LIVE! | Rock Allegiance Tour 2011

by Chris A.
Staff Writer

September 14, 2011 at the Lifestyle Center Pavilion, Columbus, Ohio

This should have been called the “Great Value For The Money Tour” because for $15.00 this was a great ticket! Featuring seven bands, the Rock Allegiance Tour brought its fun and games to the Lifestyle Center Pavilion, the LC, in the capital city of Ohio, Columbus. When the gates opened at four p.m. the weather was perfect for an outdoor concert, nearly seventy degrees and a slight breeze but that would change. As for the concert, the Rock Allegiance Tour described itself as “Loud licks and cheap tix” and it certainly lived up to the bill. The artists performing included Drive A., Crossfade, Red, P.O.D., Puddle of Mudd, Papa Roach and headliner Buckcherry.

With a mixture of proven veterans like Buckcherry, Puddle of Mudd and Papa Roach the crowd wasn’t going to be left disappointed by any of the lesser known acts on the bill. However, each band on the bill offered up strong performances. Sonny Sandoval, front man of San Diego based P.O.D., energized the crowd during their set by leaping into the crowd, surfing into the fan base who enthusiastically held him aloft.

Out promoting their disc, The World In Shambles, the California four-some “Drive A.” was energetic with great songs, cool hooks and genuine talent. In the same vein is “Red” a band that is almost certainly going to go places. Visually stimulating and fronted by a vocalist who not only hits the high notes, he’s a crowd pleasing entertainer.

Needless to say, P.O.D., Puddle of Mudd and Papa Roach ripped through long well received sets from the enthusiastic Ohio audience. As the evening wore on, and as it got darker the winds increased too. By the time Buckcherry bounded onto the stage, the occasional sprinkles of rain had changed into a full scale deluge. As he strutted about, the lanky, tattooed vocalist of Buckcherry, Josh Todd squinted as he peered towards the sky at the gigantic raindrops while belting out “All Night Long.” The raindrops were so big, they looked like diamonds as they passed through the rays of bright stage spotlights. Undeterred by the weather, guitarist Stevie D. leapt from the stage onto an off-stage PA system and got soaked with the crowd while he belted out his solo. It was a cool evening and worth every penny.

The Rock Allegiance Tour rolls on, for more information about the tour visit www.rockallegiance.com you can see more of Chris A.’s photography at Chris A. Photography on Facebook.

Rock Allegiance Tour Featuring:
Buckcherry
Papa Roach
Puddle of Mudd
P.O.D.
Red
Crossfade
Drive A.

Photos appear courtesy of Chris A.

LIVE! : Papa Roach with Escape the Fate & Pop Evil

by Sara McCarthy
Staff Writer

May 25, 2011 at Watertown Fairgrounds Arena in Watertown, NY .

Papa Roach and supporting acts Pop Evil and Escape The Fate brought their “Raid The Nation” tour to Watertown, N.Y., Wednesday, May 25. Snaking out from the main entrance was a rather impressive line of fans who kept themselves entertained by drinking, cheering and playing Hacky Sack,while waiting for the doors to open.

Starting off the night, Pop Evil blasted onto stage, never slowed down and filled the arena with their gritty rock and roll attitude. Lead vocalist Leigh Kakaty was on fire and blew the crowd away as the band blasted through tracks, such as “Hero,” “100 in a 55,” “Breathe” and their current single “Last Man Standing.” The crowd was very responsive and answered the band’s energy with screams and pumping fists.

This group of guys, who hail from Michigan, is earning its stripes on the road, and if you haven’t taken the time to watch them perform, you should.

Set List:
Breathe
Daisy Chain
Bosses Daughter
100 in a 55
Last Man Standing
Hero

Hardcore rockers, Escape The Fate served as the middle of the night’s metal sandwich. Stylistically heavier than the other two groups on the bill, this group out of Las Vegas pulled even more energy from an already rowdy crowd. Vocalist Craig Mabbitt worked his way back and forth across the stage and alternated between singing and screaming deep, guttural lyrics on songs, such as “Choose Your Fate” and “Massacre.”

It was obvious he was having a great time; he even paused to offer a couple of us photographers particularly great shots. Guitarist Bryan Money was so much fun to watch during “This War is Ours (The Guillotine II)”as his fingers flew over the frets, almost blurring at certain points. Bassist Max Green delivered back up vocals/screams all the while he worked seamlessly with drummer Robert Ortiz, who pumped out the deep rhythm for which this band is known. These guys definitely know how to grab and hold your attention while they take you through their 40-minute set.

