Rock N America Festival
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
July 22-25, 2010
Tony Pijar
Now that Rocklahoma has veered off of its hair metal path in favor of a more alternative music gathering, the former organizers packed up shop and moved the festival a couple hours west to Oklahoma City, changed its name, and put together a fairly exemplary line-up. The festival site is located in a metropolitan area, certainly more so than the previous one which was way out in the sticks and it is a more fan-friendly venue. Even the typically unpredictable weather was in check. So, here we have three days, 30 bands, and four headliners: Twisted Sister, Ratt, Cinderella, and the band that attracted the most attention – the Scorpions.
Day One…
Toxin
Promoting their soon to be released debut, “Skindependence”, Toxin hail from New York and are a good glam band with an edge to them, kind of like early Motley Crue with a contemporary twist. I believe they only have a single out at this time with more to follow. “Nasty, but I Like it” rocks and the ballady “Best Damn Days” is the perfect summer song. I can’t wait to hear more from these guys. So, how’d a band with no full length album and out get on the bill? Their manager oversees Twisted Sister’s affairs too!
Powerpoints 7 out of 10
Lizzy Borden
Lizzy Borden was the first band to commandeer the main stage and they were quite good, especially from a visual perspective. Vocalist and band leader Lizzy had an array of ghoulish masks, go-go dancers dressed as angels, one of whom he took an axe to, and he even French kissed a skull; perhaps unimaginative, but fun nonetheless. They played good set including “Under your Skin”, “Voyeur”, “Tomorrow Never Comes”, “There will be Blood Tonight” and “Me against the World.” Obviously, their live show would have worked a lot better at night rather than in the heat of the day.
Powerpoints 7 out of 10
Axe
The Axe of today is a far cry from the Axe of the late 70s and early 80s. Back in the day they were a bonafide southern rock act with Bobby Barth at the helm. With Barth a mainstay in Blackfoot, Axe is now a very polished almost AOR act (actually they’ve been so for some time). Of course, the old pros that they are, they had a good stage presence and mixed rockers and melodic tunes nicely. Minor hits, “Heat in the Street” and “Rock and Roll Party in the Streets”, were aired to enthusiastic applause. They were and have always been hit and miss with me.
Powerpoints 6 out of 10
The Sweet
While I never got a chance to see the original line-up, this version of Sweet is fine by me. The band that influenced many others, including a few on tap at the festival, played a set list comprised of their hits and went down in a storm. Sweet’s music has transcended decades and is apparently still relevant; and the reaction of the crowd confirms my belief. The band, led by original bassist Steve Priest, belted out hit after hit to the delight of those in attendance. “Little Willy”, AC/DC”, “Love is like Oxygen”, “Set me Free”, “Sweet F.A.”, “Fox on the Run”, and Ballroom Blitz” all went by in a flash and solidified Sweet as the surprise act of the weekend. The festival organizers should take notice of this fact as well. Perhaps they need to intersperse classic rock acts with hair metal bands. Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, Cheap Trick, Styx, Foreigner, etc. would fit like a glove at Rock N America!
Powerpoints 9 out of 10
Bulletboys
For my money, the Bulletboys were the real deal. Actually, I was surprised at how much they kicked ass! The showmanship and intensity was off the charts. Marq Torien is a consummate front man and an exceptional guitarist as well. The band fired out of the gates with AC/DC’s “Riff Raff.” In addition, they tore up the old blues standard “Talk to your Daughter.” “THC Groove”, too, was good to hear live. Because of time constraints, the band was unable to play their mega-hit “Smooth up in Ya”; poor planning on their part because the crowd was ready to lap it up. I don’t believe anything was aired off of their last album, “10c Billionaire”, which is a shame because it is a fine return to form. Definitely one of the most exciting and entertaining bands on offer here.
Powerpoints 10 out of 10
Faster Pussycat
The other band that was superior was Taime Downe’s Faster Pussycat. They, along with the Bulletboys, surpassed most of the bands at the festival, many of whom performed on the main stage. They have some the most accessibly hummable songs with the likes of “House of Pain”, “Cathouse”, and “Bathroom Wall” which careened about the festival. The set opener, “The Power and the Glory Hole” will be a glam classic in a short period of time. Taime is a great front man that epitomizes glam. Why Faster Pussycat never made it as big as G ‘N’ R remains a mystery to me. They’ve always had the attitude and songs to match; such is life.
