Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival on Friday, September 24th at Greyhound Park & Event Center
The first band we caught at the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival was New Medicine! It was weird walking over to the Jagermeister Stage because it looked a lot like when we went over to Auburn for Mayhem Festival (But this time we didn’t have to drive 5 hours). There were signing tents, a video game tent, even a kiosk where you could jam on a guitar. New Medicine summed it up best, it’s Friday afternoon kids are out of school and the weekend is starting; it’s time to have a good time.
New Medicine opened up with “Rich Kids,” then went on to play “The Take Over” which is played on Rock 94.5. He had the whole crowd clapping during “The Take Over.” Jake their singer said no bullshit their favorite place to play is Spokane/Post Falls. I had almost forgot but we saw they open up with the Used at the Knitt; these kids are on the road a lot! New Medicine also played “Little Sister” which was dedicated to everyone who has lost someone. Jake lost his sister and she was the inspiration for the song. Then they picked it up with “Race You to the Bottom,” which I didn’t know they sang, I totally love this song and sing it every time I hear it on the radio! Race You To the Bottom is the title track off their new album which doesn’t come out until next Tuesday but the boys were smart and they had some CD’s to sell and stuck around to sign them after their set! The last song by New Medicine was “Laid” in which they wished us all a good night and that we get laid. Super fun live band, hope they come back again soon!
After New Medicine, Hail the Villain took over the stage with their crazy super animated singer Bryan. He never stood still, kept it up three notches past Nuts the entire show. They were asking the crowd if anyone knew who they were and a few people hollered. It was their first time in the area; they said the reason why no one knows who they are is because they are from Canada. Following it up with a “…you can thank us for the weed later.” Bryan mentioned how he got to play paint ball today and that he got shot, but they didn’t provide him with a jock. He assured us though that “it” still works. They got the crowd rallied up with their first single “Take Back the Fear” and kept the energy going strong!
My favorite band of the day was next… Airbourne! With a shirtless singer that looks like Steve Lips from Anvil and the guitar soundings of AC/DC it’s all about a good time with these Australian lads! I was instantly drawn in during their set! They had tons of energy and were all about “fun.” The singer got on top of a guys shoulder and went through the crowd during a guitar solo then managed to climb on top of the highest speaker stack and play up there for a while! He had cords taped to his back and the biggest balls of them all! I couldn’t get enough of their songs like “Diamond in the Rough” and “Runnin’ Wild.” I am set out to spread the word about my new fav rock band – AIRBOURNE!
The last band to close out the Jagermeister stage for the day was Hellyeah! Hellyeah we’re stoked that they were playing! They drew the largest crowd of the day on the Jager stage. Providing therapy by music for us, as Chad said. “You need us today… this next song is for everyone who yells at you…” he went on to say, fuck those people. Chad told us he knew how to do two things, blow up this stage and how to drink like a mother fucker. Which I must add a lot of people were hammered by this point and they main stage wasn’t even open! I didn’t know the band was such a super group with Chad the singer from Mudvayne and Vinnie Paul on drums from Pantera. Matt was even mentioning how cool it is that he still drums considering what happened with his brother. I do know that the crowd went ballistic during “Cowboy Way” and they did as they said, came here to party with their friends and have a hell of a time! Later in the evening we saw this kid running to his friends with a drum head in his hand yelling something along the lines of eat my pussy fuckers… Vinnie Paul signed it; totally made his year!
OH MY GOD! SHE CUT HER HAIR! Yep, rock vixen Lzzy Hale cut her gorgeous brown locks off now sporting a Joan Jett style complete with a purple streak. The only lady on stage this tour did a killer job. I love how when she comes out on stage each time she is wearing her big hooded jacket and is just belting out from her heart. Her brother and drummer Arejay looked awesome as usual in his vintage blue marching band suit also wearing the skull bandanna over his mouth. I got to hear my jam “It’s Not You,” and they also played a song they haven’t played on this entire tour called “Unfinished” which is off their new album. It’s cool to see such a badass band with a female singer, they did a great job of warming up the crowd on the main stage!
I know Corey from Stone Sour is Corey from Slipknot but this was the first time I have seen Stone Sour Live and I could not stop thinking about him! It is so wild to me that one guy can be in two different bands, scream, sing just completely different! I am a Slipknot fan, and it was also so weird to see him unmasked!! Aaahh it was just tripping me out the entire set! The band sounded really good and there was a huge crowd by this point. They had a really cool background too, that was simple yet looked badass with a bunch of lights on it. It was cool to hear “Say You’ll Haunt Me” and “Through Glass” live. I am stoked to be able to say I have seen both Slipknot and Stone Sour within twelve months!
Avenged Sevenfold stole the main stage for the night without a doubt. Opening with a dead guy hanging from the light rafters on a noose and “Nightmare” it was SO BADASS! There were fireworks, loud bangs, backdrop changes, and a deadly fence set up reading A 7 X. They also managed to drop skeletons and just pump the energy out! It was ooohhh after ahhhh after hell fucking yeah the entire set. One of the coolest stage presences I have seen all summer! Not to mention the band sounding fucking incredible! The one bummer was we didn’t get to hear “Bat Country” but we did get to hear “Afterlife” and “Unholy Confessions.” The band took time to pay tribute to The Rev who passed away this December. They dropped down a cool backdrop of him with Matthew aka M. Shadows, and played “So Far Away.” Like I said, best set of the day!
To end the evening with sickness was Disturbed. I have never seen Disturbed in concert and was waiting anxiously for the black curtain to drop! With a fully lit ceiling to floor video backdrop it was bright and visually entertaining. Though I must add, even though they had cool video screens everywhere there wasn’t as much real fire as Avenged Sevenfold had, so it seemed a little weak. However it probably wouldn’t have appeared that way if Avenged Sevenfold didn’t have the fire power that they did! Disturbed did play the hits for the crowd, which let’s be honest here kids… it’s what we want! It was a fun set and a great way to close out the festival.
For the first year of the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival I would give it an A+! I am very excited to see what they will do next year and who will be hitting it up… they better come back through the town!
Photos courtesy of Matt Auclair.