Set List:
Choose Your Fate (intro)
10 Miles Wide
Issues
Zombie Dance
Day of Wreckoning
Gorgeous Nightmare
Liars and Monsters
This War is Ours (g2)
The Aftermath (g3)

When the lights dimmed and Papa Roach took the stage, the crowd progressively got louder with cheers and screams; they were ready for whatever was thrown at them. The band blasted onstage with “Getting Away With Murder,” and the fans loved it. The loud crowd sang along with frontman Jacoby Shaddix as he ran all over the stage to make sure every person in the room actively was involved in the show. Papa Roach followed with “Burn,” which was a song that brought on even more crowd participation; the fans were more than willing to sing the chorus and go back and forth with the band. The band blasted through several of their hits, including “Kick in The Teeth,” “Lifeline” and “Hollywood Whore,” during which Shaddix gave a little jab that was directed at Britney Spears and brought roars of agreement from the crowd. At one point during the show, Shaddix left the stage and went into the crowd and up into the raised seats while singing.

The night was filled with a mix of old and new music. The crowd, at certain points, was louder than the band, and that seemed to impress Shaddix. Papa Roach closed out the night with the huge favorite, “Last Resort,” and it was a fantastic way to end the evening as the fans sang at the tops of their lungs. When Shaddix screamed, the crowd did, too, and the emotions were intense as the lyrics seemed to hit home for many in the crowd that night. It was a night during which everyone walked away with ringing ears, smiling faces and souls filled with sweet music.

Set List:
Getting Away With Murder
Burn
Between Angels and Insects
Forever
Hollywood Whore
Time is Running Out
…To Be Loved
Kick In The Teeth
Lifeline
One Track Mind
Scars
Dead Cell
Last Resort

Papa Roach / Escape the Fate Photo Gallery

Photos appear courtesy of Cyndi Jo

LIVE! : KC Rockfest Music Festival 2011

by Shawna McHenry Luehring & John Kindred
Staff Writer

Saturday, May 14th at Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, MO.

Kansas City’s Rockfest kicked of its annual metal salute with Zakk Wylde performing the “National Anthem” with an armed forces color guard to more than 50,000 crazed fans. This year’s event was welcomed by a cold front instead of an onslaught of rain. After last year’s “Mudfest” debacle, local city leaders were fired up and demanded ending the use of Penn Valley Park as the stomping grounds for Rockfest.

Thankfully for fans, AEG, the concert promoter, paid to repair the damage caused by the 2010 event. Their efforts included putting down sod on the 14 acres of damage caused by the rain and the festival goers, who trampled down grass, which created a muddy mess and troublesome trash clean up. AEG and 98.9 the Rock have put in place safeguards to keep the event as clean and safe as possible, including additional trash cans, better placement of port-o-potties, additional security and added fencing.

As always, Rockfest is hyped as the Nation’s Largest Single-Day Music Festival and a concert event with reasonably priced food and beverages. Although this year’s crowd was not a sellout, there were plenty of fans on hand for the festivities.

This year’s lineup featured two band stages. Monster Energy sponsored the main stage, which featured headliners Disturbed, Stone Sour, Papa Roach, Alter Bridge, Sevendust, Hinder and Halestorm. The second stage was sponsored by Jose Cuervo and featured Black Label Society, All That Remains, 10 Years, Redline Chemistry, Crossfade, Art of Dying, New Medicine and Evalyn Awake.

The crowd seemed to relish in its patriotic side this year as Americans flags were visible throughout the crowd. Mardi gras beads where tossed out to those willing to show their “wares” to onlookers. Besides the music, Rock radio personality, “Moose,” officiated a wedding ceremony of about 20 couples or more. Turning back to the stages, the crowd was entertained by pornstar Ron Jeremy aka “The Hedgehog,” and Moonlight Bunny Ranch owner Dennis Hof, and his lovely sidekick, Bunny Love, made an appearance.

With the exception of 15 minutes of warm, bright sunshine for Papa Roach’s performance of “Burn” (pretty ironic), fans spent the cold, gray and windy day enjoying the metal mayhem.