A funny anecdote - Given that this is the ‘Bible Belt’, there was a ‘no profanity law’ in place, but apparently no one told Jaime and his band. As they played “Shut up and F**k”, the ears of the powers that be perked up; it was rumored that the band was allegedly charged $5,000 for their error in judgment! Such is rock ‘N’ roll.
Powerpoints 10 and 10
Trixter
The last time I saw Trixter was two years ago at Rocklahoma when the skies opened up and tornado warnings ensued. This time around, the weather was more than appropriate. The band, as always, delivered a flawless set of friendly pop metal. “On the Road Again”, One in a Million”, and “Bad Girl” sounded bouncy, but with a bit of an edge. Guitarist Steve Brown is a wonderful talent and an exceptional performer. For sure, not my kind of music, but the crowd took to the band and they left the stage to a rousing applause.
Powerpoints 7 out of 10
Great White
Not the most exciting band from a visual perspective, but musically Great White is always superb. Jack Russell and Mark Kendall remain from the original, but it was multi-instrumentalist Michael Lardie who anchored and kept the band together. And it was Jack who summed up with festival with the following quote: “If you missed the 80s, you missed out.” Maybe so, but the festival was all about reliving those colorfully precarious days. And unfortunately for Jack, he still is feeling the effects of a serious back injury that happened over a year ago; understandably, not much movement, but still in great voice. “Can’t Shake it” would have made The Angels proud; it was raucous to say the least. “Down on your Knees” from the band’s glorious mini-album from 1983 still sounded heavy as hell, and “House of Broken Love” remains the ultimate power ballad. “Rock Me” still hangs on that simple yet effective bass line and next to “Once Bitten Twice Shy” was the crowd’s favorite. My favorite was the seldom played “Rollin’ Stone’; too bad the majority of crowd were not familiar with it. Great White’s still stands on its own, both in the studio and in the live setting.
Powerpoints 8 out of 10
Twisted Sister
Perennial worldwide festival headliners, Twisted Sister were…dependable! Because they’re from my backyard, I’ll never have a bad thing to say about them, but they delivered what I’d call a safe performance for two reasons: no profanity from the incomparable Mr. Snider; a set list that was close to the vest – meaning we didn’t get the ultra-heavy songs like “Under the Blade”, “Destroyer”, and “What you don’t know.” We got, instead, the radio friendly hits “We’re not gonna Take it”, “I wanna Rock”, and “The Price.” “Shoot em’ Down” and “You can’t Stop Rock N Roll” sounded great with Dee in particularly fine form. His between song raps were, again, very safe, but still comical. He even plugged his new reality show. I was a bit upset, as were many others in attendance, that the guys didn’t wear their costumes. Rather, it was all denim and leather. The band closed with “SMF” and a fitting tribute to Ronnie James Dio in the form of a moving “Long Live Rock N Roll.” As good as the band remains, they’ve become, dare I say it, conventional. You should have seen them in their maniacal club days during their formative years – absolutely no comparison to what they’ve become!
Powerpoints 7 out of 10
Day Two…
Motochrist
Motochrist is a band that I’ve not heard of, but they’re not bad at all. They sound like a glammed up Motorhead (if such a thing is possible). Vocalist/Bassist Danny Nordahl told us an interesting story on how the band got its unusual name. While driving through Texas with Rev. Horton Heat, Heat was talking about Motorcross, and a drunken Danny half heard him and said, ‘What’s Motochrist’? Heat responded, ‘Hey, that would be a great name for a band!’ I guess you had to be there! Anyhow, the band played a tight, energetic set that included songs off of their new album “Corvette Summer.” With the proper backing, this band could get to the next level.
Powerpoints 7 out of 10
Steelheart
Steelheart is another band from my backyard and originally played under the moniker of Red Alert before Miljenko Matijevic formed Steelheart. Some thirty years later Mili’s still at it as he brought Steelheart back for what was apparently a one-off visit to the US. If you’re expecting that sappy hair metal band from the late 80s, forget it. Their latest album, “Good 2B Alive” is aggressive, ominous metal, and that’s the band we got at Rock N America. “Stand up and Shout” and “We all Die Young”, from the movie “Rock Star” (which incidentally had Mili singing all of Mark Wahlberg’s vocals throughout) sounded great live. Mili’s voice was in very strong form. The new songs off of the aforesaid “Good 2B Alive” went down well enough too, especially “Laughing out Loud.” It’s too bad that Steelheart isn’t on the road headlining clubs and theatres…maybe someday.
