In Power Chord City, New Found Glory (pictured) is the mayor. The band, which played an afternoon set yesterday, was my introduction to pop-punk back in ninth grade, and apparently, little has changed since: NFG is still blink-182 Jr. The band’s gotten heavier over the years instead of carving out more infectious melodies, but “Hit or Miss,” from their 1999 debut, “Nothing Gold Can Stay,” still rocked.

A big portion of Bamboozle Left’s bill is graying former stars: ’90s ska-punk icons Reel Big Fish played a spirited set just before NFG (which included 1996 [!] hit “She Has a Girlfriend Now”) and headlining act Jimmy Eat World’s next album is a reissue of their 2001 breakthrough, “Bleed American.” Not exactly young turks.

This, on the two main stages, was the center of the action; it was also a parking lot. Yesterday was a crazy day of running around looking for bands, but now that I’ve gotten my bearings, I can say with confidence and sore legs that it’s clear these grounds aren’t too conducive to a punk festival. It’s Bamboozle Left’s second year (the 50,000 attendee East Coast version is more of an institution) and first at Irvine Meadows, and thus far, there have been more people wandering between stages and buying Kanye West window shutter glasses (myself included) than actually enjoying the music, nevermind rocking out. The MLB Authentic Collection stage and the Playground stage (also parking lots) between the two main hubs went mostly ignored, unlike the more comfortable park area of the 5 Gum and Nokia Ticket Rush stages.

The grassy areas saw some of the day’s weirder moments: Though the festival’s been fairly diverse, sonically and audience-wise, An Angle, the sensitivo singer-songwriter Kris Anaya and friends, were totally out of place. Kids sat down in response and seemingly never got up: When noisy aggro band Valencia took the Nokia stage after, they had to ask, midsong, “Are you guys still with us out there?”

– David Greenwald