For anyone thinking that the Warped Tour was suffering from smaller numbers than last year’s alt-rock celebrity fest, they obviously didn’t check out the very busy show at Comerica Park. An estimated 20,000 people hit the resurgent baseball park for a very warm day, filled with established alternative rock and up and coming bands.

With over 60 bands, we could not cover everything that graced the 8 stages at Warped, but here is a rundown of the bands that we saw that braved the heat (and pungent body odor from patrons) at Warped 2006:

Early in the day, bands such as the emo-by-numbers The Early November, and the hard rock infused Stretch Armstrong played to growing crowds. Unlike last year, most of the larger acts played later in the day, and let the fans ease their way into the show.

The first signs of hard rock hit the Volcom Stage as the next band from the “Orange County Breakout Sweepstakes”, Eighteen Visions, hit the stage. With songs like Tonightless and the rollicking single Victim, lead singer James Hart and company sounded strong. Unfortunately, Visions appeared and sounding much like their O.C. breakout counterparts, Avenged Sevenfold. The resemblance was almost spooky. Meanwhile, on one of the main stage, ska stalwarts Less Than Jake infused humor in their set, and entertained the crowd with a good natured set.

After a large crowd watched Emery perform an intense 30 minute set on the SmartPunk stage, industrial visionaries Helmet hit the stage. It was a smaller crowd than Less Than Jake, but rocked through classic early/mid-90’s tunes such as Milquetoast and the classic Unsung. Lead singer/guitarist Page Hamilton took a little time to congratulate the Tigers on their great season, but to also remember that the Yankees beat them up in a recent series, which the crowd didn’t seem to like too much.

One of the biggest crowds of the day were for Chicago hardcore/political act Rise Against, who were celebrating the Top 10 debut of their newest album, The Sufferer & The Witness. The band fought through a growingly fatigued audience, who awoke for mosh-ready tracks Ready to Fall and Give It All. The band sounded tight, but may see a much more rowdy fanbase on their upcoming fall tour.

On the Vagrant stage, hardcore band From Autumn to Ashes ripped up the ever expanding crowd in the small stage area, and proved that the hardcore kids still had a place at Warped. New Jersey’s Senses Fail may have turned in one of the more consistently appealing sets of the day. The band launched through fan favorites, and new tracks from their upcoming album (due October 10th).

The granddaddy of New Jersey emo-hardcore, Thursday hit the main stage, to a sea of cups and water bottles flying past them. With old tracks like Understanding (In a Car Crash), and new tunes like Counting, the band had the fans in many sing-along of social indifference and frustration. Lead singer Geoff Rickly went into some story about an impending plane crash, and forgot to finish the story before ripping into the next song. The band proved that they still are one of the more passionate groups in their genre, but may be losing ground to the previously mentioned Rise Against and others.

In NOFX’s first trip to Detroit in four years (after an ill-fated show in 2002), the band jokingly was hellbent on making the crowd hate every minute of their show. Lead singer Fat Mike went after the current political administration, religion, and just the overly sensitive fans in Detroit. The crowd was divided into the band’s fans, and people that the band made upset. It looked to be an even 50/50 split for NOFX, and four years may not have been enough time for NOFX to make their return to Detroit.

In a little more good natured jokingly, Minneapolis’ Motion City Soundtrack looked like the fan favorite on this day. Lead singer Justin Pierre was a bit off of his game, but probably was drunk and having a good time. His banter of “This next song is about this crowd and how awesome they are!” was repeated throughout their set. If they could have taken themselves slightly more seriously, it could have been the best set of the day.

Every Time I Die wrapped up the show on the Hurley Stage, with their blistering brand of metal. Unfortunately for ETID, most of the crowd was on their way to their cars, and just tired from a long and scorching day, which reached into the 90’s.

The Warped Tour was missing some of the MTV approved marquee names of My Chemical Romance, and Fall Out Boy, but the tone of the music seemed more hungry and adult than in past years. But if Warped is to carry on deep into its second decade of existence, it will need tours like this year to bridge the gap between the young and old patrons of Warped.

Click here for interviews with members of From Autumn to Ashes, and Senses Fail.