Trying to establish themselves as the winter version of the Warped Tour, the second edition of the Taste of Chaos boasted a heavier lineup than last year; headlined by The Used and My Chemical Romance. This year’s version had dashes of metalcore, emo and “Stomp”-esque drum beats to try to diversify the lineup in an impressive edition of the tour.

The crowd of around 5,000 or so got there early to see bands hit the stage as early as 4:45pm, as 12 bands played between two stages. In the typical Warped Tour aesthetic, most bands played for 30 minutes, with the headlining Deftones and Thrice getting more time than the other bands. Here’s the breakdown of the bands that hit the stages for the Taste of Chaos tour:

Second Stage Highlights:

With shortened 15 to 20 minute sets; most of the bands plowed through three or four songs; before being whisked off stage. Aside from bizarre tribal drum beat sounds from the Street Drum Corps, there were a few bands not even worth mentioning in this review. But two bands stood out above the rest. The Orange County based The Confession played early; and displayed a down and dirty brand of rock that shows a lot of potential. The second band to excel on the second stage was the Boston band The Receiving End of Sirens. With the triple vocal attack of guitarists Brendan Brown & Alex Bars and bassist Casey Cresenzo, the band displayed a multi-layered texture to their sound. TREOS’ sound is challenging, but with the interweaving vocals and musical presence, they may be someone to watch out for in the coming months. TREOS was definitely the highlight of the 2nd stage.

Main Stage:

The Welsh band Funeral for a Friend hit first; and the crowd was still trickling in, as lead singer Matt Davies battled crowd apathy. After trying to get the crowd to stand up, as most of the fans in attendance looked like they were pacing themselves; the band couldn’t feed off the energy of the crowd during their set and probably wished for a more awake group of people.

It puzzles this reviewer why As I Lay Dying has much a rabid fan base; but it seemed like the apathetic crowd livened right up for the San Diego band. Mosh pits blazed as the band tore through tracks like “Through Struggle” and “94 Hours”. The band riffs do not stand out in the metal world, and lead singer’s Tim Lambesis’ growls and gutturals are unintelligible at best. Plus, the group’s synchronized head banging looks like a more hardcore version of a Poison concert move from 1987.

The antithesis of As I Lay Dying, Story of the Year put on an energetic and lively set with their emo-rock sound, made for rock radio. It was surprising to see a band, lumped in with many bands who didn’t sound like them, getting as a receptive response as they did. Along with the band’s signature hit “Until the Day I Die”, new tracks like “Our Time Is Now”, and “Take Me Back” were played, showing that the band is developing more of a hard rock sound. At one point, two of the band members climbed up on the drum riser, and did a double back flip. Mary Lou Retton would be proud….

Probably the band on the bill with the most buzz is the So-Cal band Atreyu. The band kept their set list to their songs that were most familiar to their fans. Starting with “Bleeding Mascara”, and then moving into the stellar “The Crimson”, the band is showing that they could be moving into larger venues themselves. With the first single from their upcoming Death Grip on Yesterday album called “Exs & Ohs”, the band is showing a more polished rock approach and ready for the masses. Drummer Brandon Saller excels at providing the melody, while lead singer Alex Varkatas does the usual metalcore grunts, and Saller gives the band an edge that more of their brethren do not.

The oddball on the bill, Thrice seems very out of place at the tour. Their prog-rock emo sound fell on deaf ears with the crowd; with the exception of their hardcore fans. After the hard driving first song, “Image of the Invisible”, Thrice drove most people towards the beer stands, or to find a place to sit. The band is trying to pull a Radiohead type quirkiness; but doesn't come across as appealing enough to make a difference.

Elder statesmen The Deftones headlined the main stage; and it looked like that the crowd was getting tired. A 50 minute set for the band seemed way too short for a band that normally plays twice that long; and the crowd could never seem to get into the set the way they should. Starting with “Feiciteria”, the band seemed rushed. The band did play “Be Quiet and Drive”, and “Around the Fur”, but came off like they wanted to play longer; but couldn’t.

Overall, the Taste of Chaos tour provided a little more kick than last year’s version. But as with most package tours; you have to take the good with the boring, and see if any of these bands will make the cut. At 28 dollars, the tour is still a bargain, and all in all a good day for the thousands that flock to it.