Powrpoints 7 out of 10
John Corabi
Most may remember John Corabi as a member of Motley Crue for a brief moment. Or some may know him through his highly underrated band Union, which featured Bruce Kulick, now with Grand Funk. You may even remember him with The Scream from the early 90s. He touched on his days with Union and even threw in “Hooligan’s Holiday” and “Uncle Jack” from the Crue. Corabi, like Torien and Downes, is an accomplished and entertaining performer, and like the Bulletboys and Faster Pussycat, Corabi should have been given more time to perform.
Powerpoints 8 out of 10
Firehouse
If you like your hard rock saccharin sweet, then this is the band for you. Firehouse was yet another band that was formed on the back-end of the 80s hoping to follow in the path of many others who struck gold with the major labels who would sign anyone with poofed long hair and tattered jeans. Actually, I’m being too hard on these guys because they did start on very promisingly note amassing a couple hits before grunge blew the music world apart. Those hits, “All she Wrote” and “Treat me Bad”, were aired at Rock N America and were lapped up by the masses. Like Trixter, a band of the same ilk, Firehouse was created to perform at these types of festivals. I don’t see the attraction though.
Powerpoints 5 out of 10
Michael Schenker Group
I didn’t have a chance to catch Pretty Boy Floyd, but heard they presented well enough, so it’s onto the excellent Michael Schenker Group. With Carmine Appice on drums and Gary Barden on vocals (the only true MSG vocalist!), the band was tremendous throughout their set, especially, of course, Michael. Many made the trek to Oklahoma to see MSG and Scorpions and needless to say were not disappointed. Given that the heat was oppressive, I’ll never understand why Michael was wearing what seemed to be a wool hat! That aside, the band kicked in with “Armed and Ready” and then segued into “Cry of the Nations.” Michael, on his signature black and white Dean Flying V, flew all over the fret board and demonstrated why he is still revered by fans and musicians alike. I’ve never seen so many musicians stand on the side of the stage wide eyed, jaws firmly on the ground, as they watched the master at work. The band never strayed too far from the first two albums playing the instrumental “Into the Arena”, “On and On”, “Are you Ready to Rock”, and others. Ex-Scorps’ drummer, Herman Rarebell, joined the band for a blitzing “Lights Out”, and with Appice returning, the band closed out their set with “Doctor Doctor” and “Rock Bottom.” An interesting note – as MSG worked out “Rock Bottom”, I made my way over to the side stage to position myself for LA Guns only to find Tracii Guns standing onstage, oblivious to the fans standing before him, watching Michael rip on his guitar. As soon as MSG were done, Tracii ripped into a brief version of “Rock Bottom” as well – cool stuff! Of course, with the Scorpions closing day two, all wondered if Michael would return to jam with his brother…we shall see…
Powerpoints 10 out of 10
LA Guns
Once Tracii Guns was done worshipping Michael Schenker, he and his band of LA degenerates proceeded to lay waste to the side stage. While Guns is no Schenker, he’s no slouch either. “Rip and Tear”, “Sex Action”, “Never Enough”, “The Ballad of Jayne”, etc all went by in a flash. Vocalist Jizzy Pearl of Love Hate fame was fantastic. His voice was strong and melodic; it’s easy to see why he remains in demand. Like Faster Pussycat and the Bulletboys, LA Guns never reached their potential and have remained in the second tier of LA glam, and judging by their brief but superb performance, they still have a lot to offer.
Powerpoints 8 out of 10
Cinderella
I’ve never seen Cinderella, but have always been a fan of their bluesy, hard/southern rock-ish music. Tom Keifer’s voice was impeccable considering that he had an almost career-ending surgery on his throat. “Somebody Save Me” and “Push Push” got their set off to a rocking start showcasing their glam roots. But, it’s their Stonesy songs like “Bad Seamstress Blues/Falling Apart at the Seams” and “Shelter Me” that set them apart from other bands. The emotive “Night Songs”, the Aerosmith-like “Shake me”, and “Nobody’s Fool” came and went in a flash. While Eric Brittingham, Fred Coury and Jeff Lebar are good musicians, it’s the talented Keifer who commanded the stage with aplomb moving from guitar, saxophone and piano throughout the set. As “Gypsy Road’s” opening chords washed over the audience, the predominant thought was that Cinderella was back! My only complaint was that they didn’t give a nod to the great “Still Climbing” record from 1993, in my opinion their most consistent and mature release to date.
