Rock on the Range 2014
Day 2 – Saturday, May 17th, 2014
Columbus Crew Stadium – Columbus, OH
Rock on the Range Day 2. As I gathered my old, nearly-30 year old self up on Saturday morning to get in the shower at 8am and get ready for the day (which included recovering from some ill-advised White Castle sliders the night before), I’d be remiss if I didn’t utter “man…this thing used to only be two days…”. But, nonetheless, I was excited, and we were out in the parking lot at 9am, getting the grill ready and preparing for a great day of music. This would prove to be one of the strongest days of the weekend, and one that came out of nowhere a bit with some great side stage bands.
Without further ado – Here’s Rock on the Range 2014 Day 2 broken down.
Crobot
Crobot is another in a long list of bands bands that have converted me into a major fan at Rock on the Range. Focusing on wild antics, palpable energy, and really creative, almost funkadelic songs, Crobot put on a Foxy Shazam-esque show that was every bit as impressive as it was entertaining. The performance wasn’t all of it – it was also rock solid musically, as Crobot cranked out a string of really great songs, (e.g. Nowhere to Hide) and that definitely left me wanting more. Great band, great song writing, great live performance. Check, check, check. I almost feel bad for not buying their EP…but you better believe when the full album drops this summer I will buy it immediately. Kudos Crobot.
Fuel
The Rock on the Range wild card. Every year, ROTR resurrects a band from when I was in high school and tosses them on the main stage, as if to say “Lets see what you got!”. Fuel does have a new album out, and this show scratched the surface of that album, but as expected, it was anchored by old hits like Hemmorage in my Hands and Shimmer. Ultimately, while it was fun, the show was uninspired, and is a blurry memory when juxtaposed with all the talent and great shows that weekend. It wasn’t a bad show by any means, but certainly wasn’t enough to make Fuel relevant for anything other than some good memories of high school.
Avatar
When I checked out Avatar before the concert this year, I was on the fence. I liked their music, but they needed an extra something if they were going to last on my radar. Spoiler alert – I got that and more as their live show was absolutely stellar. In case there was any doubt that the creepy gang of haunted circus misfits could create an aura of mystery and horror (a concern put to bed as soon as they walked on stage), mother nature lended a hand with some misting rain that made the show that much more awesome. The band was much, much stronger live than I anticipated, and what resulted was an impressive music show smashed together with a horror performance that was really top notch. They closed with the song Smells Like a Freakshow, which is an awesomely twisted song that features catchy riffs and Avatars somewhat rare clean vocals, and it was during this song that I was thrust full force into the realm of “big Avatar fan”. This band put on a hell of a…well, a hell of a …a hell of a freakshow. And in contrast to Fuel, it’s not something I will soon forget.
Pop Evil
This is the first time I’ve seen Pop Evil since their latest album came out, and I really enjoyed this set – it had high energy, and great fan support, so much so that I was convinced that Pop Evil has been busy getting much more popular than I gave them credit for. Kudos to the band for the great support they had, and the high energy they brought. I do have a negative here – the lead singer really struggled with breathing and his vocals – often times having to bail on the original notes of the song in favor of a lower octave or different arrangement. For me, this caused songs to really lose some momentum, and so right when I was looking for to the song to explode, I got let down. However, I’ve been criticized for over-analyzing the vocals, so I’ll also point out that musically, the show was very strong. I also really enjoyed seeing the Trenches song live, although cramming Run DMC and a long line of Marines on stage carrying flags seemed a bit out of place. (For context, Run DMC remixed the song Trenches…so I get it, but he was very awkward on stage…) Nonetheless, overall a solid B show – great songs, great energy, struggled just a touch on execution.
Nothing More
This would be my band of choice for the “band I caught wind of before ROTR and was really excited to see”. Their music is full of all kinds of really cool elements, including tastefully used electronics, a great mix of clean and unclean vocals, powerful breakdowns that don’t feel forced, and really interesting song construction that shows out of the box thinking. I was not disappointed – Nothing More put on a show that was every bit as creative as their music…highlighted by a bass-guitar solo where the bass was on a stand and all three of them were playing it simultaneously. Tracks like Ballast and Mr. MTV were featured in the show, and it proved to be a very consistent, very entertaining show. One minor technical glitch caused a song to end one verse early, but even taking that into account, the show was creative, inspiring, and unique. My interest level on this band took another major leap forward after seeing them live. Can’t wait to see what’s on their horizon.
