California’s Evaline was the first band to hit the stage, and one thinks lead singer RJ Perry got his daily workout in as he spent most of the band’s set pouncing on his bandmates, and trying to balance on his keyboard. Perry’s antics didn’t really take away from the band’s music; mostly for the fact that it was nothing special.

Victory Records ’ next big hope, Aiden, hit the stage with a chip on their shoulder. Looking like a cross of Atreyu and a more goth version of My Chemical Romance, the band’s music wasn’t all that bad. Lead singer Wil Francis was snotty and rude enough to get a few chuckles from the fans. The music in the 30-minute set lead the first real mosh-pits of the evening, but Francis’ behavior might be fun for the kids, but it may lead to angry fans during their next stop on the summer Family Values Tour.

Having the home arena advantage, Flint’s Chiodos definitely brought some of the most passionate fans of the evening. Playing songs like “Baby, You Wouldn’t Last a Minute” in their 30-minute set, the crowd sang along as the group played new material from their upcoming album, released in the fall. This will be a band to keep an eye on when their next record comes out to see if they reach headlining status.

After a ho-hum set from Saosin, Senses Fail got the crowd into it in their 40-minute set. The band continues to come off as the most melodic band on the bill and is growing into one of the best under the mainstream radar bands out there. Singer Buddy Nielsen ’s in between song banter ranged from animal cruelty signs in the crowd, to ripping on emo bands who “find Jesus.”

If Nielsen’s banter was halfway good natured, actor Jared Leto tried too hard to make nice with the audience in 30 Seconds to Mars ’ hour long set. When not blasting out heavier tracks such as “Attack” and “Battle of One,” Leto wanted to tell us how much he loved Detroit and that they were a bunch of crazed mf’ers. He went out to say this nearly two dozen times (don’t worry, this reviewer was counting), and it got real old, real quick. The band is improving and the crowd responded better than initially thought. Hits like “From Yesterday” and “The Kill” have driven their latest album to platinum status, but may not be the arena sized band that Leto’s ego wishes them to be.

Headliners The Used lacked the theatrics or butt kissing skills of the previous headliners, but the band put on a modern rock hit-heavy set that seemed to pleased just about everyone in the audience. Lead singer Bert McCracken still looks as mangy as ever, but the band’s songs like “Take it Away” and “The Taste of Ink” are just about as melodic as anything else heard during the entire show.

This year’s version of the Rockstar Taste of Chaos was more true to the Warped Tour origins from the onset of the tour. Even though this reviewer preferred last year’s more Deftones headlined tour more, the fans reacted better this year to the band’s on the bill. The crowd seemed to be more involved later on in the night versus last year’s almost lethargic crowd by late in the evening. This is a good sign on which way the Rockstar Taste of Chaos will move next year; nice and steady.