Tag: M3
1 Vie’s Verses – M3 2014 Could Be The Best M3 Yet
Kix. Extreme. Night Ranger. Tesla. Stryper. Sebastian Bach. To see any one of these bands live is a magnificent experience of nonstop fun. To see them all over the course of two days is a headbanger’s dream come true. The 2014 lineup for M3 was announced on January 10th and tickets were quickly secured by yours truly. With a lineup like this, there was no way that I was going to miss M3 2014.
Now in its sixth year, the M3 festival has really hit its stride and knows what bands to deliver in order to make a well impacted punch. This is the first year I can remember where filler isn’t on the bill. In years past, I was able to plan out my trips for cheesesteaks, beer, and people watching based on what band was going to take the stage. This year, that will be almost impossible.
On Friday night, the festivities open with Winger. They are a great live band and I haven’t seen them perform in a couple of years. Obviously, theirs is a performance I do not want to miss. They are followed by Lita Ford, who puts on a strong live show of her own.
After that, Extreme takes the stage. I’ve never seen them live, but I am anxiously awaiting my chance to pump a fist in the air with the sounds of “Kid Ego,” and “Peacemaker Die.” If they pull out “Mutha (Don’t Want To Go To School Today)” I can go to the grave a happy man.
Following Extreme, it’s Kix, and if you don’t know what a great live show they put on, you haven’t read Hard Rock Hideout enough. After having WASP headline last year’s show, it is so good to see Kix back in the Friday night closing spot. Kix is, and always should be, the true Friday night headliners of M3.
And that’s just night one. For the second day of M3 I expect to be up bright and early, because Heaven’s Edge, John Corabi, and Femme Fatale have the first three spots. I think I am most excited about seeing Corabi perform, and I know that I will dust off my old Union CDs prior to heading to Maryland.
Jake E Lee’s Red Dragon Cartel, Autograph, Keel, and Jack Russel’s Great White take the stages next and I don’t see how I will find time to use the men’s room let alone grab a beer or a bite to eat. There is no way I can miss Red Dragon Cartel, Autograph and Keel have me very excited, and Jack Russell’s Great White can be a lot of fun. However, if there is any spot that I will pause for a break, it’s probably for Jack Russell. Sorry, Great White fans, I know he’s fun, but with a lineup this strong, someone has to be the weak link.
From there things really pick up. LA Guns, Stryper, Slaughter, Queensryche (Tood La Torre Version), Sebastian Bach, Night Ranger, and Tesla. Well, which one of those bands would you sit out for? That’s right, none of them. From the moment LA Guns turns on their amps to the last note from Tesla, Saturday is really going to rock in Maryland. That is the strongest string of performers in a row that I have ever seen in print. All of those bands are amazing, all of those bands have massive hits, and all of those bands can bring it live. And to see Night Ranger followed by Tesla will just leave me speechless (and hoarse).
I’ve attended a lot of festivals over the course of my music loving years, but I can’t recall ever being this electrified for one. M3 2014 is going to be flat out amazing. Yes, there are some bands missing that I still want to see (Vain and Pretty Boy Floyd come immediately to mind), but it doesn’t matter. With the talent that is contained over the course of these two days, M3 is THE spot to be in April if you are a head banging, metal music lover. It could be the best one ever.
Follow RyoVie on Twitter at Twitter.com/RyoVie
3 M3 Rock Festival Announces 2013 Lineup!
GLAM & HEAVY METAL RETURNS TO MERRIWEATHER
I.M.P. PRESENTS 2013 M3 ROCK FESTIVAL
IN ITS 5th YEAR M3 IS THE BIGGEST, BADDEST METAL SHOW
DRAWING FANS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
OFFICIAL M3 KIX-OFF PARTY & CONCERT FRIDAY, MAY 3 at 5:30pm
2013 M3 ROCK FESTIVAL SATURDAY, MAY 4 at 11am
2-Day and VIP Packages on sale Friday, January 25 10am EST through ticketfly.com
If Available, Single-Day Tickets on-sale in the coming week.
The heavy metal time machine will turn back to the1980s and ‘90s when Bret Michaels Band, Twisted Sister, and W.A.S.P. will be among the 20 bands to take over Merriweather Post Pavilion, playing full sets of their glam rock and heavy metal hits. M3 fans won’t have to choose between bands with overlapping set times, since each band will play one at a time. The festival will take place on two separate stages, each simulcasting the other, giving fans the option to stay in one seat and watch all the bands as they appear on both stages, or fans can move from stage to stage without missing a note.
