As they left stage, focus shifted back to the main stage for Story of the Year, who were better than the side stage acts, but not at the level of the prior two main stage-setters. They were considerably heavier than I expected, blended with some mellow moments. The crowd was still insane; the energy these fans had was astounding, exhausted me just watching them! Ripping guitars and driving double bass led to a stream of body-surfing fans, just ready to be plucked out by the waiting security guards. Their set came to an end and we were thrust back to the small side of the stage.

Receiving End of Sirens picked up the baton and ran with it. Their sound was a bit more poppier, and they had a nice range, filled out by a trio of guitar players and a trio of lead vocalists. They looked very young and excited to be onstage, but they weren't without their problems. I was disturbed by the great number of triggers and pre-recorded sounds they used — I think they could have gotten away with a lot less. Plus, they kept turning their backs to the crowd in favor of the crew member filming the set from behind the drum kit. I'm all for recording your performances, but not at the expense of crowd interaction. Still, they weren't bad.

No breaks to be had here, they left the stage and the final pre-headliner band was beginning their set. That band was Thrice, another band that I had heard of, but am completely unfamiliar with. While still having a great deal of energy, were nowhere near that of, say, As I Lay Dying, I would have preferred their sets be flipped, but that's just me. Thrice is a co-headliner and, as such, got to play a little bit longer, in the 40-45 minute vicinity. They had some nice drum work, and the welcome addition of some keyboards. The addition of keyboards added a nice dimension that the prior bands didn't have. Their set was good, although I wish they were a bit heavier.

Now, we have come to the part of the show where there is inevitably a wait. No more side-stage acts, and the crowd needs a break to regroup. The stage was redressed for our headliner, drum kits moved, new speaker cabinets rolled out, and a roll cage placed over the center monitors, to help lead vocalist Chino Moreno get up over the crowd. The wait was just about 20 minutes, then the lights went down and the band moved into position.

The Deftones took the stage, the lights came up and the band kicked into their opening track. This definitely got the energy kicked up, the 20-minute rest had done the crowd some good; there were feet and elbows flying everywhere. Next they played the only song I recognized by name, "My Own Summer (Shove It)". There were a few more I recognized the music to, but couldn't tell you the names. While they played very well, some of the music went too far into the realm of the ambient. It's sort of like live Tool, good music, but a little bit dull. They would spice it up with a heavier track on occasion, but a lot was the ambient alt-rock that started in earnest with White Pony. At one point, they brought out the Street Drum Corps to play a song with them. I missed them earlier on. The trio came out with various drumming instruments and their day-glo paint, and proceeded to add another dimension to the Deftones' sound. The hour-long set was very good, for the most part, but I wish they played a few more livelier tracks.