Orion Fest + More

Orion Fest looks to have found a home, at least for the next 2 years at Belle Island in Detroit.

After last year’s show in Atlantic City, NJ Orion had to be
uprooted due to hurricane Sandy devastating the area and not enough resources
to handle a festival of this size.

While many scratched their heads to why Detroit it only
makes sense. With Detroit being known as the rock city with many rabid fans
hungry for music and a short trip for many in Canada it hit many markets needed
for a festival of this size.

As with anything new to an area it has a few wrinkles to
iron out, notable the first day had many fans waiting 2 hours for school busses
to bring to the island and after the show a huge wait. The following day quick
thinking promoters had the issue fixed and I am sure next year will bring about
a smoother festival.

Day 1 was highlighted by impassioned vocals from the lead
singer of Dead Sara Emily Armstrong. This band will only get bigger and
catching them on a small stage will be remembered for a long time.

The Foals had a very catchy sound to them that you could not
help but bounce to. Festivals like this allow fans to listen to and become fans
of bands you normally not go out of your way of seeing. Metallica had an open
invitation for bands of all genres to come and play and for the most part
succeeded. Following the success of Europe’s huge festival Orion is trying the
same.

Last year with the Comedy Tent and this year’s EDM stage
which was a huge success all weekend with packed in fan’s coming to see
Bassnectar, Datsik, and Destroid.

Fans were notified to check out the Van’s stage for special
performance from Dehaan, a band that no information could be found online about
them. It turned out to be a surprise performance from Metallica playing the
classic album Kill Em’ All in its entirety. Fans came running from other stages
to listen to this masterpiece.

Dropkick Murphy’s tore up the stage with their unique style
of Punk Rock; with Metallica coming on halfway through the set, half the fans
left the area. This was also the case with Tomahawk set as their sound was
mixing together with Metallica’s. This was caused by the stage’s being so close
together, something that I am sure will be looked into next year.

Chicago based band Rise Against proved once again they can
capture an audience and had them singing along with the politically charged
lyrics and powerful stage presence.

The night ended for us with catching the reunited Infectious
Grooves playing their style of punk/funk rock. Red Hot Chili Peppers closed out night 1

As Day two started the first thing you noticed was the extra
busses lined up at the COBO Center to bring the fans over to Belle Island.

Opening the day was All Shall Perish who shook up the crowds
rust from the previous day with a brutal set of Heavy Metal. This was followed up by the always high energy of The
Dillinger Escape Plan, who were without guitarist Ben Weinman. Weinman was due
to breaking his arm but he did provide scores for each song, as he sat on the
side of stage singing backup vocals.

The Joy Formidable had to cancel due to travel issues, would
have been nice to see The Dillinger Escape Plan take this spot as the stage was
left empty for 4 hrs. Most fans went to check out Trujillo Trio, who performed
last year at Orion.

Rob Trujillo was a beast this weekend as he played 4 times
during the weekend.

By the time the Deftones came on the main stage was packed
for one of the best performances of the weekend. Singer Chino Moreno cracks his
microphone like a whip as he flings his body across the stage. Opening the set with Diamond Eyes, You’ve Seen the Butcher
and Rocket Skates.

While Crowd surfing and Moshing was held in check for most
of the weekend Deftones opened the crowd into several pits and bodies came
flying over. They ended the night with Root and 7 Words leaving the fans
hungry for the headliner METALLICA to come on.

After the surprise performance from the day before no one
knew what to expect as rumors of the Foo Fighters were going to join them on
stage, this never was the case but for drummer Taylor Hawkins being back stage.

The crowd surged forward as the gates to the main pit opened
for general admission.

Metallica opened with Blackened, For Whom the Bell Tolls and
Disposable Heroes as the crowd became a sea of bodies moving forward and back
and bodies flung across the outstretched arms.

While last year they did not play Orion which seemed to be
fitting for this festival, they made up for it this year as well as playing
Carpe Diem Baby.

Fireworks went off for the opening of One which sounded
perfect as they then went into Master of Puppets. After 2 hours of playing then came out for an encore of Turn
the Page, Creeping Death and Seek & Destroy.

Next year would be great to see Bob Seger, Kid Rock or even
Eminem bring even more Detroit music fans to this great festival.

Detroit proved to be a great host for Orion and would be a
great economy boom for a city in need. For any fan of Metallica and festivals that bring something
different then just one genre we will see you next year.

Review & pictures by Peter Lizano

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