NYS Music 20​14

Tag: Rock on the Range

  • Rock On the Range 2014: Day Three

    On day three of Rock on the Range, rangers traded in their ponchos for T-shirts and bikinis. Already a step ahead of the first two days before it had even begun, a karaoke version of “Sweet Caroline” had everyone singing at the top of their lungs. The music faded out, replaced by the heavy guitar intro to “Pleasure and Pain”. Rather than waste time with small talk, they made the most of the short set, packing in as many songs as possible.

    An opening slot on the main stage didn’t seem to do Trivium justice. Following the recent departure of drummer Nick Augusto, the band was still on point, getting everyone moving on their latest single “Strife” and setting the bar high for the bands that followed, with a contagious energy on closing song “In Waves”. Australia’s Twelve Foot Ninja brought the Jäger Stage a quirky and refreshing fusion of rock and reggae before it was time to return to the main stage for Adelitas Way. Lineup changes and some time off the road served the band well. Frontman Rick DeJesus never stood still, promising to join whichever side of the stadium gave him the most energy. The closing notes of “Invincible” came, and DeJesus made good on his promise, crowd surfing from the front of the pit to the back, and then back again. Asking Alexandria’s lead singer Danny Worsnop is working his way up again in new project We Are Harlot, featuring members of Silvertide and Sebastian Bach. The new group were obviously no stranger to big crowds, delivering an impressive and fast paced set. Wolfmother seemed to be an unusual choice with this years metal heavy lineup. Donning short shorts, guitarist and singer Andrew Stockdale hit every note without hesitation throughout a set that seemed to flow together like one long guitar solo.

    Mastodon hit the main stage next, fueling the crowd with melodic metal. Each song had it’s own character with each member of the band singing a song or two to keep things fresh. Over at the Ernie Ball Stage, Of Mice and Men were playing to perhaps the most insane crowd of the weekend. A circle pit that looked more like a running track moved nonstop amidst an insane sea of bodies flying through the air.Impeccable skill from guitarist Mark Tremonti combined with the powerful vocals of Myles Kennedy made for an unforgettable set from Alter Bridge. The new single “Addicted to Pain” marked the first sighting of Spider-Man crowd surfing his way to the front, and the classically inspired guitar played against heavy riffs throughout the too short set.

    The general consensus at past years of Rock on the Range appeared to be that Five Finger Death Punch brought a performance far bigger than their opening set times. This year the band was second to last on the main stage, and security had doubled in size in preparation. A traffic jam of crowd surfers rolled above the crowd the instant “Under and Over It” began. Each and every member did their part to entertain  and interact with the crowd as they sped through a hit filled set list. Guitarist Jason Hook sat down with an acoustic guitar midway through the set, accompanying singer Ivan Moody on “Remember Everything”. The lighter ballad was the calm before the storm, which picked back up for the duration of the set.

    Just a few short minutes after 9 pm, the lights on the Main Stage dimmed for the last time as headliner Kid Rock slowly made his way out onto the stage. Before he walked out, a clip of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin”” was played from the speakers and cut off appropriately during “born and raised in south Detroit” leaving the audience to scream the lyrics from the top of their lungs and officially introduce Kid Rock. He spoke a small prayer from behind the stage getting the crowd riled up in anticipation and finally emerged onto the stage accompanied by sparklers going off in the background. Kid Rock took into account that it was a rock show so he kept the energy high by jumping up and down across the stage and doing cool little mic tosses during “You Never Met a Motherf***er Quite Like Me.” Other songs included in the setlist were “American Badass,” “Cocky,” and of course, “All Summer Long.”

  • Rock On the Range 2014: Day Two

    Columbus, Ohio promised sunshine for Day Two of Rock on the Range, and by early Saturday morning it was pretty evident that we had no such luck. Sponsors and staff manned each and every entrance to Crew Stadium, armed with ponchos to hand out to already wet and weary rangers. What looked like a sea of garbage bags was really a dedicated horde of music revelers who stuck it out right from the start, filling the Ernie Ball Stage up in preparation for some Christian rock.

    Kicking off the festivities was female fronted Stars In Stereo. With everyone’s ears still ringing from the night before, the melodic tone of front woman Bec Hollcraft’s vocals were a great way to ease into the harsher male dominated lineup to follow. Fellow Christian rockers We As Human hopped on next, wowing the crowd with their nonstop antics. Between climbing the scaffolding, towering high above the stage, and jumping into the pit for some crowd participation, the set was anything but dull.

    The Main Stage didn’t get off to quite as energetic of a start, with opener Rev Theory clearly growing frustrated by the lack of enthusiasm. As the rain poured down for the worst storm of the day, the band did their best to distract the crowd and finally succeeded when they broke into “Hell Yeah”, during which it was nearly impossible not to crack a smile.

