MANSFIELD, Mass. — With 97 acts spread over 10 stages in the amphitheater, groves and parking lots of the Comcast Center yesterday, you can’t fully cover the Vans Warped Tour. You can stay on your feet, pick out some moments and maybe draw some conclusions. So here we go:

While this year’s edition featured plenty of the pop-punk bands that dominate the rock-radio airwaves and the Internet punk underground, it was a more diverse lineup than last year.

So there were still plenty of chances to see bands (Anberlin, Say Anything, pretty much everyone on the East Coast Indie stage) who simply follow in the footsteps of mega-selling groups such as Avenged Sevenfold and Good Charlotte shouting, keening, harmonizing and emoting. Heck, yesterday you could even see a couple of third-generation copies of All-Time Low and then see the real thing.

But there were some surprises, such as the third-wave ska of Reel Big Fish; the bouncy reggae of The Aggrolites; a mix of electronic dance music and punk from Family Force 5 and Cobra Starship (whose anthemic pop sense was particularly winning) — even caffeinated, Bosstones-style ska played by a group of Asian women (Oreskaband). It made for an afternoon and evening that was still wearying, but more physically than musically.

Pop sensation Katy Perry closed out one of the side stages with her hit “I Kissed a Girl” preceded by five or six rewrites of same. Catchy enough, but her very limited vocal and musical range is not immediately promising.

Four Year Strong closed the adjacent stage, and their progress from last year’s show was exciting to watch. Their hard-edged punk rock may be too muscular for the airwaves, but their songs are melodic enough to be memorable.

Old-school, sloganistic punk, reminiscent of Bad Religion, whose Kevin Lyman founded the festival, held sway for a while on the two main stages, with veterans Bouncing Souls and relative newcomers The Street Dogs playing simultaneously. They were soon replaced by the 21st-century arena-ready anthems of The Academy Is … and Relient K.

A sudden rainstorm at about 4:30 stopped the action on the outdoor stages and sent everyone scurrying for cover. A second downpour at about 8:45 ended the show early.

Sure, lots of the bands sounded similar, falling into about three categories depending on their proportions of punk, metal and pop-rock. After a while, you begin to hear differences (“How could I have ever thought Anberlin sounded anything like All-Time Low?” ) Then it sounds similar again, but you realize that the similarities are as important as the differences, and the sheer size of the thing is part of the point: for one afternoon, with bands and fans everywhere and posters for gigs on poles (“Phone Calls from Home on the Kevin Says Stage at 6:15!”), today’s atomized, ear-budded musical market looks and feels like the stories we oldsters like to tell about what “the scene” was like. And if the copious merchandise and sponsorship displays keep ticket prices affordable, who should complain? (Especially when much of the merchandise was band-related, and there were booths for causes such as PETA, environmental groups and a film about child soldiers in Uganda.)

So, that’s what I saw. But again, I probably saw bits of 40 bands, which means I missed almost 60. Your mileage may vary.

rmassimo@projo.com