Rock on the Range 2015: Day 3

Day Three of Rock on the Range 2015. This day’s lineup featured a lineup as diverse as ever – with the chance to see Crobot again, a Halestorm show that I was hoping would surprise me, and a Tech N9ne show that was sure to be an outlier in a day full of hard rock and metal. On top of that, it was all culminating for a massive Linkin Park show to headline the weekend. We loaded up the van for the third straight day, with a slight headache and my beloved Monster Rehab, headed back to Mapfre Stadium for the grand finale.

Art of Dying

The day opened up with Art of Dying, a band that was introduced to me at ROTR in 2011 (see the review here), and they were a pleasant surprise. Get Through This and Die Trying were strong enough tracks to peak my interest, and I was excited to see what was in store for this band. Fast forward 4 years, and I haven’t heard much from them since. Unfortunately, this show didn’t quite stack up well to the previous one. I still enjoyed a handful of their songs, including a surprisingly fun version of Rise Up, but overall show seemed like a slightly less energetic version of the one four years ago and didn’t feature anything that stood out or felt unique. Not a BAD way to open up the day, but I was excited to move on.

Rock on the Range 2015: Day 2

Ever since Rock on the Range went to the three day lineup, day 2 has always started the same. I wake up super early: I’m sore, tired, and dehydrated, and I have a brief period where I mumble to myself “There is absolutely no way that I can do this for two more days.” Just another great part of having 15 years of concerts under your belt. However, once we get ourselves together, get some food in our stomachs, and get to the venue, things start to turn around. We start tailgating, the music starts blaring, and slowly but surely, my excitement overcomes my soreness. Saturday’s lineup featured a great list of bands, including several brand new to the scene, a couple old favorites, and the chance to see legendary Judas Priest. It was a warm, rainy day on Saturday – with lots of clouds to block the hot sun, and lots of chances to see some great bands. Game Face time. Rock on the Range 2015 Day 2. Let’s do this.

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.

Rock on the Range 2014: Festival Headliner – Kid Rock

I’ll be the first to admit that I was a big Kid Rock fan in high school…but then again, I was also a big Nelly fan in high school. You could say that my musical tastes have….shifted a bit. I was looking forward to this show in almost a joking way. I mean, how can Bawitdaba not be fun live? I figured I’d drink some beers, sing American Badass at the top of my lungs, and it’d be a great way to cool down after an awesome and tiring weekend. I just never thought it would be a big deal. Interestingly enough, I wasn’t the only one who felt that way – on Saturday Night when M. Shadows asked who was excited to see Kid Rock, the question was met with an overwhelming “Meh” from the crowd. So that made me curious – would the show live up to the expectations that M. Shadows was trying to set, or was the A7X front man simply doing his duty as a festival headliner by trying to artificially inflate.

Kid Rock answered that question in an epic 2+ hour event that absolutely blew my mind. It was so good, I felt that cramming it into the previous ROTR Day 3 blog wouldn’t do it justice, and that demanded it’s own post. Listen, it doesn’t matter if you are a “Kid Rock Fan” or not. This show was transcendent, and was worth every penny I spent on Rock on the Range, even just by itself. In writing about it, I only hope that I can do it justice, because if I come even close to that, you’ll see why Kid Rock is an absolute must for every live music fan to see. So, read on, and then go buy a ticket, and see it for yourself. You can thank me later.

Festival Review: Rock on the Range 2014 – Day 1

Another year, another great Rock on the Range. Last week, a group of us headed to Columbus, OH for our sixth consecutive Rock on the Range – North America’s biggest rock festival, and an epic three day event featuring 3 stages, over 30,000 fans a day, and some of the most incredible performances I can remember. The thing that makes ROTR great is it’s variety – there’s hard rock, old school metal, metalcore, and everything in between, and it’s all on stage at the most well-planned, well-executed, and affordable festival in North America.

This is the first of a series of posts that I’ll write about the weekend – because of the number of bands, the nature of the three day festival, and the amount of awesome that they cram into one weekend, one post simply won’t cut it. This one in particular will focus on Friday and the bands that kicked off the weekend strong. Keep in mind that I can only write about the bands I chose to see at the festival – set times do overlap, so there are bands that I missed, but I like to think I make pretty good decisions on which way to head. 🙂

Concert Review – Rock on the Range 2013

Rock on the Range 2013
Columbus Crew Stadium – Columbus, OH
5/19/2013

So, lets be clear. My effort at ROTR 2013 was pretty piss poor. I missed most of the weekend due to a family obligation (which ended up being really fun, so I’m not mad). BUT….due to some luck and circumstance and forcing my in-laws to drive 35 minutes out of their way, I ended up getting dropped off at midnight on Saturday in Columbus OH…and I met with my ROTR groupies, crashed on their floor, and was (the only one) up early and AMPED for Sunday’s shows.

I won’t go into what bands I missed on the other days, because it’s about a thousand amazing bands. But….I did get to see the likes of Skillet, Sick Puppies, Volbeat, Sevendust, In This Moment, Lamb of God, Device, Soundgarden, and Ghost B.C.

So, plenty to see and talk about. ROTR 2013 – You’re on.

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.

Picture Blog: Rock on the Range 2011

Note: This is a blog of the pictures captured during our weekend at Rock on the Range in 2011. These are all the pictures that I couldn’t fit in the blogs about the music. For more about the music, check out the other Rock on the Range 2011 blogs. (Links after jump).

Concert Review: Rock on the Range 2011 Day 2

Day 2. The previous entire day was spent drinking, pushing, screaming, singing, and standing for about 14 straight hours. We woke up tired, sore, sun-burned, dehydrated, and with our ears ringing. Usually, after a day like that, I’m usually debating whether I will ever step foot at a concert again. But not this weekend. This is ROTR baby.

Let’s do this.”

While Sunday’s entire lineup was really good, my excitement for Day Two was really focused around three bands: Bullet for my Valentine (an all-time favorite), A Day to Remember (a new and upcoming favorite), and All that Remains (some Phil Labonte redemption). However, I was also bummed because at the last minute Stone Sour had to pull out of the lineup (and got replaced by Puddle of Mudd, blegh) because Ray Mayorga had a stroke a few days before ROTR (he seems to be doing fine now).

Concert Review: Rock on the Range 2011 Day 1

Rock on the Range 2011 Day 1 Columbus Crew Stadium – Columbus, OH 5/21-5/22 This is it my friends. The pinnacle of the concert season. The greatest concert of the year. A 72-hour binge of music, music, and more music.