    The Jägermeister Stage hosted one of the biggest breakout acts of the weekend next. Pennsylvania’s Crobot reminded rangers what true rock ‘n’ roll is all about – dirty, grungy hooks to bring the genre back to its purest form.

    The sun finally started to “Shimmer” when Fuel took the stage to rock out to some newer tracks followed by the old favorites. The second half of their set was a welcome throwback for twenty-something’s to reminisce their glory days.

    Winning the award for quirkiest band of the day was Sweden’s Avatar. The metal band’s short Jägermeister Stage set provided some unique entertainment while the main stage was set up for Pop Evil.

    With a recent string of #1 singles under their belts, it was no surprise that the main stage was packed when Pop Evil arrived. Drummer Joshua “Chachi” Marunde moved around more than most singers do, and frontman Leigh Kakaty made sure the crowd was awake by jumping in for “Last Man Standing”. The real show began, however, when members of the armed forces joined the band on stage to close the set with “Trenches”, featuring a jaw dropping collaboration with Run DMC that had everyone talking for the rest of the day.

    Another new act hit the Ernie Ball Stage next, Texas natives Nothing More. They incorporated some unique elements, including a separate small drum at the front of the stage that frontman Jonny Hawkins would drum and jump on throughout the set.

    Theory of a Deadman lit up the main stage with some entertaining singalong tracks, including “B***h Came Back” and “Bad Girlfriend”, as well as throwing in a more serious ballad, “Not Meant to Be”. With everyone bouncing and singing along to each of the songs, it was clear that the band was a Rock on the Range favorite.

    The Pretty Reckless, the second of two female fronted bands slotted for Day Two, hit the Ernie Ball Stage. Lead singer Taylor Momsen’s voice was a force to be reckoned with, and the overall charismatic nature of the band shone through throughout their set. Chevelle began what was to be a heavy night to follow, building up the energy level that would remain until the final band left the stage with nonstop crowd surfing and moshing. The band may be a trio, but lead guitarist/singer Pete Loeffler had no problem amping up the crowd on his own.

    With the side stages closed for the evening, it was finally time for Slayer.

    The pit suddenly transformed into a hulking mass of muscles and bald heads, scaring away the younger crowd for the duration of their hour long set. Holding nothing back, the band powered through an intense set, clearly unaffected by recent lineup changes. Closing out with “Raining Blood”, Crew Stadium exploded into a frenzy of bodies flying in every imaginable direction.

    Not to be outdone, Avenged Sevenfold brought their spectacularly haunting stage set up to close out Day Two. With too many hits to choose from, the band did their best to please everyone from the most diehard fans to brand new ones, making sure to include a few from each album. Without the addition of fireworks and pyrotechnics, the set would arguably be one of the best of the day. With them, it was a no brainer.

    Midway through the set, lighters filled the sky as the band slowed things down a bit to honor the band’s late drummer, Jimmy ‘The Rev’ Sullivan. Frontman M. Shadows took a moment to let the crowd know that they are not a band to usually use tracks in their live show, but revealed that that the vocals we had been hearing in the background all night, in fact, belonged to Sullivan. An impressive guitar solo preceded the final few songs of the night, wrapping up with “Unholy Confessions”.

    Stay Tuned for Day 3 coverage tomorrow!

  • Rock On the Range 2014: Day One

    Rock on the Range promised to bring Columbus, Ohio the biggest and best lineup to date for this years festival, and on day one, they certainly delivered. This year’s festival marked the first featuring a full 3-day lineup, and Rangers were eagerly waiting outside the stadium early on Friday morning to get their weekend started. Cold weather and rain tried to put a damper on the sold out crowd, but the bands and tens of thousands of fans energized one another and made sure the weekend was unforgettable.

    Featuring former members of Egypt Central, Devour The Day were given the task of warming up the Ernie Ball Stage early on Friday afternoon. Mixed in with the new material was an unexpected surprise, Egypt Central’s hit “White Rabbit”. The Monster Main Stage was christened by Redlight King. The instantly recognizable opening notes of “Comeback” got the crowd going immediately. The band steered clear of their more relaxed rap-rock tracks, keeping it heavy for the festival crowd.

    Intro music could be heard at the Ernie Ball stage the moment the main stage wrapped up, allowing a few seconds to rush over in time for Thousand Foot Krutch. Playing mostly newer material, the band was sure to bring it back for the old fans on “Move”, which had the entire field doing just that. Black Stone Cherry had just the right balance of entertaining lyrics, southern charm, and high energy rock to convert just about any ranger into a fan, taking the main stage to deliver a set that was nearly impossible to not sing along to.

    While We Came As Romans played the Ernie Ball Stage, Japanese four piece ONE OK ROCK took the Jägermeister stage for their first US festival performance, a not so modest transition into their upcoming Warped Tour appearances. Killswitch Engage seem to never disappoint, and that certainly held true for the band’s main stage set. The fun and eccentric playing style of guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz was contrasted by the growl of vocalist Jesse Leach, who held his own on the final track, a cover of Dio’s “Holy Diver”.