Powerpoints 10 out of 10
Scorpions
The band most came to check out; the Scorpions are in the midst of a two to three year tour promoting their “Sting of the Tail” album as well as saying one last goodbye to their millions of fans. First, their stage set was visually awesome with an array of floods, strobes, etc. In addition, they had a huge video screen that engulfed the whole stage which had an interspersion of live shots and pre-recorded clips that moved and darted about throughout the concert. “Sting of the Tail” was a perfect opener; brisk, aggressive and hummable. They, like many of the other bands, played it close to the vest not veering too far from their well known compositions. Hence, we got “The Zoo”, “Make it Real”, “Coast to Coast”, the new single “Raised on Rock”, and the soon to be released next single “Best is Yet to Come.” Matthias Jabs was phenomenal on lead guitar. Why hasn’t this guy been given more props over the years! Rudolf Schenker was all about perpetual motion and awkwardly funny facial expressions. And Klaus Meine was in perfect voice. A special mention to James Kottak who is a powerhouse drummer and a first rate showman as well. We certainly didn’t need a 15 minute drum solo, especially when there was a curfew in tow, but it was nonetheless impressive.
Then, a roadie uncovered a few white amps – the same ones that Michael Schenker used during his set; cue mass hysteria! Michael sheepishly appeared from the dark of the side stage to rapturous applause as the band ripped into “Another Piece of Meat.” Midway through, the band paused for a bit of a blues jam with Matthias and Michael trading licks as Rudy, Klaus and bassist Pawel Maciwodi looked on. As the song concluded, smiles a mile wide and high fives followed; truly a glorious, special moment that we in the US will quite likely never see again. After “Blackout”, Herman Rarebell made another appearance and provided the backbone to the band’s first massive US hit from back in 1982, “No One like you”, while sporting a giant cowboy hat. As echoes of “Rock you like a Hurricane” reverberated throughout the festival site, it marked the end of a very successful second day. How would those on the bill for day three follow…
Day Three…
Well, truth be told, it was a bit of a letdown after witnessing the Schenkers jamming together. However, there were still some highlights that need to be lifted up.
Dirty Penny
Dirty Penny still resonates with me. I first saw them two years ago at Rocklahoma while they were still getting their legs. Some 24 months later and they’ve got two albums out and are a finely honed glam meets Motorhead machine. Their debut and “Young and Restless” are prime slabs of old school glam and the band gave us a generous dose of both. “Runnin’ Wild”, “Scream and Shout”, the hilariously titled “If I were you, I’d Hate me too”, and arguably the best song they have to date in “LCS” blitzed by. Energy, aggression, and raw melody – these guys have it in aces. They will hit the big time; it’s only a matter of time!
Powerpoints 10 out of 10
Warrant
I’ve never liked Warrant’s sticky sweet hair metal. They came around at the right time and hit it big for a while, but didn’t have the strength to persevere. With Robert Mason fronting the band (the last time I saw them the great Jamie St. James was in the fold), they moved through their hits in quick succession: “Down Boys”, “Heaven”, “Cherry Pie”, “I Saw Red”, etc. This is the epitome of lackluster, write-by-the-numbers songs that never had the right to be massive, yet they were. The only decent song they penned was the southern rockish “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” Man, this song is such a far cry from the other drivel that we’ve become accustomed to hearing from these guys. And the crowd lapped them up – go figure!
Powerpoints 4 out of 10
Lillian Axe
Lillian Axe is a much darker creature than they used to be. Touring in support of their latest release, “Deep Red Shadows”, Guitarist Steve Blaze is a great talent and nice guy. He led his band through both old and new material. “Jesus Wept” is a great song and was well-received. I don’t think the crowd warmed up to them too well because the music, while quite heavy, was, again, too dark. They seemed a bit out of place. In any event, “Deep Red Shadows” is quite good and should move the band in the proper direction.
