One Toka Over The Line: Matt Toka Warped Tour Blog #5

Matt Toka’s never been to Warped, so we thought we’d get his thoughts on being at the only tour that matters this summer. Here’s the fourth installment of our summer-long series with the green-haired hooligan. Look forward to weekly updates on Toka’s shenanigans, photos, videos and any other crazy additions he can throw at AP this summer.

July 9 – Bonner Springs, KS
The best part of the day was meeting a fan named Tanisha. She gave me a Matt Toka doll that she stitched by hand and it is, by far, the coolest gift I have received. It was even wearing a black cutoff shirt that said 666. I also did an acoustic set at the Digitech stage which was a lot of fun. It was also Jared Hornbeek’s (from Music Saves Lives) birthday, so my band and Skinny Lister threw a little party for him right outside the venue on a grassy hill. We set up a tent, had cupcakes, grilled sausages and shotgunned beers.

July 10 – Noblesville, IN
Our buses were parked pretty far from the venue, so walking back and forth was a workout. Today I watched Emily’s Army’s set. “Good Looks Won’t Get You Far” is my new favorite jam by them. Kyle from Breathe Carolina wore one of my shirts during his performance, which was badass. I love watching those guys. I ended the day by taking a shower out of a bag near my bus. Sometimes the simple things in life can make a big difference.

July 11 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH
My very first concert was at Blossom when I was 13. The show featured the Allman Brothers Band. It was also the first time I ever smelled marijuana. I also smoked opium and watched Weezer there when I was in high school. Being there brought back a lot of good memories. I met a fan named Dave who lost his job just so he could watch my set, so I brought him on stage to sing “666.” He’s pretty much my new favorite human being.

July 12 – Burgettstown, PA
I got to watch Make Do And Mend’s set and immediately had to get their CD. James' voice is my favorite on the whole tour. Throughout the day, I saw a bunch of fans and friends of my old band Cherry Monroe, and it brought back some great memories.  During my set someone threw a bra on stage, so I decided to wear it during “Get Money.”

July 13 – Holmdel, NJ
A lot of people who saw me at the Bamboozle came out, so it was awesome seeing everyone again. I watched the Used’s last set of the tour. It was fucking awesome because Bert brought everyone who was onstage up front to sing along. You could seriously feel the stage bending from us jumping.  I’m so sad to see them leave! After their set, I went to a BBQ at a fan named John’s house. It was so cool of him to open his doors to all of us—wonderful guy. Then we took off for the Canadian border!

July 14 – Montreal, QC
We didn’t have too much trouble getting into Canada, thankfully. The shitty part of crossing the border was the bus having to get checked with us standing outside at 5 a.m. Once we got to the venue, I had poutine for lunch, which is a French Canadian dish of French fries topped with brown gravy and cheese curds. It’s fucking perfect! Montreal was a beautiful place.

July 15 – Toronto, ON
Today was a lot of fun. The venue is one of the best ones I’ve been to as far as looks. It was surrounded by water and the downtown skyline. Right before our set, it began to fucking storm. And I mean buckets and buckets of rain with high winds. I thought our set was canceled, so we packed all the gear up and put it back in the trailer only to find out I was still going on as soon as the rain stopped! Because of the rain and confusion over my set time, a lot of people missed my set. I felt bad because Toronto was giving me a lot of love earlier in the day. I promise I’ll make it up to you!