2008 Rock on the Range…

This past weekend the Crew Stadium became home to Rock on the Range. This one day concert last year was increase to a two day “festival” of rock music. Mr A, Rock on the Ranger, attended Saturday and gave me a brief interview, as follows…

How many people do you estimate were at the concert?
Alot...........Seriously, I heard that officially over 30,000 there. However, the concert promoters were ready for it and had plenty of concessions and bathrooms, so that your waits for almost everything were not all that bad........
Why is it women’s restrooms always have a long line and there is practically no line on the men’s side. Men must have designed these restrooms. Logic would say to put 3 times as many stalls in for the women’s side as the men!

Who provided the best performance of the day?
I only went Saturday, so I can't say how Sunday's lineup was......
For me, the first great set was turned in by Killswitch Engage (who are one of my favorite bands) They played 45 minutes of some incredible hardcore Metal. (What my wife, Ms A, lovingly refers to as my "Scary Music" Highlights included "Bid Farewell", "My Curse", and their closing cover of Dio's "Holy Diver" "Plus, lead singer Howard Jones is from Columbus, another local boy makes good.......

The second great set of the day was turned by Filter on the second stage. I've been a fan of theirs for quite a few years and really enjoyed their hits filled set. Highlights were "Trip Like I Do", "Hey Man, Nice Shot", a beautiful "Take A Picture" as the sun began to go down, and when I ran into lead singer Richard Patrick after the set for a handshake and congrats for a great set.....Super Nice guy!

I should note that Disturbed leveled Crew Stadium, they had that crowd in the palm of their hands, going nuts! They had the best reception of the day (even more so than the headliners, Stone Temple Pilots) I should also note that I really don't care for Disturbed, almost all of their songs sound the same, so I was not really into them. But much respect to them for making alot of Columbus rock fans happy. They are what they are, and it's fine, whatever.......
The final great set of the day was turned in by the reuniting Stone Temple Pilots after an almost 8 year hiatus. Lead Singer Scott Weiland looks horrible, (years of heroin use will do that to you........) but he sounds incredible. Highlights of their set for me were, "Wicked Garden", "Crackerman", "Sex Type Thing", a gorgeous take on "Sour Girl", and a Rockin' encore of "Dead and Bloated"
Thanks! Now I have the “Holy Diver” stuck in my head, “you’ve been down too long in the midnight seas.” Ah, I’m so jealous!

Did you see anyone up chuck beer/hot dogs/nachos/etc or were you the chucker?
Yes, after Shinedown's performance (only the 2nd band of the day) I saw a fine young gentleman having a close encounter with a trash barrel. No chucking for me, moderation is the key.......
That fine young man was likely over indulging at his truck before going into the concert. Why a truck, I don’t know, I simply invision a truck, jacked up a bit, not too much, but enough I would need a ladder to get in, black, tinted back window. If you see this truck around town, give it a wave—there’s a fine young gentleman driving and the poor guy lost his breakfast.

Are the Cubs going to go to the series this year?
All I can say is that we are off to a great start. We just finished a ten game home stand, we went 8 and 2 on it and you can't ask for much better than that.....(actually I could, I would prefer 10 and 0, but that would just be greedy now wouldn't it!) I would love to say, "Oh yeah, its a done deal, they got the series wrapped up....." but I can't. I've seen too many good teams fail to make it, but I can also say this is the best start I've ever seen from a Cubs team and quite possibly the best Cubs team I have seen in my life. I am truly enjoying this season, it has been a fun ride so far and we still have 4 1/2 months left.
Play Ball! Baseball, gotta love it, but seriously get some tighter uniforms!

Would you attend the event next year?
I would go to Rock on the Range again next year depending on the lineup. They improved on last years lineup this year, and expanded it to a two day festival, so I would think that it will only get better for Columbus rock fans. What I like about it the most is, so many good bands all in one show, lined up one after the other!
I loved last years line up: Buckcherry, Papa Roach, 3 Days Grace, I say bring ‘em back. Well, no, new people next year, keep it fresh. But my butt is planning to be there!

What would you do to improve the event for next year?
I would try to get on the field. I bought my ticket too late and was in the bleachers. It was ok, but I bet the field would be better. I think that they need to get a grip on the prices for the concessions and parking. Here is a list of some of the crazy prices that I observed:Parking $15 (to park a vehicle? are you serious?)Brats $5Slice of Donato's Pizza $5Burgers $7Whole Donato's Large Pizza $30Soft Drinks $4 (or you could be smart like Mr J and tell them that you are a Designated Driver, then your soft drinks are free!)Beer $8 (this price did not deter anyone, trust me......these people could drink!!!)
Concert and large event prices are a bit insane. I don’t think I would shell cash for too many $8 beers, maybe 1 or 2, but man, gotta have a budget.

Did the crowd without access to the floor riots and try to race on?
I'm sure that someone did, but I did not see it.
This was entertaining last year, when the bleacher kids, began to storm the field. Maybe the sale of field tickets helped with this, this year.

Thanks for letting me be a guest on the blog, I enjoyed it! Mr A

Thank You Mr. A! Although I wish I had gone, at least I got a awesome review!