Monster Energy Drink Main Stage:
Halestorm 1:30pm
Hinder 2:40pm
Sevendust 3:55pm
Alter Bridge 5:10pm
Papa Roach 6:30pm
Stone Sour 8:00pm
Disturbed 9:40pm

Jose Cuervo Drink Main Stage:
Evalyn Awake 12:00pm
New Medicine 1:00pm
Art of Dying 2:10pm
Crossfade 3:25pm
Redline Chemistry 4:40pm
10 Years 6:00pm
All That Remains 7:30
Black Label Society 9:00pm

KC Rockfest Music Festival 2011 Photo Gallery

Photos appear courtesy of Shawna McHenry Luehring

Rock On The Range 2010 LIVE!

May 22 & 23, 2010 at Crew Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

by Chris A. & Deb Rao
Staff Writer

[author: Chris A.] It’s the fourth time Columbus has hosted the “Rock on the Range” festival and by the size of the audience you’d never know there was any kind of economic crisis. With approximately 50,000 people attending each day, “Rock on the Range” is proving to be “the” show of the year in the upper Midwest of the United States. Three stages, 30-plus bands, dozens of vendors and lots of creative merchandise for sale, it’s a big party and a very good time. As with past years, there were three stages; the Monster Stage was the main stage inside the Columbus Crew Stadium while the Kicker Stage was located on the north side of the stadium and the smaller Jaegermeister Stage was positioned on the south. “Rock on the Range” has always been a great place for upstart “baby bands” to get some exposure plus they don’t seem to shy away from including diverse acts on the bill. In the case of Rock on the Range, a show known primarily as a “metal festival” it was interesting that the show would be opened and closed by rap oriented acts. Headliners for Saturday on the Monster Stage were, “Rise Against”, “Three Days Grace” and “Godsmack”. On Sunday the main bands were, “Seether”, “Rob Zombie” with “Limb Bizkit” closing the festival.

Despite a damp start to Saturday, gray clouds and occasional sprinkles didn’t appear to hold the crowd back as the yellow benches in Crew Stadium started to disappear as fans arrived to the show. At noon, the show started with Windsor, Ontario Detroit Tigers fan, “Richy Nix,” a tall thin white-guy from Ontario, rapping to metal. Twenty minutes later on the main stage, “Sevendust” exploded into their set, erasing any memories of cockeyed baseball caps and robotic hand gestures, with in-your-face metal intensity. Nearly 11 hours later the sound of electric guitars and the gritty metal of “Godsmack” faded as day-one came to an end.

Sunday was a glorious day, blue skies, beautiful hot sun and no indication of rain. At noon, “Shaman’s Harvest” a great young band, opened the show on the Kicker stage. Over the course of the next 11 hours Apocalyptica performed its brand of “metal”. Australian metal band “Airbourne” made a lot of friends and demonstrated why we all love blues-based rock ‘n’ roll! At nearly 10 pm, Fred Durst and the now out-of-seclusion “Limb Bizkit” capped off an incredible two-days of great music.

With three stages and almost invariably two running at one time, it was impossible for anyone to see all the bands. As seems to be the case with Columbus rock ‘n’ roll crowds, the fans were very mellow at Rock on the Range. It was a big party with lots of beer and thousands of friends. Sitting back and observing, It was amazing to watch the incredibly orderly procession of thousands of people snaking along the paths to get from stage to stage. Venue security, the Columbus Police Department (who were there in numbers) were extremely fan-friendly and were clearly there to keep an eye on things and to snatch up the occasional drunk-moron who got a bit too out of hand.

Each performance day started at 12 noon and for the most part the show stayed on time and ran smoothly. “Rock on the Range” 2010 was a very successful event with great bands and thousands of happy fans. Keep any eye here for interview articles from John 5, Airbourne and others from the weekends show. For more information on “Rock on the Range” visit www.rockontherange.com You can also see my photos of “Rock on the Range” by visiting www.chrisa.us

Rock on the Range Photo Gallery

Photos appear courtesy of Chris A. and Deb Rao

[author: Deb Rao] As thousands of rock fans descended to Columbus, Ohio at Crew Stadium, one thing was for certain the sporting venue was turned into a rock and roll extravaganza for one of the most anticipated events of the summer Rock On The Range 2010. The event promised to feature one of the most solid line-ups to date. This year Rock On The Range was hosted by Mistress Juliya and broadcast live by Nikki Sixx and his new hit radio show Sixx Sense.

