Rock on the Range Day 2
For those of you who may not know about this festival, you’re missing out on one of the best Rock festivals in America and growing, as it headed into its 6th year. Spread out over 3 days, the first day was more of a warm-up for cover acts and this year, 2 national acts - Black Tide and Foxy Shazam. Over time, I can see the first day expanding into more national acts and up and coming bands. It is held in Columbus, OH on the soccer field for the Columbus Crew team and hosts over 30,000 fans each day. There are 3 stages - Main Stage being inside the stadium and the two side stages, F.Y.E. Stage and the Jagermeister stage.
As I drove into the parking lot the first day, the place was getting filled up fast; people tailgating in the parking lot it almost had a football game feel to it. Be sure you arrive early to not miss the opening acts that start at 11:30am.
Opening the Main stage on Saturday was Adelitas Way. These guys are having a great year and keeps getting better as they will be touring with the Uproar festival later in the summer. Playing a strong set and with lots of energy, they set the bar for the rest of the day for the main stagers.
Over on the F.Y.E. stage we checked out New Medicine. These guys hail from Minnesota and have been making a mark on the music scene with just their first release, Race You to the Bottom. They gave a lively performance.
Later in the day at the F.Y.E. stage, I checked out Cavo, who just released their 3rd album, Thick as Thieves and always put on a great show. Right off the bat they came on strong and guitarist, Chris Hobbs was so into it that when went to jump, he slipped and fell on his back. After a few seconds he got back up and the crowd cheered as he went right back into playing. The rest of the set was very tight and well worth seeing.
Ending the night at the F.Y.E. stage was Rap greats Cypress Hill. This was a great move on ROTR part to incorporate a little bit of Rap into the festival and Cypress Hill has always been a favorite for rock fans. Playing all their hits, B-Real & Sen Dog got the crowd pumped up and jumping around the whole set. Of all the performances at ROTR this crowd had the most laid back feel to it. I guess the huge Mary Jane cloud hanging over them might explain this, as well as the spike in food vendors sales.
Over at the Jagermister stage, I checked out 2 great bands with two very different styles.
Rival Sons is a very blues-based sounding rock band out of LA and have a great sound to them. They have grown their fanbase with nonstop touring and a great live show; they did not disappoint. The crowd filled up fast to come see these guys play and they were in for a treat. Once again, another great move on ROTR to keep the music fresh and a nice variety for all the fans to chose from. Who does not like the feeling of not knowing a band and walking away a big fan?
Later in the day, In This Moment played, and talk about two different styles, but both still rocking and kicking ass. In This Moment features singer, Maria Brink who has amazing vocals to go along with her stunning good looks in contrast with her band mates who came out with black grease on their face and cat eye contacts. They blew away the crowd with their performance and were one of the highlights on this stage. With a new album, Blood out this year, you can be sure you will be hearing a lot of more of them and seeing them on tour throughout the year.
Throughout the day on the Main stage, they had all the top acts in hard rock performing, including Halestorm, who just keep getting better and better each time they step on the stage. Just coming off tour with Staind and Godsmack, you can see they have learned a little bit of that swagger both bands have. Lzzy Hale has over the top vocals that fill the stadium and plays a mean guitar to go along with her rock goddess looks. This was one band I would have liked to have seen play a little later of all the bands.
Theory of a Deadman came on next and put on a good set that started the crowdsurfers to get going, maybe it’s me but I think TOAD has taken their music up a notch and become more fan friendly. They still need to cut off the same in-between songs talk they have been doing for years but over all a good job. Later in the day I saw Tyler driving around on a scooter checking out bands.
Chevelle came out strong, playing the crowd favorite, The Clincher, that got the first mosh pits started and played for a good 45 minute of Chevelle hits that ended with Face to the Floor.
With a beautiful canvas backdrop, Slash was next to perform. Slash has begun a tour with Myles Kennedy, the amazing vocalist for Alter Bridge. They opened the set with Ghost, a song off his first solo album. Slash has just released a new album, Apocalyptic Love with Kennedy doing exclusive vocals. The band played songs from all of Slash’s bands and got the crowd going with the GnR classic, Sweet Child O’ Mine that shows off Kennedy’s great vocals and Slash’s amazing guitar skills. They ended the set with Slither and Paradise City; that had the whole crowd singing along and set the stage for the last 3 remaining bands of the night.
Host, Jose Mangin from Sirius XM & Headbangers Ball came out to introduce the next band, Five Finger Death Punch. As the crowd was split in the middle by barricades shouted “Five Finger” on one side, while the other screamed “Death Punch,” you could feel the intensity rise. Playing the same set list from the other night in Bloomington, IL, they opened with Under and Over it. You could see all of the guys look out unto the crowd with smiles on their face as they look to melt the flesh off the crowd. After having bands in front of them playing rock music, the crowd was ready for some heavy rock and 5FDP did not disappoint. As they went into the next song, Salvation, the crowd lost it and became a sea of bodies flying over people’s heads. One thing about ROTR, they do a great job of catching most of the crowd surfers and keeping people from getting violent, but they could not help with the onslaught of bodies coming at them. As the song ended, all the photographers were asked to leave the pit because at that point it was becoming too much of a hazard for security as well as for our safety. I stood outside the barricade to witness all of this and I knew what was going to come next when they played Burn it Down, as was the case two years ago when Ivan Moody asked all the fans to come over and shake his hands. Like then, it felt like déjà vu as all of sudden the crowd looked like sea of movement and bodies floating over heads; have to say it is one of those sights you will never forget and 5FDP punch made sure they would make a mark in ROTR history.
Have to say, the first day belonged to 2 bands - one being 5FFDP and the next was the band coming on next, Shinedown. Shinedown is riding a wave of success since they released their new album, Amaryllis this year, headlining Avalanche tour and the soon Uproar tour, so what better way to mark their return to ROTR after a 3 years. Opening with Sound of Madness, the guys came out on a mission after following 5FDP and got the crowd pumped up. Brent Smith kept the pace up with going from one song to another, only stopping a few times to talk. The highlight of the night was when he told the crowd that last time they were here, the crowd looked like stars, and wanted to see if they could do it again. Sure enough every lighter, cellphone, came on as they went into Simple Man. The crowd erupted with the opening note of the song and sang along, note for note. I have to say, hearing 30,000 people singing along is something to behold and hear.
They ended the set with Fly From Inside - that got the crowd back into fist pumping as Zach Myers & Eric Bass jumped all over the stage and Barry Kerch dreads flying all over from his intense drumming.
Last band for the day was Incubus. While I think this is a great band, I will be honest and say they should not have ended this show and I think seeing the other fans leaving early proved this point. Opening their set with Privilege and the crowd pleasing, Megalomanic they did their best to keep the crowd into it.
Brandon sounded great and looked amazing and the guys in the band were very tight playing songs like Pardon Me, Circles, Drive, and the classic, Nice to Know You. They ended the set with Wish You Were Here and Sick Sad Little World and thanked the crowd for their support.
As everyone headed out wondering what the last day would bring, little would they know ROTR was about to take its place in music history.
Review & Photos by Peter Lizano
