Vans Warped Tour 2008

Less than twelve hours after Nine Inch Nails wraps up, you can roll out of bed and head out to Canterbury Park for VWT, the extravaganza all the snarly-snarky-kewl skate-punks love to disdain. And there’s plenty to curl your lip at, what with 76 bands on the docket (no lie) and a much broader cross-section than the original thrash gatherings. You’ve got the gamut from commercial pop breakthroughs like Katy Perry, to rappers like MURS to ska-punkers like Reel Big Fish to earnest (and must-see) rockers such as Against Me! (ride that tiger logo!) to locals-made good Motion City Soundtrack. So, for every band you love to hate—put me down for poseurs like Gym Class Heroes and the insufferable Angels and Airwaves—there’s bound to be a couple capable of turning your crank who are grinding it out elsewhere on the grounds. Wear comfortable clothes and pray for dry shade, dude.