By: Steve PapaSin Sinatra on Monday, May 27, 2013 at 10:24pm
"Ok, so now that I'm rested and not busy, here's my critique of the Inaugural River City Rockfest. Overall, I give it a B. Was a great time with great bands on the bill! Guns n Roses headlined, Alice In Chains, Halestorm, Skillet, Bullet for My Valentine, Clutch, The Sword, The Heroine, Memory of a Melody, All That Remains, some other bands and some acoustic acts. For the $80 admission, it was well worth the moolah. Plus being a Disabled Vet, I didn't have to shell out the 15 clams for parking! BONUS!
I spent the first hour in the parking lot trying to sell my extra ticket. Joe from Austin bought it and told me he had some really good "bud". I told him I didn't participate in that, but I certainly wouldn't judge him. He bought me a beer, I bought him a beer and somewhere I dropped a $20 on the ground. Bummer....but being a "glass half full" kinda guy, I'm sure the person who found it needed it way more than I did. Joe disappeared and I didn't see him the rest of the night. Hope you had fun, "Bud".
The entire North parking area of the AT&T Center was covered with vendors, stages, picnic tables, and port a johns, but there was plenty of space to move around. The picnic tables were a Godsend as they provided a nice location to relax a bit before the shows. There were water fountains for people to refill bottles and the layout was very nice. I'm glad I didn't spend $175 on VIP tix because I would've felt ripped off. The VIP area was set on the opposite end of the grounds from where the main stage was and it was impossible to see anything that was going on. The sound booth and trusses were blocking the VIP view.
There were three stages. The main stage was ENORMOUS. Probably the biggest outdoor stage I've ever seen. The small stage was very personal where you could look right into the bands' faces. The last stage was inside the "Chill Out" area and had acoustic acts performing. It as inside one of the outbuildings but wasn't at all chilly. It was hotter than it was outside. How about some AC in there next time folks? Huh?
The weather was nice, but very humid from the rain that fell earlier in the day. It ended up getting pretty warm, not hot, but some of the artists mentioned it was hot to them. I thought to myself, "damn, if they think THIS is hot, wait til July/August and if you were performing at the thermal bowl of Sunken Gardens because your brain would fry." I know this from personal experience. This was the last night of the tour for most of the acts if not all, so I was expecting some mayhem. Nope. That's okay though.
The schedule of events was well timed. Each band got their allotted time (except Clutch!) and everything was pretty much right on schedule. One stage didn't start til the other was done. That was really nice. Even the notoriously late Axl Rose was on time. I was completely shocked! But I guess it was because that was the final night of the tour and they wanted to get it over with.
So because I was busy trying to sell my ticket, I missed two bands I wanted to see. The Heroine and Memory of a Melody. Both are San Antonio based acts and I hear they rock tacos!! Would be nice to see them. The first band I heard was Young Guns and I've heard a tune of theirs on Sirius//XM Octane radio. Young Guns and Asking Alexandria were decent, but nothing special. I heard, "we're from London, England" about 100 times during their set and it got old. It was funny when the singer from Asking Alexandria (AA) was trying to split the crowd which was divided in half already by a fenced "pit" running from stage to sound booth. Needless to say, the singer couldn't muster enough interest to do the "which side is louder" game. Anyway, after AA, I took a break and checked out the Chill Out area while O'Brother performed on the small stage. I made my way back to the main stage to catch Halestorm. who receives TONS of airplay on Octane. They put on one helluva show. Lzzy Hale actually played rhythm guitar impressively and took on a couple of solos while doing all the vocals. Her brother Arejay, is the the drummer and stole the show with his Sgt Peppers' outfit as marched across the stage pounding a small drum as if to say, "we have arrived, get ready to rock." He took his place behind his drum kit. Throughout the set, he was a magician back there, but I think I counted three times he threw a stick in the air and missed it only to have it land stage right. During his drum solo he busted out a HUGE pair of drumsticks and finished the solo. Once Grammy winners Halestorm finished their set, I met up with a Facebook friend named Erin and her friend Missy who are total metalheads from Austin. Erin said she was going to watch, "The Sword" on the small stage. So I hurried up over there and thought I was going to see some 80's metal hair band. Much to my surprise, "The Sword" from Austin, TOTALLY kicked my ass with their brand of straight on, southern metal, similar to what my band, Destruction Evolution plays. They were very groovy and I'll definitely make a trip to see them again and hopefully we'll get an opportunity to open for that four-piece. After "The Sword", Skillet was playing on the main stage, but I stayed put at the small stage to catch Clutch who I've always wanted to see, but was familiar with many of their tunes. They kicked ass too. Neil Fallon is full of intensity as he belts out the tunes. It's nice to see that. I was kind of pissed that they only got 30 minutes to perform! The crowd was lively and really into them as they have a huge following here in San Antonio. A "one more song" chant rained from the audience, but they had to keep on schedule so Bullet for My Valentine could get their show going. I heard many tunes I hear on Octane come from the main stage and BMV rocked it. All that Remains performed on the small stage, but my friends and I made our way over to the main stage to take our places for Alice in Chains.
