Festival Review: Chicago Open Air 2016 Day 3

After two fantastic days of Chicago Open Air 2016, we woke up on Sunday with sore muscles and slight sunburns. However, none of that would stop the excitement surrounding a wild and crazy lineup of bands that was set to play that day. Some aspirin, a big breakfast, and the blackest coffee we could find, and we were off to Toyota Park for Day 3.

The first two days could be considered nothing but a wild success, and no doubt Day 3 would be more of the same. This was the first annual Chicago Open Air festival, and yet typical first-year snafus were noticeably absent at this festival. Logistically, Toyota Park was really well set up. Entrance to the festival was quick and easy thanks to a cloth wrist band that lasted all weekend. Restrooms and food vendors were plentiful and located in great spots. The side stage was extremely well built, and oriented in a way that could support a huge audience. In fact, in talking with countless other fans, the biggest complaint I heard was that fans had to traverse the venue stairs countless times as they went between the main stage and the side stage. Trust me – if that’s the biggest challenge that a first year festival like this has, it’s a raving success.

Musically, the venue was also a home run. So far, we’d been treated to fantastic shows over the first two days, including many shows that would stick with us for years to come. Day 3 also featured an incredible lineup, with We Came as Romans, Letlive, Babymetal, Killswitch Engage, and Five Finger Death Punch all slated to play. In addition to all those shows, festival headliner Slipknot would close out the weekend.

On a day that threatened thunderstorms, I couldn’t wait to get started. Chicago Open Air Day 3 – bring this thing home.

Festival Review: Rock on the Range 2016 Day 2

Rock on the Range 2016 started out with a bang on Friday (coverage here). Saturday stacked up to be just as good – bands like Parkway Drive, Lamb of God, Five Finger Death Punch, and Rob Zombie made the lineup feel a bit more metal-focused than the first day, at least on paper. That being said, the day was still chocked full of variety, with bands like Lacey Sturm, Aranda, Pop Evil, and Clutch to cleanse the pallet. We headed to Mapfre Stadium from our hotel, stopping at Kroger (as we do every single ROTR day) for a made-to-order breakfast and the ever-crucial Monster Rehab. I grabbed a poncho on the way out of the store on a whim, juuuust in case it decided to rain on Saturday. Best decision ever: As painful as it was to wear something with an Ohio State logo on it, it was totally worth it. (Sorry folks, but The Music Pill is in Indianapolis, in the heart of Hoosier country).

It rained pretty much all day on Saturday, but try as she might, Mother Nature couldn’t put a damper on Rock on the Range. Saturday’s crowd was every bit as rowdy and engaged as the crowd from the day before, in spite of the cold and rainy weather. As the day progressed, it turned into a sloppy mess, but that didn’t stop it from being a fantastic day of music.

Speaking of music – lets get to it! Following a similar format as the Day 1 (Friday) blog, I’ll discuss the shows that were rock solid first, and then move on to a few that were slightly disappointing. Finally, I’ll explore the shows that really blew my mind in a bit more detail, and try to describe what made them so great.

Day 2. Let’s do this!

Rock on the Range 2016: Lineup Announcement

Rock on the Range released it’s lineup on Monday, and after two days of letting it marinate, I had to get some thoughts down on what is sure to be a fantastic, record-setting weekend in Columbus. Rock on the Range is North America’s biggest rock festival, and they are celebrating their 10th anniversary this year. For the eighth straight year, The Music Pill will be gathering our crew and heading from Indianapolis to Columbus to participate in the chaos.

Here is a breakdown of the lineup, including my opinion on the headliners, a breakdown of many of the middle-of-the-pack bands, a few bands that have something to prove, and some can’t miss bands that you may never have heard of. Hope you enjoy!

Festival Review: Louder than Life 2014: Day 2

In between a major project at work, a new baby boy born on September 2nd, and the holiday season coming up soon, I was able to squeeze in a quick day trip to Louisville with some friends to catch Day 2 of the inaugural Louder than Life festival. This festival is basically a little brother of Rock on the Range, as it is put on by the same people and features many of the same bands.

My overall opinion of the festival was that it was fantastic. I only got to see the second and final day, but in terms of organization and design of the venue, they did an exceptional job for a first year festival. The layout did have one major challenge in that it was too linear, and the restrooms were what felt like a mile walk from the stage, but they overcame that by great sound, and awesome local food and Kentucky Bourbon to bring the Louisville flair out. This looks to be a festival for a long time to come.

Now, on to the bands!

Festival Review: Rock on the Range 2014 – Day 3

Day 3 of Rock on the Range. 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!

Concert Review – Mayhem Festival 2013

Rockstar Mayhem Tour 2013
Klipsch Music Center – Indianapolis, IN
7/26/2013

As usual, the Mayhem tour was packed full of great bands. Young metal, prog metal, old school metal, Rob Zombie metal (?), and everything in between was slated to be a part of this show. Thanks to some freakishly cool weather, it was a partly cloudy, 75 degree day in the middle of July – a perfect setting for me to muster up some of my energy and rock out for the day!

Mayhem – lets do this!

Music Pill Update – June 2012

Hello all! Now that I’m finally caught up on concert blogs, I have a ton of exciting music news to pass along. I have been so busy lately that I have been going nuts trying to keep up with everything, so I’m excited to finally be getting this out.

I’m certainly not a news blog, so this isn’t an all inclusive list, but more a list of hand picked facts about bands that I really like and want to share. Included below are new albums and music, other interesting band news, and summer tours that have been announced. Check it out ! (For those that don’t like the variety like I do, skim the red font for bands you like! 🙂 Hope you find something interesting that you didn’t already know!

Concert Review: Rock on the Range 2012 Day 1

Rock on the Range 2012
Columbus Crew Stadium – Columbus, OH
5/19-5/20

For the fourth year in a row, a big group of us headed to Columbus Ohio for Rock on the Range. For those that don’t know, ROTR is a two and a half day festival held each year that features over 40 bands, three stages, and averages about 70,000 in ticket sales for the weekend. This year’s lineup was as good as ever, and was true to the typical ROTR strategy of bringing in pretty much every type of band imaginable.

Music Pill Update: November 2011

Greeting and salutations. I love this time of year, when the leaves are changing and falling, the weather is cooling down (yes, I do like cold weather), and the holidays are just around the corner. In addition, this is also a great time of the year in music. As the summer concert season ends, bands who want to continue touring start booking winter tours at smaller venues. As much as I love outdoor festivals with huge crowds and big line-ups, the indoor venues typically add another dimension to a show that I really enjoy.

So what’s going on at The Music Pill? Well, lots. I originally intended on this being focused on both recent/upcoming concerts AND recent/upcoming albums that have been released, but there was just too much, so I had to focus in on just the concerts. Here’s an update for the month of November.