Rock on the Range 2014
Day 3: Sunday, May 18
Columbus Crew Stadium – Columbus, OH
Day 3 of Rock on the Range 2014. Getting up on Sunday Morning and putting on Sunscreen, I a little bit felt like I was going to fall over. My back was really tight and my calves and ankles were just angry. But, you know what they say – “When in Columbus…” So, I laced up the shoes, grabbed my flask, and said “Thank you sir, may I have another?” By 10am, we were grilling marinated chicken breasts, drinking apple pie, and passing around our our ceremonial Boones Farm in the parking lot of glorious Columbus Crew Stadium. Although I was tired, my excitement built as the lineup for Sunday was really solid. It featured Trivium (one of my favorite bands) and lots of bands I’d be seeing for the first time, including a wild-card closer in Kid Rock. Plus, it was one of the most beautiful concert days I can remember (78 and Sunny). ROTR 2014 Day 3 – finish this baby off strong. Here we go!
Monster Truck
I had never heard of Monster Truck when I got to Rock on the Range. In fact, we flipped a coin on the way into the venue to decide between Monster Truck and Gemini Syndrome. Heads it was, and so we ended up at the Jager stage watching Monster Truck. We walked up to the stage halfway through their first song, and I was cautiously hooked immediately. They featured really smooth Clutch-like vocals and deep, hard hitting riffs, and really well constructed songs that just won’t leave the back of your head. As I continued to listen, I was also really impressed by the breadth they brought – with radio-friendly songs like Sweet Mountain River, and songs that make you want to bang your head, like Boogie. Talk about diamond in the rough – by the end of the show, I was downloading their album on my phone while muttering “Man I love Rock on the Range.” I have since learned that this band started as a side project, and read a quote that said “Monster Truck steamrolls from town to town leaving legions of fans in their wake.” Consider me part of that legion – what a great way to open up Day 3.
Trivium
F
or the life of me, I can’t figure out why Trivium doesn’t get better set times in the US. One again, they were slotted barely after noon on the main stage, and so played a show to a mediocre crowd. The organizers are crazy – this show was awesome. The show focused completely on new material, with all but one song off of their last two releases (Vengeance Falls and In Waves). Those releases were strong, and so songs like Strife, Black, and Brave This Storm carried the show without old favorites (like Pulling Harder on the Strings of your Martyr). In a surprise move, the one song they did pluck out of the deep library was Dying In Your Arms, which is a bit of a more melodic song, and one that I’ve never heard live. That was one of the songs that helped me transition into the Metal fanatic I am now, so it was great to see that finally featured. I’ll also mention that the drumming sounded great to me, even though their drum tech who recently replaced long-time drummer Nick Augusto. Matt Heafy is one of my favorite singers, and I thought he sounded great as usual – bringing tons of energy and owning the crowd like a band who’s headlined major festivals over seas can do. Fantastic show by Trivium, and I’ve never seen them play anything less.
Heaven’s Basement
Here’s the executive summary of this review: Heaven’s Basement has vastly improved since I’d seen them last. They had a much more consistently strong sound, and looked much more comfortable on stage. I loved hearing them play Welcome Home (although not as much as I like hearing THE Welcome Home), and Fire, Fire was also really fun. I don’t really have any specific complaints – except that we did spend a significant amount of the show talking about how much lead singer Aaron Buchanan looks like Loras Tyrell from Game of Thrones. It was a good set, but in a weekend full of exceptional shows, they needed one more gear to really stand out. Here’s to hoping the continue to grow.
Jim Breuer Band
I had no idea what to expect when I walked up to the Jager stage for the Jim Breuer Band. Does this comedian actually think he can front a serious metal band? Well, the answer is no, he does not front a serious metal band. What he does is put on an incredibly entertaining metal/comedy mashup in which he sings spot-on impressions of people like Rob Halford, Ozzy Osbourne, and several other legendary front men. I’m not sure if it was the metal rendition of B.I.N.G.O., or the original song they played about moshing alone in the garage when the family goes to the grocery store, but I had a gigantic smile on my face the entire show, and it was a helluva good time. Very very entertaining set, and a great choice of band by Rock on the Range. I would most certainly pay to see this show again.
Kveltertak
I was excited to see this band after reading buzz about them for the past several years in various music news sites that I read. Unfortunately, it only took me about 3 songs to determine that I simply could not get into this show. I don’t know if it was the lead singers mask (I still have no idea what the hell he was wearing), or the Norwegian lyrics, or the fact that they sounded blown out and just like a lot of noise happening at once, but regardless, the show was just pretty poor in my opinion. To each their own, and this show just did not work for me.