Tattoos, body jewelry and rock clothing venders filled the area to the hilt. The crowd featured a young audience and some older fans of the older bands. One of the most exciting aspects of this year’s line-up on May 22 headlined by Boston’s Godsmack with the diversity to the line-up. ROTR featured the best in punk, alternative, hip-hop and hard rock cutting edge bands making an impact in music today. The festival featured three stages of music included the Jager Stage. Kicker Stage, and Monster Stage. I found myself mostly stationed at the Kicker Stage but after the days shooting of that stage was over, I managed to catch full sets of Rise Against, Three Days Grace, and Godsmack. More on the main acts later.

My journey began early in the morning from Boston, as my flight landed in Columbus, Ohio a tad late due to flight delays. But no worries a full day of music was ahead of me. One of the first acts I had the pleasure of seeing was Eleven Seven Music recording artists Drowning Pool on the Monster Stage. This band is one of the hardest working bands in music today. Singer Ryan McCombs has picked up the pieces and breathed new life into the band. As the sun tried to break through the ominous clouds, Drowning Pool heated up the stage with a set that included these songs,”Enemy,” “Sinner”,”37 Stitches,” Feel Like I Do”,”Regret”,”Tear Away”, and “Bodies.”

Next up on the Monster Stage was Puddle of Mudd who is in the midst of a successful headlining tour. Puddle Of Mudd is best when performing at festivals like this. Lead frontman Wes Scantlin always manages to get the crowd rolling and today’s performance was no exception. The band opened with the ferocious “Control”, as Wes took full control of the moment and the mosh pits began. Slammin’ into new song “Spaceship’ let the party begin as Wes yelled,”What’s up Motherf***ers?” Highlight of the set with fists in the air included the AC/DC cover “TNT.”

I proceeded to make my way to the Kicker Stage to catch one of the most exciting and promising acts of the day Halestorm. Mistress Juliya introduced the band as Lzzy Hale dressed in a black and red dress and hit the stage with a set that was clearly mesmerizing. Halestorm opened their set with “It’s Not You.” The ’80s had Heart and Pat Benetar as the reigning rock queens. Well, this is the Millennium and Lzzy Hale most definitely deserves the title as best new female of the decade. Lzzy can rock with the best of them and Halestorm clearly won the title for best act on the Kicker Stage at ROTR 2010.

It was great to see all the female musicians performing here today. Next up another great band that gave an outstanding performance was Christian rock band Skillet. Fronted by John Cooper, his wife Korey Cooper on guitar was also spellbinding. Jen Ledger was featured on drums. The band also featured a cello and violin, which added a nice flavor to the hard rock sound. Highlights of the set were the songs “Hero”, and “Monster.”

The Kicker Stage featured some of the best acts all day. Next up Killswitch Engage made Massachusetts proud. It was exhilarating to see all the talent from the Mass area here today. Highlight of the Killswitch Engage set was when singer Howard Jones dedicated the song “Holy Diver” to the legendary Dio. Metal horns in the air. May you rest in peace.

Throughout the day many of the bands held meet and greets including Adelita’s Way and Puddle Of Mudd. It was great to see the inter-action between fans and bands. This festival is all about the music. The rock stars left their attitudes at the door and chatted with the fans and showed their appreciation.

The event was blessed by the weather this year as the sun finally broke through the crowds with temperatures in the 80′s. Finally, the Kicker Stage music was over and now it was time to enjoy the Monster Stage. The floor began to fill up to capacity for The Deftones. I spoke with many fans who were eager to see the band. The Deftones took full advantage of the set premiering many new songs from their latest release Diamond Eyes. They are definitely one of the best punk rock bands around; true pioneers.

One of the most promising acts on the Monster Stage was Rise Against. I never heard of them before and really enjoy their high-energy set. The award for most promising act on the Monster Stage would have to go to Three Days Grace. This is a band that you associate all their hits on the radio when you hear them they play live and you go “I know that song.” This was my first time seeing this Canadian band perform live and I have to say I was very impressed by Adam Gontier vocals. Sporting a black hat, Adam and company delivered a set that was powerful and poignant. Adam is the master of love gone wrong songs. I highly enjoyed the “I Hate Everything About You.”

