Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Warped Tour after-party

The kitchen at Denny's was hopping -- cooks churning out plate after plate of pancakes and whisking batches of scrambled eggs as the line of patrons stretched out the door.

Except this wasn't the Sunday morning brunch rush. It was approaching midnight on Monday, and the line wasn't for a table, it was to meet rocker "It" girl Katy Perry and other performers from the Vans Warped Tour after they wrapped their concert at nearby Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre.

The appearance was the first stop of a five-city promotional tour by Denny's as the restaurant-- with the help of Warped bands -- works to build its late-night brand and develop a second generation of fans.

Indeed, if you were 16 years old and full of teen angst, Denny's was the place to be Monday. Piercings were practically a requirement to get in the door. And, Mom and Dad? You guys can just wait outside. In the car. Across the parking lot.

Perry, who has the No. 1 song in the country right now with "I Kissed a Girl," delighted a group of young girls when she donned a Denny's apron and, with pad and pen in hand, took their order while other fans snapped her photo.

One group of fans drove up from Atlanta for the chance to mingle with their favorite bands.

All of the bands were incredibly accessible, signing autographs and posing for photos whenever someone approached their tables. Forever the Sickest Kids (who seemed to be the most popular group with the teens) gave an impromptu performance first inside, then out in the parking lot after the crowd exceeded capacity.

For more photos from the Vans Warped Tour, click here.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

The people who go to Warped Tour now are the people who would have made fun of the people who went to Warped Tour 5 years ago.