The Pretty Reckless
Man this chick can sing. I already knew that Taylor Momsen was a stud, but for some reason, this show really took me by suprise anyway. I don’t love their albums, and so what I assumed would fit into the “not my cup of tea” category actually fell smack dab into the “Impressive” category. The obvious highlight for me was Heaven Knows, which is a catchy tune with a great vocal rest in the chorus that is perfect head banging. The guitar sounded great, and the rest of the band was fine also, but it was difficult to focus on anything but Momsen – she sounded phenomenal, and you could tell that she wasn’t even digging deep for the power she was putting out. Quite impressive. My ONE small caveat to this show being really good is that I felt like she went to the “stripper moves” a bit too much. She’s too good of a singer to try to use cheap methods like that. Nothing wrong with getting into the music, but…she’s too good to use those antics to gain attention. Turn down the slutty, and turn up the volume Taylor. You’re too good. (and I’m a guy…) Overall, The Pretty Reckless took what I thought was a weak spot in the day’s lineup and surprised me with a great show. Nice work.
Chevelle
Before their previous album, Chevelle was dangerously close to becoming a washed up 2000’s rock band. They simply hadn’t done anything in the last five or six years other than ride the wave of their early success and release an occasionally catchy song. However, I previously wrote that their album that just came out in April was HUGE, which made this show an intriguing one for me. After getting the chance to check them out, here’s a few thoughts: First, Chevelle sounded great. Pete Loeffler sounded really good, but the band was the impressive group here – I was really impressed with the fullness and depth of their sound overall. I also really liked their song selection – the new songs really rejuvenated what would have been the same old boring show, and made for a totally new experience for me. Second – the show dragged a bit. I believe that if Chevelle wants to jump into the upper echelon of live bands, they simply need more things happening up there. They certainly didn’t stand and sing, but with a three piece, they were really challenged to make the show visually interesting, and they didn’t step up to the plate.
Slayer
Slayer puts on a great show. While they are clearly outside my sweet spot musically, there’s no denying their skills: They are certainly a top tier band in nearly every category (performance, execution of their songs, engagement of the audience, etc). The metal giants have been playing on stage for decades, and it shows. I always look forward to watching lead guitarist Kerry King, as I believe you will be hard pressed to find anyone else who can shred the guitar like he can. For this particular show, they played lots of classic songs, like World Painted Blood and Angel of Death, and it was definitely an impressive performance. Most memorable for the show, however, was the tribute they played to the late Jeff Hanneman. I maintain that I wouldn’t pay to see a Slayer show, but thats 100% my fault and not theirs. Great band, great show.
Avenged Sevenfold
A7X is dangerously approaching Rob Zombie status for me. What I mean by that is this: every single time I see this band, the show is bigger, the songs are cleaner, and the performance is better. They are without question one of the best live shows in existence right now, especially of currently touring bands. This show was fantastic. It featured some of the coolest set elements and production I’ve ever seen, including including three massive screens covering tombs that transitioned back and forth between live video feeds and pre-recorded background video. It also featured (prominently) A7X’s love affair with pyro, as I could feel my face burning, and I wasn’t even all the way up front. The best thing about this show, however, is that if you strip all the moving set pieces and eerie-looking construction away, and what this show really featured was just a group of bad ass musicians doing their thing. I can’t think of a SINGLE negative thing to say about this show. Song selection was great and featured some songs I’ve never heard them play live. Nightmare, Afterlife, and Almost Easy were booming songs that had what felt like 30,000 backup singers. Even the guitar solo, which usually bores me, was interesting and very impressive. Of course, M. Shadows is one of the best in the biz, so his dominance didn’t surprise me at all. Before they played Seize the Day, Shadows stopped for a minute to talk about how this night would probably be one of the best nights of our lives. I couldn’t agree more. In a long list of fantastic shows that I’ve seen A7X play (and I’m coming back for more folks, thanks to Mayhem in July), this was one of the strongest performances I’ve seen them put on. Thanks for being one of the reasons that I love all of this so much boys. See you soon.
So, that’s it. Day 2 in the books. A great day of music, and one more to go!! For more great content on Rock on the Range 2014, check out this link for Rock on the Range Day 1, and this link for Rock on the Range Day 3. Thanks for reading!
“Hands to the sky because it’s tumbling down. Crackin’ a smile as it hit’s the ground. WOAH!”