Powerpoints 6 out of 10
Slaughter
Slaughter, like Warrant, is infamous for creating slick, sugar-induced hard rock that had the girls lapping it up back in the day. No change here either. You could barely hear the music over the yelping of the girls, I mean women, in attendance. I must admit that Mark Slaughter is a really proficient front man. He still has chops, which was most evident while hitting the high notes on their signature ballad “Fly to the Angels.” Mark took his chops to the audience by hopping into the crowd and belting it out for about 15 minutes while charging up and down the aisles. During “Up All Night”, the one and only Vince Neil jumped on stage and threw in some gang vocals. That was cool! Dana Strum was visually and musically great; he kept the band together and added that much needed credibility that they sorely need.
Powrpoints 6 out of 10
Lita Ford
Just before Gilby Clarke came onstage, a monsoon blew through. Gilby is definitely worth seeing, but I just couldn’t brave the heavy rains. Thankfully, just before Lita Ford appeared on the main stage, the rain subsided. She still looks and plays great and had a strong band behind her as well. She came out draped in an American Flag jacket, which she almost immediately removed with only a somewhat skimpy, black tank top to bare. With her Vodka bottle shaped guitar in hand, she moved the band through her back catalogue which included “Kiss me Deadly”, “Close my Eyes Forever”, and a rousing cover of Sammy Hagar’s “There’s only One way to Rock.” All in all, a very entraining set.
Powerpoints 8 out of 10
Dokken
Dokken, always a favorite at US festivals, pulled out all of their hits as well as some heavy numbers. Because George Lynch was playing on the side stage right after Dokken, hopes were high that George would join Don on stage, but alas it never happened. Maybe those friendly talks of a reunion are not as transparent as they would have us believe. Anyhow, check this set list out: “It’s not Love”, “In my Dreams”, “Dream Warriors”, “Into the Fire”, “The Hunter”, “Kiss of Death”, “Tooth and Nail”, etc. How could they go wrong? Don’s voice was as good as it will ever be at this point in his career, and guitarist Jon Levin is George Lynch on speed. And let’s not forget Mick Brown on drums still pounding it out after all these years. Real good stuff!
Powerpoints 10 out of 10
Lynch Mob
Well, George didn’t give us what we wanted in a reunion with Dokken, but he and his band provided some electricity on the side stage. Having released “Smoke and Mirrors” recently, we got selections from that album as well as older favorites including the excellent “Wicked Sensation.” After 17 years, vocalist Oni Logan is back with the band and sounded good. He looks like a youngish Mark Storace! The newer material is a bit Hendrixy and was hit and miss with the crowd. It sounded a bit like that long lost dark Dokken album “Dysfunctional.” Not my cup of tea. That withstanding, you cannot dismiss the man’s extraordinary talents.
Powerpoints 6 out of 10
Ratt
The festival concluded with Ratt on the main stage. They were so good last year at Rocklahoma that I was expecting a repeat performance, especially having released a killer album in “Infestation.” Perhaps it was because they played “Out of the Cellar” in its entirety. Not so this time around. Their set was more concise with “Round and Round” surprisingly at the front end of the set. They played “Eat me Alive” and “Best of Me” from the aforementioned “Infestation” and both sounded great; the former reliant on a heavy as hell riff and the latter sounding like it could have fallen off of any David Lee Roth solo album. “Walkin’ the Dog” from the band’s self financed mini-album from 1983 was a surprising and welcome inclusion. Carlos Cavazo and Warren DiMartini sparred relentlessly with each other, although I still wish that Carlos would be given more of the spotlight. Stephen Pearcy’s voice was lacking and his overt arrogance was embarrassing to watch. Although I must say that near the conclusion of the band’s set, he brought his daughter onstage because it was her birthday; that was endearing to see. Ratt was in much better form last year, yet they were still somewhat entertaining.
Powrpoints 7 out of 10
There you have it. Another year, another hair metal festival. As I mentioned previously, there are only so many 80s metal bands to go around. Perhaps it would be practical to include classic rock bands in the mix. Or at the very least, they need to pick up another top level band to headline like Maiden, Leppard or Priest. It was all good fun tough and a much-needed diversion from the routine lives many of us lead.
