through all of the sickness and pain.

Yesterday was Warped Tour. My favorite day of the year.

Putting Warped Tour into words is impossible. It’s truly a magical experience for someone who is as addicted to live music as I am. It’s a day full of music from my childhood, music from my current life, and music I have never heard before but instantly fall in love with.

I have gone to Warped Tour every year since I moved up to Minnesota and each year seems to get better and better. This year topped all of the other years just due to the line-up.

Good Charlotte- People laugh at me when I say that these guys are one of my all time favorite bands. I know I try to be this hardcore metal chick but the second I hear anything Good Charlotte has ever put out I will instantly start screaming along to the words. This band has truly saved my life and is one of the bands that really got my addiction to music going. Hell, the first tattoos I ever got are stars on my shoulders just like Joel Madden. I became a vegetarian when I was younger because Benji Madden was an advocate for Peta and I thought that I had a better chance of getting with him if I became a vegetarian too (Don’t laugh… I was like 14)! I can not put into words how much it meant to me to be able to these guys yesterday. In their quick thirty minute set they were able to take me back to all those years I spent obsessing over the members of the band. It was a feeling of almost numbness. My headache from the heat exhaustion had gone away. I forgot about the feeling of the sun burning my fair skin and didn’t notice the sweat dripping off of my body. I was numb to everything except for that band on the stage and it was perfect.

Every Time I Die- I love these guys. Their music is more than intense and they have a live show to match it. The crowd was going nuts for these guys but my friend Alli and I decided to hang back and conserve our energy for Good Charlotte. Her boyfriend (and friend of mine) Mike decided to go for it and from the looks of him after the set, it was pretty intense up in that pit. Regardless of how haggard everyone looked after Every Time I Die finished, everyone had a smile on their face as they doused themselves in water. All in all, Every Time I Die absolutely killed it but I knew they would… they always do.

The Maine- These guys were the first band that I got to see. I really do enjoy their live show as their singer always gets personal with the crowd whether it’s calling individual people in the crowd out or just being super personable. Yesterday was no different. They were the perfect start to the day. They got your energy up and got you in the mood to spend the day surrounded by strangers that would end up being the ones to rub sunscreen on your burning back. You see, The Maine got you in the mindframe that were are all one family and that we are all here for the purpose of enjoying this gift called music. What a great, positive message to start your day off with. I haven’t even talked about how their upbeat music got you moving and put a smile on your face after waiting in line to get in for hours. At first I was bummed that they were one of the first bands to play because I felt they deserved a much later time slot but after seeing them, it all made sense and was perfect.

New Found Glory- This was the last band that I caught for the day. They were up after Good Charlotte and I was fading fast. I could feel my head pounding and felt the sun betraying my skin like it does every year. I stuck it out just to see these guys and, although I’m sure this is one of the reasons I’m so sick, it was more than worth it. They were full of energy and for being six hours into the festival, kids still had the energy to move during their set. They played mostly old songs with a few new ones scattered in but it felt like the good old days as far as pop-punk shows go. Between these guys, Good Charlotte, the Maine and many other bands that played, yesterday was nothing short of a flashback.

I saw a bunch of other bands yesterday including Four Year Strong, Atreyu, 3OH!3, and oh so, so many more but I know damn well you don’t want to read about every single band that I saw. All in all it was an absolutely amazing day. The music was on point. The crowd, although they made me feel way too old because I’m pretty sure I was constantly surrounded by 12 year olds, were all really nice and just looking to have a good time. Everyone who was at Warped Tour was just looking to have a good time and even with the heat and the sun, that’s exactly what we all walked away with.

I am sunburnt as all hell and I’m pretty sure that I have sun poisoning if that’s even a thing. I’m sitting at my desk at work right now shivering and sweating at the same time with a faint headache and an almost constant need to run to the bathroom in case I puke. Chances are I don’t make it through the day and end up going home sick.

Yesterday was the best day of the year… Warped Tour.

I wouldn’t trade this miserable feeling for anything on the planet. I earned this feeling of being sick and this sunburn is a badge of freaking honor.