Boston’s Godsmack was the headliner on the Monster Stage and did Boston Proud. Sully Erna took full control of the Mid-western crowd and showed them how we rock in Boston. Their set list included

Godsmack Set List:
Awake
Straight Out of Line
Re-Align
War and Peace
The Enemy
Bad Religion
The Oracle
Cryin’ Like a Bitch
Keep Away
Speak
Voodoo
Batalla de los Tambores

Spotted in the audience, was Jackass star Jason Acuna. Actually, he was sitting in back of me with a beret of beauties on his lap. The announcer of the show commented that this years show broke all attendance records. Rock On The Range 2010 proved to be a haven for rock fans to unite and enjoy some of the best cutting edge bands in music today. It was a time to make new friends, spend time with old friends, and celebrate the exciting new wave of music today.

Special Thanks to the great staff of MSO for letting Hardrock Haven cover Rock On The Range 2010. Be sure to check out Rock On The Range interviews with Puddle Of Mudd, Sevendust, Richy Nix, and coming soon Adelita’s Way and Apocalyptica.

Rock On The Range May 22 Line-up:

Monster Stage:
Sevendust 12:25
Drowning Pool 1:40
Puddle of Mudd 2:55
Papa Roach 4:15
Deftones 5:35
Rise Against 7:05
Three Days Grace 8:51
Godsmack 9:45

Kicker Stage:
Richy Nix 12:00
Violent Soho 1:05
Adelita’s Way 2:20
Halestorm 3:40
Skillet 5:00
Killswitch Engage 6:20

Jager Stage:
Like A Storm 12:00
Taddy Porter 1:05
Janus 2:20
Non Point 3:40
Helmet 5:00

Kansas City Rockfest 2010 LIVE!

May 15, 2010 at Liberty Memorial, Kansas City, MO.

by John Kindred & Shawna McHenry
Staff Writer

Rockfest always is advertised as a festival that keeps the average fan from shelling out wads of money. The organizers, radio station 98.9 The Rock and AEG Live, provide a days’ worth of entertainment with fairly low-cost ticket prices, food and drink prices capped at a maximum of $5 per item and readily available free water.

This year, thunder and rain marked the festival most of the day. Fans made the best of it, enjoying the music despite the lack of sun. This certainly was the one of the coldest and wettest Rockfests to date. Concertgoers have billed the day as “Mudfest 2010” on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. Some imaginative fans created a mudslide, and concertgoers who took the journey down the water-soaked hill encased themselves in mud.

Two stages provided the day’s musical entertainment. Fifteen bands followed a predefined rotation that kept the music rumbling throughout the afternoon and well into the evening, which was topped off by fireworks. With this year’s headliner being Godsmack, fans truly were able to embrace some of the day’s popular hard rock and metal bands.

The second stage, sponsored by Monster Energy Drink, was given more attention to make it bigger and better than previous years. The raising of the stage by several additional feet provided crowds a better viewing of the bands. Apparently, this sparked the second stage bands to take their live performances to the next level. The highlight of the day included Airbourne’s front man, Joel O’Keefffe, climbing 20 feet up the stage scaffolding for an old-school guitar solo. Their energy and classic hard rock sound got fans out of the dreary day’s slump and back into a rock festival mood.

The spirited festival event continues to bring an economic boost to the Kansas City area, if only just for a day. The festival also caters to a younger crowd, which maybe wouldn’t have had the income to drop on a more expensive event. However, long lines for frequent food and beverage runs continued to empty wallets. And hanging out with a bone-crushing crowd of 55,000 definitely leads to claustrophobia. In the end, promoters and fans find Rockfest a win/win event.

Main Stage Monster Energy Stage
1:30 – Halestorm
2:40 – Rev Theory
3:50 – Drowning Pool
5:00 – Papa Roach
6:30 – Seether
8:00 – Three Days Grace
9:30 – Godsmack

Monster Energy Stage
12:00 – Taddy Porter
1:00 – Shaman’s Harvest
2:10 – Adelitas Way
3:20 – Burn Halo
4:30 – The Veer Union
6:00 – Janus
7:30 – Airbourne
9:00 – Five Finger Death Punch

Kansas City Rockfest Photo Gallery

Photos appear courtesy of Shawna McHenry and Mitchell Luehring

Papa Roach Metamorphosis

by Nick Giannandrea
Staff Writer

The fifth studio album by Vacaville, Calif.-bred rockers Papa Roach couldn’t be more appropriately titled. Metamorphosis, a 12-track, 46-minute, DGC/Interscope Records, Inc. CD released March 24, showcases the quartet’s continued evolution from rap rockers to hard rock heavyweights. And make no mistake; Metamorphosis is heavy and very good.

