Rocklahoma: Live on HDNet

Rocklahoma 2012

On Sunday, 27th of May, the music festival Rocklahoma had its final day.  Luckily for the people not in Oklahoma this weekend, Mark Cuban's HDNet decided to air the last day of the festival live for people to see.  Rocklahoma is a hard rock festival held in Pryor, Oklahoma.  It’s a hard rock festival with a southern tinge to it.  Obviously the bands playing it are mostly in that style although there are some that leave that mold a little bit.  From the heavier stuff to the more progressive and alternative.  This is a review of the last day of the festival which was aired on HDNet.  Out of the four stages, we got two, which is pretty damn good.  Most of these band I have never seen or heard live, so this will be a good experience.

Rains

 (Hard Rock Stage)

The first thing that really jumped out at me was that the vocalist didn’t sound so good.  HDNet had some problems trying to fix the sound and have it fit well for the TV crowd so that might have had something to do with their sound.  Sometimes the musicians were nice and clear but you could’t hear the vocalist and other times it was the complete opposite.  It took them a little while to fix it, but later on, they did.  I had never heard this band before but what I heard wasn’t that impressive.  Either way, this was never really my style of music, so I understand why I wasn't that into it.  It was not bad, just not my cup of tea.

Black Stone Cherry

(Main Stage)

 

The band showed a lot of energy even though the place was still pretty empty.  It was obvious to me the difference between BSC and the previous band in the way they sell themselves at the same time they sell their music.  They were able to fix the sound issues about half way through their set and it sounded pretty good.  I’ve been a fan of their music since they released their self titled album back in 2006.  Its southern hard rock at its best.  Interestingly enough, their next to last song was a cover of Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab”.  It wasn’t a bad one, just sort of lacked feeling.  They closed their set with one of my favorites from their self titled album, “Lonely Train”.

Charm City Devils

(Hard Rock Stage)

This is another band that I had never heard before this live show.  Good energy and the music was okay.  His banter is pretty lame.  I love it when people who have probable never lived outside of the United States proclaim it the best country in the world (if the singer of this band has lived outside of the US for some time, I retract my statement towards him and keep it for everyone else.  I wish they would play so he will shut up.  I actually liked their style.  Give them a listen.  It's hard rock with some obvious southern roots.  Their version of the traditional folk classic "Man of Constant Sorrow" isn't bad at all.

Puddle of Mudd

(Main Stage)

They had some entertaining songs back in the day, but nothing that really spoke to me.  Truthfully, I haven't heard any of their stuff since their Come Clean album.  I sort of realized why that was while listening to their set live.  I really don’t like Wes Scantlin’s voice.  It sort of takes me out of the songs.  Come to think of it, I don’t think its that I dislike his voice… he can’t sing worth a damn live.  Really bad.  I don't know, I was just so disappointed in this whole performance.  It was definitely one of the downers of the night.  The music was alright, but considering who the headliners are, okay is worse than mediocre.

Aranda

(Hard Rock Stage)

Aranda are a band from Oklahoma City and their music is as safe as that picture of two of them.  Their biggest claim to fame is that Kelly Clarkson covered one of their songs.  Hey, whatever gets them fans is fine by me.  This was a little too Nickleback-y for me, but they were okay.  Nothing special.

Jackyl

(Main Stage)

This is one of the sets I was looking forward to the most.  I had never heard their music, but Eddie Trunk (who was hosting the event) mentioned something interesting about them.  These guys are just plain fun to listen to and watch.  Vocalist Jesse James Dupree knows how to work a crowd and both guitar and bass players are pretty damned good.  Their music is southern metal to its oomph degree.  With songs like "My Moonshine Kicks Your Cocain's Ass" and "She Loves My Cock", they will have no problems with people questioning their credibility to play is a festival like Rocklahoma.  Now, don't get me wrong.  Dupree is not the next coming of Freddie Mercury, but his voice fits perfectly to their party heavy style.  It’s gonna be hard to top their set.  Dupree played the “Star Spangled Banner” with his mouth on guitar.  And finally, the bastard played a song with a freaking chainsaw.  A chainsaw.  And then he burned the stool he was chainsawing… fuckin' awesome.  They have just gained a fan.

Art of Dying

(Hard Rock Stage)

Another band I had never heard.  It's too sad for them that they had to follow up the amazing show that Jackyl put.  It sounded like every other generic band out there.  Which is never good.  At least if people hate you, they will talk about you.  These guys are just... meh.

Queensrÿche

(Main Stage)

I’m a big fan of Queensrÿche.  Maybe not their newest stuff so much, but the band have been making amazing music for a while and it's a little weird to see them along with all these hard southern rock acts.  Either way, I was definitely looking forward to this set.  Geoff Tate is definitely one of the best vocalists in hard rock music.  I would probably put his up there in the pantheon of Rob Halford, Bruce Dickinson and Ronnie James Dio.  Just listen to a song like "Queen of the Reich" and tell me differently.  Tate and the band decided to move away from the heavy metal scene and more into prog metal music (which is why I think they are so underrated in most circles).  Still, there is something about the band that is really special.  They played a good mixture of old and new stuff for this set, which left me satisfied.

Hellyeah

(Hard Rock Stage)

This is an interesting group.  Vocalist Chad Gray (Mudvayne), guitarists Tom Maxwell (Nothingface) and Greg Tribbett (Mudvayne), basis Bob Zilla (Damageplan) and drummer Vinnie Paul (Pantera, Damageplan) are the members that comprise the southern groove metal band.  They fit perfectly in this festival.  Their aggressive style was definitely a contrast to the more low-key southern hard rock bands that played before, but these guys really brought the pain and the energy.  It's great to see Vinnie Paul back behind the drumset.  These guys are heavy and I much prefer Gray here than in Mudvayne.

Chickenfoot

(Main Stage)

If you haven't heard of Chickenfoot, then go to YouTube or wherever and listen to this wonderful super group (if you will).  The team of Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony (ex-Van Halen) on vocals and bass respectively, Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers) on drums and guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani.  The great thing about this group is that when you listen to them live (this being the second show on HDNet were they have played live), you can see how much fun they are having up there.  Sure, Hagar can no longer be the spark plug that he was before, he can still hold a crowd interested.  Also, it is also worth noting that one of my biggest fears for this group was Joe Satch and the fact that he didn't come from a band background (unlike the others) and I thought it would be a little difficult for them to mix well.  They did a good job mixing tracks from both albums and playing the classic Montrose track "Rock Candy" as the closer to the show and the festival.

Overall, I would say this was a pretty damned good show with the highlights being Jackyl, Queensryche, Hellyeah and Chickenfoot.

I will definitely be looking at more Live Concerts from HDNet as this was definitely a winner even though it was 8 hours long.