    Black Label Society were next up on the main stage to ensure that the lucky few not exhausted following Killswitch Engage were completely worn out by the end of their 50 minute set. While the band may cater to the middle aged biker crowd, it’s safe to say that everyone that caught the set appreciated the undeniable talent of Zakk Wylde as he effortlessly shredded through guitar solos that lasted as long as some band’s songs.

    (Interview with Seether from Upstate Rock Station Q103’s Wes Styles)

    The anxiously awaited return of Seether to the festival scene was well received next at the Monster Stage. Following the addition of a touring guitarist, the former trio sounded better than ever. Not even the slightest split second of silence occurred throughout the entire set, with improvised transitions from song. On top of the old favourites the band included their brand new single “Words As Weapons”, which many devoted fans had already memorized word for word.

    Also having laid low for the last few years, Staind took the stage next to show Columbus that they are far from finished. Despite the fact that each of the members have been working on various side projects in recent years, the band proved to be as in sync as ever. Flames lit up Crew Stadium on rock ballads like “Outside”, with Seether’s Shaun Morgan accompanied Aaron Lewis on vocals. Time for rest on the lighter tracks allowed fans some much needed time to catch their breaths and rest up for heavier tracks like “Mudshovel”, during which bodies flew in every imaginable direction amongst the crowd.

    Guns N’ Roses may have been a surprising choice to close out day one of Rock on the Range, but the rest of the day’s killer lineup left little room for complaints. Whether it was out of mere curiosity or genuine excitement, the majority of the sold out audience stayed for the final show of the night. After starting out slow with a newer track, the famous guitar intro of “Welcome to the Jungle” caused every single face in the stadium to light up. Backed by a theatrical stage set up and scorching pyro, Axl Rose wowed with powerful vocals that haven’t wavered since day one. After teasing everyone with a taste of the GNR classics, he number of newer songs included in the band’s set list left many disappointed and rushing for the exit to beat lines of traffic on the way out. While the set list wasn’t spectacular, Guns N’ Roses put on a solid performance worthy of closing out an incredible day of rock.

  • Lineup For Rock On The Range 2014 is set

    Rock on the Range is finally here! The playbill and corresponding dates were recently announced, marking another spectacular three days in rock. Rock on the Range dates have been set for the weekend of May 16-18, 2014.  Crew Stadium, in Columbus, Ohio, hosts the event each year.

    This year’s playbill for Rock On The Range has the likes of Avenged Sevenfold, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Kid Rock, Five Finger Death Punch, Slayer, Staind, Moterhead, Seether,Chevelle,Alterbridge, Killswitch Engage and more.

    Rock on the Range is now considered an annual rock festival, and for the first time since its debut in 2007, the festival will now be three, full days of music.  It will also feature a comedy tent for additional entertainment. Rock On The Range usually consists of mainstream rock bands with a classic band as the headliner each night.

    Three different stages keeps the music flowing all day. In 2009-2011, the festival added a second city into the mix. Winnipeg, Manitoba, in Canada, held the event in the month of June for 2009 and in August 2010 and 2011, at the Canad Inns Stadium. The concert saw over 100,000 rangers attend the festival in 2013, and over 330,000 fans since it’s birth.

    Observers of this event and genre of music say that a lot of the summer festivals, such Rockstar’s Mayhem and Uproar, spin-off from Rock On The Range.

  • Rock On The Range 2014 Announced its Lineup This Week

    The wait is OVER! Get ready for the BIGGEST Rock On The Range 2014 ROTR ever! Now expanding to 3 full days of music starring Guns n’ Roses, Avenged Sevenfold, Kid Rock, Five Finger Death Punch, Slayer, Staind, Motorhead, Seether, Chevelle, Alter Bridge, Black Label Society, Killswitch Engage, Mastodon & many more!

    This year’s event will be held May 16, 17 & 18 at Columbus Crew Stadium in  Columbus, OH. The nationally renowned festival, part of the World’s Loudest Month Festival Series, is centrally located in the heart of the country and has annually drawn huge weekend crowds since its inception in 2007, including a sold-out crowd of over 103,000 fans in 2013.

    Weekend ROTR passes including Field GA, Stadium GA, hotel and VIP packages and a stadium 4-pack go on sale Friday, January 24 at 10:00 AM (ET). Additional details about the variety of ticketing, hotel and camping packages can be found at RockOnTheRange.com. Visit the website, www.facebook.com/rockontherange and www.twitter.com/rockontherange.

    Go to Rock On The Range for the complete 2014 line-up, ticket details & more! We can’t wait to see all our Rangers in OHIO this May!

    Rock on the Range