Principal songwriters Tobin Esperance (b) and Jerry Horton (g) have created a collection of tunes that inspire nonstop head banging and devil-horn-raised fist-pumping. Singer Jacoby Shaddix, with some assistance from Sixx A.M. vocalist/emerging producer James Michael, has crafted lyrics and melodies that are quite infectious and demand to be sung along to. And new drummer Tony Palermo powers the recording with foot-tapping frenzy.

Metamorphosis recreates what Papa Roach does so well in a live setting; make you get on your feet, jump around and rock. And no individual song on this recording does it better than “Lifeline,” the second No. 1 single of the band’s 10-year major label career.

“Lifeline” is the antithesis of Papa Roach’s only previous No. 1 single, “Last Resort” off its major label debut Infest in 1999. While “Last Resort” was desperate youth angst at its absolute edge, “Lifeline” sees Shaddix make it to the other end of the spectrum in an introspective song that speaks of overcoming your own missteps to find your way in life. Shaddix’s impassioned vocal delivery, especially on the super-catchy chorus, drive this song and put it on par with the best Papa Roach have recorded to date.

But “Lifeline” is far from the only highlight. “Hollywood Whore,” Shaddix’s ode to socialites such as Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears according to his on-stage rants, is just as catchy as “Lifeline,” and perhaps more intense. It’s another tune that’s almost impossible not to sing along with and already has become a crowd favorite during the band’s live shows.

Metamorphosis opens with a instrumental interlude called “Days of War,” which bleeds into the album’s first full-out track “Change or Die,” a manic 3-minute, 19-second burst of energy that explodes from the speakers and sets the tone for what’s to come. After “Hollywood Whore,” “I Almost Told You That I Loved You” follows as a modern slice of rock that is reminiscent of the finest 1980s sleaze, when bands such as Motley Crue sang unapologetic of their bedroom conquests.

Another highlight of this album is “Had Enough,” a moody rocker that follows “Lifeline” and is a complete about-face from the first five tracks. Esperance and Palermo really shine on this track, providing a killer, slow groove that’s easy to latch onto. A pair of mid-tempo rockers follow with “Live This Down” and “March Out of the Darkness,” the latter of which starts out with an acoustic guitar intro that builds into to the song’s electrified chorus.

The pace picks up considerably with “Into the Light,” one of the disc’s heaviest tracks before giving way to Metamorphosis’ one true ballad, “Carry Me.” But unlike late ’80s power ballads, this song has teeth. There’s no sap in this thoughtful plea for the help of another. The CD closes with “Nights of Love” and “State of Emergency,” both songs that encourage the putting away of the lighters (or cell phones nowadays) and thrusting the fists back in the air to celebrate the energy and passion of rock.

With Metamorphosis, Papa Roach have crafted an album that stands triumphantly against anything released in the past 10 years.

Label: DGC/Interscope

Lineup:
Jacoby Shaddix: Vocals
Tobin Esperance: Bass
Jerry Horton: Guitar
Tony Palermo: Drums

Track listing:
Dogs of War
Change or Die
Hollywood Whore
I Almost Told You That I Loved You
Lifeline
Had Enough
Live This Down
March Out of the Darkness
Into the Light
Carry Me
Nights of Love
State of Emergency

Online:
www.paparoach.com
www.proachriot.com
www.myspace/paparoach.com

HRH rating: 8.5/10

Buckcherry Live!

March 12, 2009 at The Palladium in Worcester, MA

by Deb Rao
Staff Writer

The quiet milltown of Worcester is fast becoming the proud haven of metal as the Worcester Palladium welcomed the return of Buckcherry and Papa Roach with special guest Nikki Sixx’s first signing band at Eleven Seven Music Charm City Devils and Rev Theory. Hot off the heels of the their recent Crue Fest Appearance. It is exciting to see that a lot of the acts that use to visit Landsdowne Street in Boston are returning to the Worcester area.

