Concert Review: Rockfest 2009. Saturday, May 30, at Liberty Memorial
Did you know that Rockfest has its own set of rules?
That's right. The (allegedly) largest one-day music festival in the country, sponsored by KQRC 98.9 The Rock had screens set up in the back of the venue stating the rules of decorum for the sold-out crowd, which was supposedly 50,000 deep.
The Ten Commandments of Rockfest:
1. Thou shalt pick up thy brother if he falls.
2. Thou shalt drink one water for every two beers.
3. Thou shalt apply sunscreen so thou won't become the Rock Lobster.
4. Thou shall appreciate Breast Fest with thine eyes, not thine hands.
5. Thou shall find a cop if thou witnesses assholes fighting.
6. Thou shalt not make the sweet love in the porta-potty.
7. Thou shalt put thy hands in the air and wave them like thou just doesn't care.
8. Thou shalt respect the security guards who are just doing their job.
9. Thou shalt not act like a macho dick.
10. Thou shalt not drink and drive.
Scott Spychalski Click on Mr. Josh Todd of Buckcherry for a truly epic slide show.
I followed the trail of beer cans and trash south on Main around 5:30 p.m. Saturday evening to the front gate of the festival. Last year, I went to Rockfest for the first time and was overwhelmed by the sheer energy of a huge crowd that turned out to see Stone Temple Pilots, Shinedown, Sevendust and Chevelle. This year, however, I felt things were a little more chilled out. For one, it was about ten degrees cooler, and the crowd seemed much younger and a little more diverse.
Scott Spychalski Click on photo for slide show.
There was really no clear path to anywhere. Streams of people like schools of fish moved between concession stands, bathrooms and the main stage. I had to just keep following the dude that was holding tight to his girlfriend's tits from behind. I went to Rockfest alone so I had neither any backup should a scuffle break out nor worries about losing someone in the crowd. I was filtered through to the main stage just in time for Shinedown.
I actually watched all of the Shinedown set last year and remembered frontman Brent Smith's super-corny banter. While introducing them, Johnny Dare referred to them as "good people."
They seemed to be a crowd favorite and I really couldn't see shit from where I was standing. I was surrounded by young girls on their boyfriends' shoulders. As I was writing down lyrics from the first song, a big boot crashed down on my head from a flailing man who was trying to crowd surf. It really hurt. For. The. Rest. Of. The. Night.
Scott Spychalski The "good people" of Shinedown.
There were four nice kids next to me who asked if I was OK. They were from Overland Park and had never heard of The Pitch. They had however, heard of Shinedown. They informed me that between this year's and last year's Rockfest, the band had played 200 shows. The group's Web site lists a June 1 date in Landgraaf, Netherlands. The members of Shinedown truly are post-grunge jetsetters.
Amid the bead-tossing by creepy dudes who wanted to see the world's smallest underage tits and the spontaneous mosh pits that kept popping up everywhere, the music lulled. To remind us where we were, before the chart topper "Second Chance," Shinedown singer Brent Smith announced that he would be cheating if he didn't ask us, "How many of you people have a dream?"
"Don't ever dig yourself a hole, climb in and give up... everyone deserves a second chance," he said. I gave Shinedown a second chance and was disappointed that I got as close as I would ever get to the stage for them and not Buckcherry.
I was spit back out to the second stage after the Shinedown set. There was finally room to breathe. I missed the first 20 minutes of Loaded, former G n' R bassist Duff McKagan's band. I'm confused though by the name. Is it just Loaded or Duff McKagan's Loaded?
Scott Spychalski Duff is Loaded. Figuratively speaking.
Before the last song, McKagan announced "he'd never done this" and proceeded to start a song with the opening riffs of "Welcome to the Jungle." Boo.
After drinking a beer, trying unsuccessfully to send a Twitter update and getting some much needed decompression, I decided to go back and see what everyone else was doing closer the main stage. Buckcherry was on and the crowd was turned up to ten. I stood by the screens showing Josh Todd's pinkish hair and tattooed torso. The camera work that was coming on was really jerky, designed for people with limited attention spans. Kind of annoying. "You guys are so goddamn beautiful," he announced before getting into "Lit Up" and totally rocking the fuck out of a tambourine. I enjoyed it, as did the large Hispanic fellow next to me smoking a joint. It was also at this time that I spotted the worst T-shirt of the day. It read "I'm not a gynocologist, but I'll take a look anyway."
I walked around some more, drank another $5 beer, checked out the I Love Vagina clothing booth and broke down and used a johnny-on-the-spot that surprisingly wasn't completely destroyed. It didn't seem like too many people left before Korn came on, but maybe there were just too many people there to begin with.
I found a spot of grass and sat down to listen to a band that I have always made fun of. Korn, supposed pioneers of the nu-metal genre, opened with the first single off of their 2003 release, Take a Look in the Mirror. 38-year-old frontman Jonathan Davis was wearing a blazer and a manskirt and former-touring-drummer-turned-full-time-drummer Ray Luzier was sitting behind the most ginormous drum kit I'd ever seen.
Scott Spychalski Too bad there's no backwards R on the keyboard, eh, Mr. Davis?
Jonathan Davis is quite a vocalist. He doesn't play anything because he needs his hands free to hold onto his elaborate mic stand while he bangs his head and screams. He went through all the old favorites, "Blind," "Freak on a Leash" and another song that he claimed if you didn't know, then "you weren't a motherfuckin' Korn fan." Boom. I was tagged. I did recognize the cover he closed with, though.
Here's my best attempt at couple of set lists for you true motherfuckin' fans. Remember, they were complied by a journalist who was kicked in the head early in the day, so feel free to leave corrections or fill in blanks.
Shinedown set list:
Cry For Help
Heroes
I Dare You
Burning Bright
Sound of Madness
45
Save Me
Fly From the Inside
Second Chance
Devour
Korn set list:
Right Now
No Way
?
Thoughtless
Falling Away From Me
Coming Undone
?
Here to Stay
Freak on a Leash
Ya'll Want a Single
Divine
?
Somebody, Someone
Blind
Got the Life (?)
Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)
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