Mastodon
Mastodon puts on a consistently GREAT show musically, but in previous festivals, I’ve seen them struggle to keep the set interesting for the casual fan. (I am not the casual fan, and I love seeing them play every time, but I can see the argument…). This show fell in line with the previous ones – great musicianship and excellent songs that I really enjoy, but just not much going on visually. I’m not sure if it’s the difficulty of the songs, or what, but it just seems like there isn’t much energy on stage, which is wild to me, because when I saw them play at Mayhem last year they had a ton of energy and were fantastic. I also thought their song selection was interesting this time, as they played Black Tongue and Blasteriod, but then chose some more abstract things, like The Sparrow for their closer. I’m still a big Mastodon fan, and calling this show ‘disappointing’ would be too negative of a spin, but I also couldn’t argue with a buddy when he called it underwhelming. Much love Mastodon – but I prefer to see you headline. 🙂
Alter Bridge
Man this dude can sing. Every time I see Alter Bridge, I really enjoy their show, but I am pretty much focusing the entire time on the incredible pipes that Miles Kennedy has – ESPECIALLY when they play Blackbird. In the short amount of time that I could stop drooling over Kennedy’s pipes, I noticed that this show brought a distinctly more intense, fast-paced vibe than previous AB shows that I’ve seen. Not sure why I got that feeling – the song selection was similar to what it’s been in the past. Maybe they were trying to fit songs into an allotted time window (pure speculation), or maybe I am just losing it, but either way, I liked the more intense vibe. It’s also worth noting that Tremonti and the rest of Strapp-less Creed gang are tremendous musicians, and musically I didn’t hear a single bad note. Overall another solid show by AB.
Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience
I’ll be honest in saying that I had no idea what this band was about. In a real humbling moment, as we walked up to the stage before the show, my friends dropped some knowledge on me – Jason Bonham is the son of John Bonham, the original drummer of Led Zeppelin. When John Bonham died, it was his son Jason that took over drumming for Zeppelin at a very young age. During this show, Bonham explained that he started “Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience” to share the music his father helped write with a new generation. This was another fantastically unique experience at Rock on the Range – seeing this group perform some o the greatest songs ever written is something I will always remember. Somehow, this felt like so much more than a cover band – it felt like I was somehow given the ability to see a glimpse of Zeppelin, even though I was born in the wrong decade. That was largely due to the family connection, and the heartfelt comments that Jason made about his dad and the Bonham legacy, but it was also partially due to how incredibly good this band was. The singer sounded quite similar to Robert Plant, with a killer high register, and Jason Bonham definitely is not a “cover band” drummer. He was incredible behind the kit, and no doubt is doing his father proud. Favorites for me that they played were Black Dog and Kashmir. Overall, I feel really lucky to have caught this show, and not only did it remind me that I need to do some work into the great music of the past decades, but it made me really excited to look backwards for once.
Five Finger Death Punch
They changed their show!!! Hallelujah they changed their show! Look, I’ve been a 5FDP fan for years and years, and so for the past 2 years, when I said things like “Please change your show because I’ve seen the exact same show 47 times now and I want to kill myself”, it was always said with love. However, I am ecstatic to point out that this show was different – it had a few new songs, it had a totally different rhythm, Ivan had different commentaries…even the set construction was new. For the first time in 2 years, I can say that I saw 5FDP and it didn’t feel like someone took a Xerox copy of the previous show I attended and handed it to me. This made me very excited, and for some ungodly reason, we decided that THIS was the time that I wanted to claw my way up front, past 20,000 rabid 5FDP fans. One thing that this show DID share with previous ones I’ve been to was the absolutely incredible intensity and power that the show had. The audience was nuts, and while I think that some of Ivan’s antics to pump up the crowd are a bit overdone, they work. Of course, there was never any doubt that they are talented bunch of artists, and they certainly put on a fun show. I’ll say this – when The Bleeding (their closer) finished, and the crowd went nuts, I was exhausted, sweaty, and claustrophobic as usual. But I was also really, really excited. Kudos to 5FDP – not sure why it took so long to put out a new show, but at least when they did, it was great.
So, Death Punch left the stage, and the long set changeover began for the final band of Rock on the Range 2014. I had worked my way all the way up front, to the third row, only an arms reach away from the fence. I didn’t have high expectations – I figured that I would stay up there for a few Kid Rock songs, and then head to the bleachers to watch the rest. How good could Kid Rock be, right? Has he even had a new song in the last decade?
What I didn’t know was that Kid Rock would come out and absolutely destroy it. He wasn’t just great. He was so great that I am still talking about it a month later. He was so great that a paragraph in this blog isn’t enough to convey how awesome it was. And so…as I wrap up this post, I’m also in the process of writing a stand alone review of Kid Rock’s headlining show at Rock on the Range 2014. You’ll only have to wait a few days to read it, but if you want the spoiler – know this. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
(Edit: Click here for that wrap up post on Kid Rock)
Also, check out this link for a review on Day 1 of Rock on the Range 2014, and this link for a review on Day 2 of Rock on the Range 2015