On our way over, we ran into Jay Nanda from San Antonio Metal Music Examiner. If you haven't joined this group, you're missing out. He gives unbiased reports on area shows and takes incredible photos. I bought him a beer to say thanks for all he does! Great guy! Make sure you "Like" SAMME and get metal music news FIRST!
Back to the Alice In Chains show. Have you seen Jerry Cantrell's haircut??? Wow, he looks like an old man, but an old man who TOTALLY kicked ass! They played hit after hit and two new tunes, "Hollow" and "Stone" from the upcoming album released tomorrow called "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here." I'm convinced that Mike Inez has the absolute best bass tone in the game today! Thunderous is an adjective that doesn't describe it. William Duvall does just as great live as he did on "Black Gives Way to Blue." By far the best show of the night!
All righty then, onto Guns 'n Roses. After an hour of resetting the stage, I'm convinced that Axl is a friggin' Diva. There comes a time in a rock star's life where they should just burn out or fade away. Axl's time has come. It's time for him to retire. He just can't hit the notes or perform like he used to. He gives a great effort and has great musicians but when he's known for his unique voice and that goes, he should hang up his red tipped microphone. Why he has 7 musicians on stage with him, I'll never know. There are three lead guitar players who trade solo, two keyboard players, a drummer and bass player, and Axl. I guess he needed that many to replace Slash. It's a little confusing. DJ Ashba, who also plays with Sixx: AM, is a bona fide rockstar! He just has that "it" factor when it comes to keeping the crowd's attention. He talks to them, gets them into the show and really creates a separate show of his own. Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal is also a great guitar player with a great stage personality. I really hope if they tour again, they drop any songs off Chinese Democracy and stick to the hits. I was very happy to hear "Rocket Queen" and "Estranged" - two of my faves. And what's with all the band member costume changes??? Overall, I was disappointed with the GnR show. Some of my friends said that from the back of the grounds, the sound was wavering. I tried to explain that the wind bends the sound waves and skews them. I don't think they believed me, but it's true.
San Antonio NEEDS a big time fest like this. We used to be the metal capital of the world and now we're an afterthought for major headliners on tour; very unfortunate for us. We need to get out and support the music that comes to town. Additionally, radio needs to start playing new material instead of being stuck in the 70's to 90's. When we're exposed to new music on the free radio airwaves, we hear new acts and are apt to buy their latest album and see them when they come to town. The bands track the numbers where they sell the most records and San Antonio ain't on their lists because we have no exposure to that stuff except for internet and satellite radio. The fall of terrestrial radio is coming if the stations don't keep up. You hear that 99.5 KISS? I don't know what happened to you, but I don't care to EVER hear ANY RHCP or STP songs again. Hopefully everyone made money so we'll have a show like this next year."
Rock that Taco,
Steve
(...rad photo courtesy of The Heroine)