Artist Spotlights Review: Rockstar Mayhem Tour @ DTE Energy Music Theatre 8.9.8 | Review: Rockstar Mayhem Tour @ DTE Energy Music Theatre 8.9.8 |
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| Written by Art Michalski | |
| Monday, 11 August 2008 | |
 A cross between the
Taste of Chaos tour and OzzFest, the first ever Rockstar Mayhem Tour rolled
through Detroit on Saturday with 9 hours of hard rock, metal, rain and mud to a
sold out DTE Energy Music Theatre. On a day when the weather tried to
dampen spirits, fans’ willingness
to sit in the rain to see their favorite bands can never be underestimated. But here is our take on the bands as well as the sights going on at Mayhem as we dish out awards
to some of the bands of the bill. Some awards are meant to be complimentary; others - not so much. But for better for worse, here’s what happened at the first go around of the Mayhem Festival:Award for Biggest Troopers of the Day: This can go to a lot of bands that played through a series of driving rainstorms over the course of about four hours, including Airbourne and part of Machine Head’s set. But The Red Chord was on stage during the worst of it and dealt with it the best. Lead singer Guy Kozowyk and the band braved through and didn’t miss a beat during their set. Award for Best 10 Minutes of Music All Day: The opening, 10-minute salvo of Machine Head’s “Clenching the Fists of Dissent.” The band wailed through an exceptional version of the song, as the rain poured down. But for 10 minutes, it didn’t really seem to matter as most of the fans went apeshit. Biggest Scheduling Snafu of the Day: A last minute change, bumping up hometown band Walls of Jericho’s set caused a bit of a dilemma for a lot of fans. The change in the schedule forced many fans to choose between Mastodon and Airbourne. Not really a fun choice to make, but most people opted for Mastodon under the safe confines of the pavilion. You couldn’t have gone wrong with either set though.
Best Moment for 13-Year-Old Guitar Hero Players: Dragonforce. I was spared with only having to watch no more than 3 songs from this European band and that was enough. But the crowd ate it all up, overblown guitar solos, large fans so the guitarists’ hair would blow during solos. It was so cheeseball that it couldn’t be taken seriously at all.
Why in the Hell Are They Here Award: Most definitely goes to Underoath. The Florida band seemed to be more at a place at the Warped Tour or Taste of Chaos than something Slipknot was headlining. It was obvious with the semi-light crowd during the band’s set that this might have not been the right tour for them.
Biggest Scene Stealer
(Almost) Again: Disturbed demolished Stone Temple Pilots at Rock on
the Range back in May and almost took all the attention away from
Slipknot here at Mayhem. Their hour long set was a no filler blast
that proved that the Chicago band is still one of the best arena
sized rock bands out there.
Best Overall Set: It’s been far too long since we’ve seen Slipknot, and they did not disappoint. With new masks and a new album on its way, the Iowa band left off sounding stronger than before. Starting off with the out-of-control track “Surfacing,” Corey Taylor and the rest of the band delivered song after song and touched on some new tracks from the upcoming All Hope Is Gone record (out August 26th) including the current single “Psychosocial.” The new tracks fit in well with the set list and with heavier stuff from the Iowa record, as well as the more radio friendly Vol. 3 album. Glad to see the guys back, and hopefully this is the start of a lot of touring ahead for Slipknot. |
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