ROTR 2010 is in the books and everybody is heading home.
The warmth and humidity came in for Day 2 at Rock on the Range. After an ok, but far from stellar first day, the second day lived up to expectations and saw major crowds (somewhere in the 20,000 range) that rivaled any of the Sundays during the 3 years of Rock on the Range. Out of the 20 or so bands that played on the last day of ROTR 2010, we were able to get a glimpse some of the bad, and some of the good of Sunday at Rock on the Range. Here are the three stars and other notes of Sunday:
Star #1: Airbourne: Even though the sun was beating down and the set time was early, Airbourne delivered major stage entertainment to the Kicker Stage. During their 35 minute set, the new school Austrialian answer to AC/DC banged their way through first album such as “Girls In Black” and new tracks, such as “No Way But the Hard Way”. Complete with a wall of Marshall amps and loud guitar sounds- Airbourne was more than suitable for a main stage spot, let alone a side stage slot.
Star #2: Bullet for My Valentine: Another band that should have been higher up on the billing, the Welsh metallers gave the crowd their all, and got it in return with some of the best crowd surfing of the day. During their 40 minute set, the band played just about every song that most of the fans knew (such as “Waking The Demon” and “4 Words to Choke On” and showed perhaps even though they are big, they are still hard rock’s quietest biggest band.
Star #3: Limp Bizkit: Yep, bring on the haters. Even though they started a little late, the late 90’s rap metal superstars still proved that the crowd is with them, and vindicates them (to a degree) for the verbal abuse the band took right before they went on their hiatus. Playing a “Chocolate Starfish…” heavy set list, Fred Durst, Wes Borland and company had it rockin’ like it was 1999. For as many people that supposedly hate the group- there were plenty of those people singing all the lyrics in “Break Stuff” and others.
Other Notes:
-Slash’s solo band debut was mostly a jukebox type setting, hitting on mostly Velvet Revolver and Guns n Roses material. Singer Myles Kennedy proved he has a mighty voice and up for the task and handles the Guns n Roses material far better than expected, but it seemed that the crowd wasn’t quite up for yet another Guns n Roses karaoke band.
-With a larger crowd, the Jager stage was far beyond viewable capacity for most of the bands that played on that stage. Due to the 80 degree plus temperatures, many people tried to find shade, and took shelter by the Jager Stage. It made sets by Taproot and others not viewable, but at least I was able to find a good spot for Mushroomhead’s headlining performance on that stage.
-Circa Survive is probably really good for the Warped Tour, but for the fans of most of the bands on the bill- it left them scratching their heads.
I had a chance to interview Skinny from Mushroomhead today as well- expect that interview up within the next few days.
Well, that’s it from Columbus and the fourth annual Rock on the Range for this year. Big crowds, a lot of heat and some good bands was the name of the game this year. And yes, everybody with me is still singing Limp Bizkit lyrics- love them or hate them- it gets stuck in your head.
