Unexpected Show Introduces Me to the World of Robots

Thursday, October 28, 2010
Emo’s – Austin, TX
Powerman 5000

You know how some of your family and friends ask for list of gift ideas around the holidays? Or maybe your birthday? You spend time thinking about suggestions based on appropriateness and cost. You might even be careful to not give the same ideas to different people so you don’t end up with the same gift. When you open that gift you are grateful, but not surprised, at what you find. But every once in a while, someone goes out on a limb to buy you something you didn’t ask for. And sometimes those are the best gifts of all.

Concert-going is a lot like this. I spend a lot of time planning who to see next. I check online resources for concerts and my favorite bands daily, keeping my fingers crossed for a show near me to be announced. But once in a blue moon, I happen to be in the right place at the right time. Unexpected. Unplanned. Fly by the seat of my pants kind of stuff. Such was the case with Powerman 5000.

Memphis Boy Comes Home for Rare Performance

Friday, October 22, 2010
Hard Rock Café – Memphis, TN
Zach Myers Band

Zach Myers looks back on a photo of the group from when he was just 14 years old.

It seems a rarity that I actually get to see a rock show at home nowadays. There just don’t seem to be that many coming through Memphis as compared to some other nearby cities. But this night was an exception as hometown boy Zach Myers took a break from touring with mega-group Shinedown for a rare performance with his original namesake band, the Zach Myers Band.

Back to Atlanta for Project 961

Sunday, October 3, 2010
Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre – Alpharetta, Georgia
Project 961 Family Reunion Concert

Another outdoor concert in Atlanta. I feel like I was just here. At least this time I’m not melting from unbearable heat. Local station 96.1 put on a concert with a lineup strong enough to entice me into a quick weekend trip. Unlike last time I headed further into the “Dirty South,” this trip went smoothly. And a couple of unique concert experiences made it all the more worthwhile.

Uproar Music Festival Hits "Hot-lanta"... Part III

Saturday, September 4, 2010
Aaron’s Lakewood Amphitheater – Atlanta, GA
Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival
Part III… The Main Stage Headliners

(From Part II…) Avenged Sevenfold was up next, but how would their set be received during their first tour without drummer, Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan?

After 20 minutes filled with the anticipation of the ginormous crowd, it was finally time. A long, black curtain had been drawn across the stage to hide the massive set being built just a few feet beyond. With an explosive bang, it dropped to reveal a stage the likes I haven’t seen since Motley Crue’s Carnival of Sins tour back in 2006. But we’ll get to that in a minute, because there was something else to quickly gain our attention.

For months leading up to this show, I’ve been hearing rumors about a crazy opening to the A7X stage show. It’s been perpetuated in recent weeks by the DJ’s on Sirius/XM satellite radio’s Octane channel, who caught an earlier show on the tour and went as far to say something along the lines of “… if you miss the first five minutes of their set, you’ll never forgive youself.”

Uproar Music Festival Hits "Hot-lanta"... Part II

Saturday, September 4, 2010
Aaron’s Lakewood Amphitheater – Atlanta, GA
Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival
Part 2… The Main Stage Opening Acts

(From Part I…)  About the time I started making the walk over to the main, I worked myself into a slight panic. Both of the headliners are known for their cult following, devout fans who spend mucho on merch and camp out for hours for decent seats. Did I wait too long to stake my spot? It’d be a crying shame to drop that much cash on tickets just to stare at the back of some sweaty guy’s Ozzfest 1999 event shirt…

Luckily, my fears were eased when I approached to find the gates to the mainstage just opening. There were a lot of people filing in, but it was a big stage with plenty of room to spread out. I ended up behind some cool chicks that were actually a tad shorter than me, so I had a pretty decent view at stage right. 

I’ll give the Uproar Festival major props for their schedule. All of the bands were set to go on just 20 minutes after the close of the prior act. I’ve NEVER been to a concert with more than one act, much less nine bands, that could flip a stage in under 30 minutes. But Uproar did it with precision and kept the entire day’s schedule on track. It made the fan experience all the better.

Uproar Music Festival hits "Hot-lanta"... Part I

Saturday, September 4, 2010
Aaron’s Lakewood Amphitheater – Atlanta, GA
Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival
Part 1… The Jagermeister Stage

This, folks, is the one I’ve been waiting for all year. The Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival was announced in early 2010 and, along with a stellar mix of lesser known acts and seasoned vets, brought along with it the highly anticipated return of underground metal’s favorite sons, Avenged Sevenfold. The closest this tour was hitting to my home base was Atlanta, Georgia, so we packed up the car and made the six hour trek further into the “Dirty South.”

I’ve been to my fair share of concerts and various venues in Hot-lanta, but never to Aaron’s Lakewood Amphitheater. I’ll admit, summertime is not my ideal setting for music events. Let’s face it: red-headed, fair skinned chicks just ain’t made to be out in the sun. Add to that the humidity of the South and the sheer number of overheated, inebriated bodies surging forward in a giant crowd, and a memorable experience does not it make. But I was proven wrong this time and quite frankly, I‘m ok with that.

The venue was nice enough, though food and beverage were overpriced, as to be expected these days. We purchased the VIP package with Pit tickets and access to the Rockstar Lounge. But we never actually made it into the lounge, opting to hold our ground at the stage instead. Early entry helped with that, another perk to the VIP package. When you’re a shorty like me, paying a little extra for this perk is worth its weight in gold. The first act went on just 30 minutes after doors opened, so not much waiting involved. We spent what little time we did have taking turns to grab water and check out the merch booths (which leads to a little side story I’m writing… stay tuned.)

Carnival of Madness sets up camp south of Memphis

Who: Carnival of Madness Tour featuring 10 Years, Sevendust, Chevelle, Puddle of Mudd (cancelled) and Shinedown
When: Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Where: Desoto Civic Center – Southaven, MS

Favorite Moment: Watching Shinedown headline the Carnival of Madness tour and still remembering back when they opened a local rockfest as an “unknown.” Kinda makes you proud.
Not so Much: Surprise, surprise: Puddle of Mudd was a no show. The only thing worse than this would have been sitting through yet another one of their annoyingly unoriginal performances. (Sorry P.O.M. fans.)

You could not pry the smile off my face with a crow bar. ~ Brent Smith
So after a pretty slow summer as far as my concert calendar is concerned, I’m finally getting my rock blog off the ground. And with a pretty significant show at that. The Carnival of Madness tour kicked off last month and finally rolled its demented acts into Southaven, MS (about 15 minutes south of Memphis.) The lineup featured a who’s who of modern rock acts: 10 Years, Sevendust, Chevelle, Puddle of Mudd and Shinedown. For once, I felt pretty justified to pay a slightly higher ticket price.