Rock on the Range 2018: Lineup Analysis

We are ONE WEEK away from the festival of all festivals. For many of my hard rock and heavy metal bretheren, May represents the beginning of festival season. There are many great festivals all over the country that give fans a great chance to experience a weekend packed full of great shows. The biggest, and arguably the best of any of these is the almighty Rock on the Range, which takes place May 18-20th in Columbus, OH.

We snagged our tickets prior to the lineup announcement, which occurred late in 2017. This will be the tenth consecutive year that we make the trip from Indianapolis to Columbus to take in the weekend, and I have to tell you – I cannot wait.

I know that all of you are like me – you’re having trouble focusing on anything else as you look forward to one of the best weekends of the year. In order to support that obsession, we are releaseing a last minute line-up analysis for Rock on the Range 2018. The analysis below is for people who may not know all the bands in this years lineup and are looking for an opportunity to catch a new band that may become a favorite. However, it’s also for those who know every song of every band, and are just looking for an excuse to think about Rock on the Range for an hour. 🙂

The Rock on the Range 2018 Lineup Analysis below provides a detailed look at the landscape for this year’s ROTR. We provide commentary on what you might expect based on previous experiences, other shows and tours we’ve seen, and the current status of the bands. The bands are grouped by the slot they were given: the headliners, the top-tier bands, and the mid-tier bands. In addition, we include some bands that have something to prove, and suggest some can’t miss shows that may not be on you radar.

Music Pill Update – April 2014

A brutally cold winter in Indianapolis, coupled with limited music releases, had me shaking with the desire to dive into some music. Still nothing on the concert calendar, but there has been a lot of great music released as we inch closer to spring.

Now, I don’t fancy myself an album reviewer – people who review albums need to use phrases that have big words and sound official but don’t really actually mean anything. Actual example I read recently: “Each and every aspect of this record breathes with dynamic feeling.” Since I have no idea what that means (does anybody?), I’ve never really felt adequate to write official album reviews. Rather, I focus the blog on live shows and the experience that music gives me, because nobody can tell me I’m wrong. 🙂

BUT…..zero shows in months and a craving to write leaves me no choice. So….here’s a few notes on some albums that have surfaced recently. A couple major hits, a couple disappointments, and a couple in between. Enjoy!

Concert Review: The Used

I Come Alive Tour
Bogarts – Cincinnat, OH
May 31st, 2012

I have been a huge fan of The Used for a really long time. I believe they are a unique band that carved a new niche in the many genres of music back in the early 2000’s when they first started. Since then, many have tried to follow them into that genre, and some have even been successful, but finding a band that can continually grow and progress for well over a decade, all while creating an extremely passionate fan base is a rare thing. The Used stormed onto the musical landscape with the song Buried Myself Alive in 2002, and they stayed relevant with the 2007 release of Lies for the Liars, which is a brilliant album that houses the likes of The Bird and the Worm and Paralyzed.

However, I’d argue that with their most recent album, Vulnerable, that dropped earlier in 2012, The Used showed that they are as strong as ever. I was very excited at the potential of seeing them headline their own tour to support this album, and then figured it was unlikely when I heard that they were headlining Warped Tour. However, they proved me wrong and booked a small string of shows that included a stop at one of my favorite venues, Bogarts. (I know, I’m as surprised as you are that they haven’t given me a membership of some kind). As is often the case, a big group of us piled into a car and took the 2 hour trip down to Cincinnati to catch the show. We were not disappointed!

Music Pill Update: March 2012

Too….much….music. Can’t….keep….up….

Greetings and salutations from the Music Pill!! There is so much going on in music this month, I had to get this post out before March Madness started. There’s a ton of concerts going around, but I blogged about that last month, so I’m going to stick to music this month. Here are some great albums that either have just been released, or will be soon, that are worth your time.

If there’s albums that I didn’t mention here that are great, you are hereby obligated to let me know about them. 🙂 Cheers.