Kicking the evening off at 8 P.M. with a riveting set of inspired old school guitar driving riffs, The Charm City Devils delivered proving they were here to rock amongst the veteran acts here tonight. The band performed songs from their upcoming debut release on Eleven Seven Music slated for a May 24 release entitled, Let’s Rock – N – Roll including “Burn Baby Burn” and “True Love Hell Yeah”. CCD have a sound that is reminiscent of early Aerosmith and Motley Crue.

I had the opportunity to talk with singer John Allen and he told me,”I sent a demo to Eleven Seven Music. It has been great working with Nikki Sixx. He knows so much about the music business. I am orginally a drummer from a punk band from Baltimore, MD. This is just a dream come true, and success is all new to me.”

Next up Rev Theory hit the stage at 9 P.M. This band has a sound that reminds me a lot of Papa Roach. Although, their new guitarist was pretty impressive, they didn’t seem to break any new ground with their material.

At 10 P.M., the young audience tonight could not get enough of PAPA ROACH. As the venue fast turned into one giant mosh pit, PAPA Roach launched into “To Be Loved.” This was my fourth time seeing Papa Roach over the past year or so, and tonight’s performance was one of my favorites.

Singer Jacoby Shaddix was pumped up for the performance and fed off the young audiences enthusiastic response. Highlights of the set included their hits “Forever” and Scars”.

The band also peformed new material from their upcoming release, “Metamorphosis” including the new song “Hollywood Whore” that singer Jacoby Shaddix dedicated to the Paris Hilton’s and Britney Spears of the world. This song has an eerie haunting appeal, and a little bit different vibe than the usual Papa Roach upbeat song. Papa Roach did a good job of warming up the crowd for the in your face party set of Buckcherry.

Set List:
The Between Angels And Insects
…To Be Loved
Getting Away With Murder
Lifeline
Forever
Hollywood Whore
Scars
Broken Home
Last Resort

Ridin high on the release of Black Butterfly, the band that has to be hailed as the party band of the year geared the night into full gear as the very tattooed and energetic Josh Todd hit the stage in full throttle. Kicking off the set with “Tired Of You”, Buckcherry’s set spanned their extensive carreer including their first mega hit “Lit Up”.

Although a lot of Buckcherry’s music has to with the sex, and drugs of rock and roll, the new album really showcases the writing strength of the band. Highlights of the new material included “Rescue Me,” and their ballad,”Don’t Walk Away.”

Guitarist Keith Nelson has a great bluesy vibe to his guitar playing kind of reminiscent of early Jimmy Page. Sporting a red bandana, shirt and red guitar with the lucky 7 logo on it, Nelson enticed the crowd with his catchy guitar driving riffs.

When I asked Keith about the pressure of writing Black Butterfly, and the band constantly touring Keith told me, “Not really pressure. I think the only pressure was to not make the same record over and over again. I think we achieved that goal. More than about half of the records that were sold on that record were actually sold after we got off the road and we were writing and when ‘Sorry’ actually became a radio hit. We were almost at about a million records and then we sold another four or five hundred thousand when we were home writing, which was really cool. We put more pressure on ourselves than more anybody from the outside could put on us. We want to make great records. We wanted to be proud of everything we put out there. Anything worth doing is making sure it is a quality effort. Touring definitely made the band stronger both as musicians playing together and the personalities involved. It’s a great group of guys. The commodity is awesome. It is everything that Josh and I thought that Buckcherry should be but never quite got to on the first go around. The fact that we can go out and play 300 shows over two years just speaks to the character of all the guys involved.” Read full interview at Hardrock Haven.

In 2006, “Crazy Bitch”, fast became a rock and roll anthem to metal fans. The new party anthem of the evening was their latest hit,”Too Drunk Too F*** featuring Josh Todd strutting around the stage like a drag queen. If you have ever been to a Buckcherry concert, you are well aware of the non-stop energy that Josh Todd inflicts on his fans. Tonight was no exception, as Buckcherry cranked out hit after hit of their radio friendly repertoire. Only slowing down for their mega ballad,”Sorry.”

As their enthusiastic 60-minute set was just about ready to end, Josh Todd dedicated “Crazy Bitch” to the young female audience dancing in the aisles.

Set List:
Tired of You
Next To You
Lit Up
Still Alive
Talk To Me
Rescue Me
Don’t Go Away
Too Drunk
Next 2 You
Everything
Sorry
Crazy Bitch

Photos provided by Deb Rao