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 Primer: Chicago Open Air 2016

The inaugural Chicago Open Air festival, held this July 15-17 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL is sure to be a weekend of fantastic music. Headliners Rammstein, Disturbed, and Slipknot are surrounded by a host of high quality bands that run the spectrum from hard rock to heavy metal. An in depth analysis of the lineup was previously released by The Music Pill.

In addition to all the great bands, there are some really awesome activities surrounding the music festival that we wanted to share with you!! These activities include unique dining and drinking activities, once-in-a-lifetime experiences, as well as opportunities to catch even more music. Check out the info below directly from the festival producers for some details on all these great opportunities!!

Chicago Open Air 2016: Lineup Analysis

It’s festival season!! Over the past several years, festivals have gotten more and more popular in the US. This year, that landscape got a significant boost by the announcement of the first Chicago Open Air Festival. This three-day event, held just north of downtown Chicago, will take place July 15-17th, and has an absolute monster lineup.

Announced in February, the festival has strong headliners anchor the weekend, as well as a contingent of great bands that are headliner quality but slotted as support. It also offers fans some rare opportunities to see bands that they don’t often have a chance to see. The lineup is so good, it merits a deep analysis, and that’s what we’ve provided below. While we can’t discuss them all, the post below breaks down bands at every tier (Headliners, Top-Tier Bands, Middle Tier bands, and Bands that Have Something to Prove). In addition, we finish the post with some lesser known bands that are absolute can’t-miss shows. Hope you enjoy!

Rock on the Range 2015: Day 1

Seven years ago, I was 23 years old, just out of college, and had all the free time in the world. I was single, with no kids, and lived in an apartment. It was also the first year that a friend of mine happened to stumble onto some info about an up and coming festival called Rock on the Range. I’ve been in love ever since. This past weekend, for the seventh consecutive year, a group of my crazy, music-obsessed friends from all over the midwest (nine of us this year) piled into a rental van and headed to Columbus to catch the 2015 version of the mighty Rock on the Range. We were equipped with every tailgating accessory you can possibly imagine (planned to the minute detail), and a perfect concert weather forecast: clouds and a little tiny bit of rain.

As the festival has grown each year, so has my blogging effort. This year, like last, I will do three separate blogs on the three separate days of this festival. First up – a Friday lineup packed with great bands, and headlined by my favorite band, Slipknot. I was juiced when we got to Columbus, and even though some of us had driven all night to get there by 10am, I couldn’t get into the venue fast enough.

My only hope: that this year would simply live up to previous year’s incredible experiences. That’s no easy feat my friends. ROTR 2015 – I’ve been looking forward to you for exactly 362 days. Let’s do this.

Concert Review: Slipknot

Prepare for Hell Tour
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
11/23/2014

Despite the stomach flu’s best efforts, I was able to sneak away to see Slipknot and Korn play a double-headlining set in Ft Wayne, IN right before Thanksgiving. Such a great opportunity to see two bands that have been doing this for 2 decades, and are still every bit as entertaining as they were in the late 90s. This would be my first Slipknot show since the release of their new album, which was the first album since a change in bassists (after Paul Gray’s death) and drummer (after Joey Jordison’s release from the band). Korn as the other headliner made the show solid top to bottom, and that’s all I need for an excuse to drive to Ft. Wayne and check out a new venue.

Picture Blog: 2012 Mayhem Festival

2012 Mayhem Festival
Klipsch Music Center
Indianapolis, IN

The Mayhem Festival in 2012 had an absolutely incredible lineup. It was chocked full of amazing bands, both old school metal and new. It had metal giants, like Slayer, and up and comers, like Asking Alexandria. It was just all in all a great line-up. In addition, the headliner was Slipknot, who has the best live show of any band I’ve ever seen. And it’s not really close. So, needless to say, I was extremely excited for this show. So excited, that I paid a $160 for a pit ticket off of stub hub so that I could be up front for the main stage shows.

To say that this show delivered would be the understatement of the decade. I was completely blown away, to the point that I honestly had chills for 4 hours after the show. HOWEVER, I try very hard to remain unbiased on this blog, so, rather than rambling on and sounding like a fan boy, I’ll just let the pictures do the talking. See, thats the thing about Slipknot. If you haven’t seen it….you just won’t understand. I included quick thoughts on the other shows at this festival as well. But mostly, after the jump, is just a shit load of Slipknot pictures. But hey, ya can’t go wrong with those, right. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!

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!

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.