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.)
Next up was a group called Hail the Villain, who is building quite the following. I’ve heard one or two singles from these guys on satellite radio and was excited to finally see them live. They’ve been touted as “comic book geeks meet emo-rock” and I have to say, this description wasn’t the half of it. Tall and lanky, the lead singer Bryan Crouch took the stage like a hurricane jacked up on Mountain Dew ready to get his spider monkey on (if you don’t get the reference go suffer through the movie ‘Talladega Nights’). This guy is what happens to the hyperactive kid at your school whose parents refuse to put on Adderall. He certainly gave quite a show, combining ear splitting shrieks with over exaggerated, interpretive dance moves worthy of “So You Think You Can Dance.”
And. It. Was. Awesome.
Side note: Hail the Villian’s bassist, Chad Taylor, slipped on a skateboard two days prior to the show and broke his shoulder. But these guys know just how important the exposure they stand to gain from the Uproar tour is. So Taylor simply added extra padding to his guitar strap and soldiered on, broken shoulder and all.
Following Hail the Villian were the young bucks from Minneapolis, New Medicine. (Yes, I know they’re not that much younger than me. I just like saying “young bucks.”) They reminded me of the group, Sum 41, but with less Pop and more edge. Lead singer, Jake, intro’d an early song called “Rich Kids,” explaining “… because we hate them.” This got a great response from the crowd. But I kind of found it ironic since the band stands to make a lot of money if their record does well. Maybe it’s just their way of remembering where they came from?
After their set, which was solid in terms of both sound and energy, a couple of the band members came out into the crowd with homemade, cardboard signs to sell their new CD, Meet You at the Bottom. They were the only band to do so all day long, and I gained a lot of respect for them based on this one seemingly small action. It said a lot about their work ethic, including that they “get it.” They listened when someone from the label told them that every record sale matters. I can just about guarantee that I won’t be the only one going home and telling everyone who will listen about the band. After all, word of mouth = $$$. New Medicine isn’t going to depend on their buddy in the merch tent to do it all for them. They’d rather be responsible for their own destinies, by selling the CD they worked so hard to make, one homemade sign at a time. 
I bought a CD after guitarist Dan promised to take a picture with me. I was going to buy a CD anyway, but what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.
It was now late into the afternoon and my shoulders were officially cooked to a crisp. I was ready to hit the mainstage and the cool shade it had to offer, but not before seeing Airborne. These Aussies rock it old school and bring to mind another classic rock band from down under. Briefly listening to frontman Joel O’Keefe will make you think for a moment you’re at an AC/DC concert. But listen some more and you’ll quickly realize these mates have a style all their own. You won’t catch Airborne singing about political issues or global warming. They think a concert should offer fans a few hours to escape those depressing issues and just have a good time. So they stick with what they know best: drinking, rocking and… girls. Lots of girls.
About half a song in, I started to wonder just how much Rockstar Energy Drink O’Keefe had consumed. He pulsed onstage with an almost painful amount of energy, literally unable to stand still at any point during their set. And when singing, playing guitar and bouncing in one spot on the stage proved not enough for the lead singer, he moved on to more taxing moves. This included convincing one of his crew guys to play “horsie,” carrying the lead singer throughout the crowd on his shoulders while O’Keefe wailed on guitar.
Later in the set, O’Keefe launched himself atop a ten foot tall speaker set up beside the stage. After it stopped wobbling dangerously back and forth, he stood up and bashed an unopened can of energy drink on his forehead, using the resulting fissure to spray the crowd with liquid syrup. Not ten seconds later he jumped back on stage, never missing a guitar lick, and resumed singing as if he hadn’t pulled a total Crocodile Dundee in front of the amused Americans. I dare you to check out this band and not turn to your neighbor afterwards with a look on your face like “WTF!?”
Afterwards I jetted over to the mainstage, opting to hold a decent spot in the pit for the headlining acts while my hubby stayed to see the group Hellyeah. I’ve seen these guys before at a small club in Memphis and they indeed rock. But they’re on the verge of being too hard for my taste. It’s to be expected from any band of Vinnie Paul’s, the drummer from legendary rockers Pantera and brother to fallen rock-god Dimebag Darrell (aka Darrell Abbott. Seriously if you don’t know the story, immediately stop what you are doing and Google it. Wicked sad. I wonder how long it will be before they make it a movie?)
The report I got later about their performance was as follows: They rocked. Hard. It was super loud. The crowd was insane. Yadda, yadda, yadda. I mean, really? Do you expect anything less from guys this experienced?
About the time I started making the walk over to the main stage, 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 ‘99 event shirt. Stay tuned for Part 2…
No comments:
Post a Comment