i'm going to this thing with my metalhead (not the goEMAW one) friend
http://rockontherange.com/
there are some good acts there! I would love to see Steel Panther live.
the real LOL is RHCP headlining it
but i agreed to go because i have always wanted to see between the buried and me
Texas Hippie Coalition and Clutch will be badass.
UPDATE / knee jerk review:
day 1Andrew Watt:
don't know this dude or his songs but he played Man in the Box & Whole Lotta Love and had lots of energy
Trivium:
i like trivium a lot and this is the second time i've seen them, but both times it was a festival setting so they only played like 5 songs. would love to see them headlining their own gig sometime. their frontman is a pro, owns a crowd like vintage hetfield
bullet for my valentine: i like them a lot but we were kind of far away, and they didn't play enough from scream aim fire (one of the best albums oat). pretty adorbs welsh accents. 4.5/7
a day to remember: i honest to lamb of god do not remember this band but i believe i saw them
shinedown: LOL they are so incredibly terrible, my goodness sakes. awful.
disturbed: pretty good but we were pretty far away and it was like pouring rain so not much energy on my part during their set. played some deep tracks from their first album (but not droppin plates, unfortunately), and played a medley of Closer (NIN) / still haven't found what i'm looking for (U2) / baba o'reilly (who) / killing in the name (ratm), which was fun. david draiman wore a floor length Neo jacket the whole time
day 2P.O.D.: these guys are surprisingly (to me anyway) still "in good shape", live music-wise. they also had to play in the rain, and it was like noon, so the crowd was a little laid back. frontman pointed at a 10-ish year old little girl who was sitting on her dad's shoulders and said she was going to grow up to change the world. lots of positivity and no F words
Texas Hippie Coalition: WHOA!! i have never heard of these folks but the lead singer is about 400 lbs and likes to talk about Texas and whiskey and whores and whatnot, and lets his giant gross belly out. it's quite the spectactle. music is pretty meh
Saint Asonia: pretty good
Ghost: i had to watch these guys (who all wear identical masks) because i was waiting for LoG. i don't remember much of their set because i wasn't paying attention and people started passing around PED's right and left
Lamb of God: my goodness sakes what a treat. i got really close to the stage, probably too close. ears were ringing the whole next day. they are so intense. more intense than any other band i've ever seen. it was kind of a blur but nobody punched me in the kidneys and they played pretty much everything i wanted them to, although nothing from "Wrath". i would see them again and maybe not be haf AF next time
five finger death punch: do not remember them hardly at all. i do remember laughing at this one approx 40 year old guy who was SUPER into it, like they were the whole reason he came to this festival. everything he was wearing said "FFDP" on it, including his fanny pack
rob zombie: left early because rob zombie is not really my thing, coach
day 3day 2 took a lot out of me so we were pretty lethargic
the sword:
wolfmother: gross
Between the Buried and Me:
started off with Selkies, played their new Coma song which is fantastic, and then surprised everyone by blowing the doors off of Bohemian Rhapsody. so much fun
deftones: i like some of their stuff but it is pretty bad in a giant arena setting. too slow and not enough bouncy type stuff. that said, they are still good at what they do.
RHCP: they still got it! they doodled around together between almost every song, flea & anthony have an absurd amount of energy, very fun and are good with the crowd. chad smith had a giant michigan M on his bass drum (show was in columbus, OH). suck my kiss was my favorite