The 2008 Vans Warped tour was full of surprises as it once again landed in The Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City on July 17. There were more than 40 bands and nearly seven stages to check out and here are some highlights of this massive one-day alternative music festival. Pierce The Veil and From First To Last whipped out some wicked post-hardcore fury waking up the crowd this morning. Pierce The Veil’s style isn’t too melodic, but was fast and aggressive and got the folks ready for the day introducing their sound to the Cleveland faithful. From First TO Last however, were very harmonic in their style of hardcore and got a slightly bigger ovation, but did the same job of revving up the weary-eyed lookers on. Chaser brought an excellent brand of punk rock and ska to the forefront as their set was crazy getting everybody pumping their fists, chanting along to each chorus and taking control of the stage during their set. It was good East Coast style punk that almost sounded like other groups on the line-up such as The Street Dogs and The Briggs which both had blazing performances later on at the fest.

Mayday Parade gave us some of their emo-laced hard alternative, but it wasn’t that stellar as it was perpetually whiny and quite full of irritating noise. But the fans ate it up like it was a truck load of Skittles as they were just as sugary-sweet. While Mayday Parade were going on, The Beat Union were kicking it at the Smart Punk stage with a great supply of tunage. They really rocked out and got a great reception. It was a better show and although they’re just as harmony-driven as Mayday Parade were during their showing, The Beat Union had more adrenaline and great riffs. Next on the agenda were Allure and they had a really good metalcore sound that was more old school thrash with the killer guitar solos as they were sandwiched on the Kevin Says solar powered stage. Their vocalist claimed that their set has conjured up supernatural abilities, but nothing appeared after they were done, but they got tons of applause from a sun-blazened audience. Schwaze were also playing and was like a square peg in a round hole as this hip-hop fusion group were quite annoying and didn’t belong here at The Warped Tour and from the looks of things didn’t seem to grasp many individuals. It was interesting to witness some diversity alongside the usual punk, ska and hardcore, but come on this wasn’t it. Norma Jean took control of the Highway 101 main stage brutalizing us with tons of material from their upcoming album, The Anti-Mother. They also pulled out some older bits from Redeemer and Oh God, The Horror as they were hotter than a supernova. Everybody was moshing, chanting and going insane for these guys. Charlotte Sometimes were up and they weren’t that great as they were just a saccharine-coated pop outfit that sounded out of place at this event. They borderlined on being too pretty for the majority of the people in attendance and was forgettable.

Every Time I Die was a part of many metallic forces representing well at this spectacle as they definitely showcased everything old and new here today. They delivered the goods and invigored the stale crowd of supporters getting them ready for more to come. Every Time I Die silenced their detractors with a blistering assault for their time. Alesana were also present and played stuff from When Myths Fade Into Legend and On Frail Wings Of Vanity and Wax getting the already pumped up audience more into a vilent rampage. Their eclectic storytelling and hard-charging style as well blew things out of the water. Alesana’s performance was great and told us that the post-hardcore scene aren’t posers. Reel Big Fish were skanking up a storm playing stuff from Monkeys Are Nothin’ And The Chimps For Free as well as classics like “Sold Out.” They got everyone going stepping out of their shoes and dancing to the high energy beats. It was a silly party during their deal drawing in one of the craziest times all day. As I Lay Dying returned the metalcore destruction giving us stuff from An Ocean Between Us and earlier hits tossing everything into one big mixture of mosh pit meets syncopated march. Tim Lambesis and company tore the sky from asunder and made their presence known. As I Lay Dying were one of the harshest groups out there this afternoon and respect was much received.

A Cursive Memory unhitched their brand of pop-punk to the masses and although they sounded lackluster, their odd take on Vanessa Carlton’s “Walk A Thousand Miles” was quite innovative. They weren’t the best choice on the tour, but they got a good reaction from the kids and that’s important to note. A Cursive Memory gave the fans what they wanted and yet it was a sticky mess. Next was Family Force 5 and they kicked out the crunk punk jams from both Dance Or Die and Business Up Front, Party In The Back. Soul Glow Activatur encouraged everyone to get up and dance to “Supersonic,” “Love Addict,” “Fever” and “Back Up Against The Wall” to name a few. It was like one big freestyle as they broke out a new toy to share with their loyal listeners; The Family Force 5,000 which was one of the largest drum machines invented to drive funky beats into your head. There was tons of dancing, fists pumping and singing going on during their set. The After Midnight Project were up and gave us some really good hard rock banging heads and stomping feet during the whole thing. They definitely had a good sound and weren’t totally right for the tour, but was the perfect balance of alternative rock for this type of venue.

Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster were supposed to play, but were one member short as their vocalist Dallas Taylor was subsequentially taken ill, but don’t you fear, help was given to them by some dear friends as Lambesis of As I Lay Dying and Solomon “Soul Glow Activatur” Olds of Family Force 5 filled in for a once-in-a-lifetime treat. Each guest singer took the microphone as the rest of the boys in Maylene and The Sons Of Disaster ripped into their instruments giving us one of the best experiences throughout this day. It was cool to see frontmen you know from other groups helping out their buddies in the business, but it didn’t get much applause from the mostly exhausted people. Near the end though, they finally got out of their hazes and gave lots of love to the guys. The Higher totally snuffed out the vibe that was leaved from the previous acts as their brand of power-pop was shrill and not so liked. They got a good buzz from The North Coast, but it was trite and scary to stick around and listen to the rest of it.

Perennial favorites at Vans Warped Tour, The Bouncing Souls brought everything back to full force as they rocked it to the core. There was pogoing, chanting, singing and body surfing mayhem going on here. In another surprise for this show, The Loved Ones were in town for a concert in the evening at The Beachland Tavern and took some time to join the dudes on stage for a pretty spectacular combo. Greeley Estates blew apart the Hurley stage with an intense blend of powerful hardcore and screamo getting us wanting to rip everything in sight. They introduced new material and played some old cuts as it was a tasteful display of monstrous demolition. They deserved to return for another year and quite possibly their own thing in the near future.

The Pink Spiders were next and they had a really nice combination of rockabilly to their punk rock and it got audacious and rowdy. They enticed the people to get moving and feel it and with some coaxing there was a mosh pit starting up and folks cheering up a storm. We weren’t too sure about this group, but in the end The Pink Spiders gets our vote just from their short stay and rambuncious stage ability. Automatic Loveletter was also plugged in and got recognized by the ragged; yet attentive bunch. They had a really jamming session and had a terrific support. It had to be tough trying to receive fan fare when most were tuckered out, but Automatic Loveletter were able to keep them coming.

It was a dual between Pennywise and The Color Fred as both bands tried to get the attention of everybody there.

Pennywise noticed that many were proudly wearing t-shirts of Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Religion and the like and were greatly appreciated by the band noting them as some of their influences and wanted to pay tribute by possibly doing a cover or two. But from what we’ve heard, they gave us such deadly cuts as “Fuck Authority” and their namesake, “Pennywise” getting the people to go absolutely wild. They were shouting along to every word, jumping up and down alongside some fierce circle pits. The Color Fred however, were mellower in their tone of playing, but were generous in their set giving their adoring public what they wanted. They played a ton of songs from 2007’s Bend The Breaks getting everybody happy and feeling good. Fred Mascherino, the leader of the band had this real charm in his presence and was quite whimsical in his approach. They got a pretty large response from their side of the amphitheater. It was quite close on who won over the people tonight.

Gym Class Heroes and Katie Perry rounded out this amazing music festival. Gym Class Heroes asked everybody to put up peace signs for having fun and middle fingers for President George W. Bush before crunking out mad beats. Their leader asked all the ladies to put up their pinkies to swear their love as they soulfully performed "Viva La White Girl” serenading them beautifully. They got bodies knocking and feet popping with a medley of tracks from The Paper Cut Chronicles and one noticeable selection was a hardcore punk give me to the boys in the back. Gym Class Heroes returned to the hip-hop flavor on “Cookie Jar” and rounded it out everything with a bang embracing the entire nation. Katie Perry’s cute pop princess self graced us with such sparkle. She did play her hit single, “I Kissed A Girl” among others and got the crowd moving and grooving along. She brought something different with her to Warped and although pop music isn’t normal here, her style was a nice refreshing taste. Give it up to the team who put this together as they were thinking of new ways to give us something fun and creative. This year’s Vans Warped Tour had a little sampling for the buffet called alternative music and it was difficult to cover every stage and setting. You would need to be Superman to catch all 40 acts, play video games, ride a skateboard on their half pipe and listen to some non-profit organizations’ lectures. This was an excellent festival and once again delivered Cleveland something new and delightful.