M3, internationally renown, has attracted fans from six continents, 10 countries and 40 states. Now in its fifth year, I.M.P. Presents M3 Rock Festival starts with The Official M3 Kix-Off Party, which will get things started Friday, May 3rd at 5:30pm. Acts playing Friday night are W.A.S.P., KIX, Danger Danger and Bad Seed Rising. The full-blown 2013 M3 Rock Festival begins Saturday, May 4th at 11am and will include Bret Michaels Band, Twisted Sister, Jackyl, Steel Panther, JSRG, Firehouse, Great White featuring Jack Russell, Kings X, Loudness, Steelheart, Trixter, Love/Hate, Tuff, In The Pink, Korupt, and Streetlight Circus.
Each year VIP and Pavilion seats sell out in minutes. Two-day and VIP packages will go on sale Friday, Jan. 25th at 10am EST through ticketfly.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the 9:30 Club Box Office in Washington, D.C. If available, single-day tickets will go on sale in the coming weeks. For more information, visit http://www.ticketfly.com/ or http://www.m3rockfest.com
VIP ticket holders will have:
• Private VIP Entrance gate
• Official M3 2013 Festival T-shirt
• Official M3 2013 Concert Poster
• Access to floor and front of house seating
• Access to M3 VIP Deck located backstage (access to VIP concessions and VIP restrooms)
• Access to Artist Meet & Greet Lounge.
ABOUT I.M.P.
Formed in 1980, I.M.P. is a Bethesda, Md.-based concert promoter and event production company. In addition to launching the Virgin Festival in the U.S., the principals at I.M.P. own Washington DC’s legendary 9:30 Club, named the Top Club by Billboard Touring Awards and renowned as the premier place to see and hear cutting edge live music of all varieties. I.M.P. also programs and operates Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md. Over the last 33 years, I.M.P. and the 9:30 Club have put on nearly 10,000 events, hosting millions of music fans.
2 Lynch Mob At the M3 Rock Festival
What can I say about George Lynch that hasn’t been said before? I am a huge fan, and it is always a big thrill for me to see him play live. The last time I saw Lynch Mob was in Columbus, Ohio in the summer of 2011. The band had a different line up at the time, and quite frankly, didn’t give the best of performances. This was not the case at M3!
At the M3 Rock Festival, Oni Logan was back in the band, along with Robbie Crane on bass and Scott Coogan on drums. I don’t know
what it is, but when Oni is singing with George, Lynch Mob can do no wrong in my opinion. Lynch was on fire at M3, and Oni Logan’s vocals were spot on perfect. Robbie Crane has been a great addition to the band since joining them last year. He does a great job on bass, and helps out with the background vocals too. Scott Coogan didn’t miss a beat.
Most of the songs in the set were from the Lynch Mob debut album. The set list consisted of “She’s Evil But She’s Mine”, “River of Love”
“Mr. Scary”, “Where Do You Sleep at Night?”, “Sweet Sister Mercy” and “Wicked Sensation”.
Lynch Mob was one of the best two acts on the side stage at M3 in 2012. I hope they return, and hopefully will get a chance to play a longer
set on the main stage next year.
Check out a couple of clips and our photo gallery below!
0 L.A. Guns – New M3 Photo Gallery & New Video – You Better Not Love Me
L.A Guns wasn’t supposed to play at the M3 Rock Festival in 2012. When Cinderella cancelled, L.A. Guns (and Great White) were added to the bill. L.A. Guns quickly proved that they deserved to be there with a rockin’ set of L.A. Guns classics and their brand new song, “You Better Not Love Me”. I like this song the first time I heard it, and I am glad it has been released for all to hear in a video format.
“You Better Not Love Me” is on L.A. Guns new album, Hollywood Forever, which is due out June 5th, 2012. Check out the video below! You can pre-order Hollywood Forever here! Check out the video, and our L.A. Guns M3 Photo Gallery below!
0 M3 Rock Festival Starts Tonight!
The M3 Rock Festival starts tonight! Jetboy, L.A. Guns, Warrant, and Kix lead off the Friday Night Kick off party tonight! Are you coming to M3? The Hard Rock Hideout crew will be at M3 both days to cover the event!
Tickets are still available through ticketfly.com.
4 M3 Rock Festival Announces 2011 Lineup
GLAM & HEAVY METAL RETURNS TO MERRIWEATHER I.M.P. PRESENTS 2011 M3 ROCK FESTIVAL IN ITS 3RD YEAR ADDS KICK-OFF PARTY & CONCERT
OFFICIAL M3 KIX-OFF PARTY & CONCERT FRIDAY, MAY 13 at 7pm 2011 M3 ROCK FESTIVAL SATURDAY, MAY 14 at Noon
Pre- Sale Thursday, Feb. 3, Discounted 2-Day Packages on sale Friday, February 4, If Available, Single-Day Tickets On Sale Friday March 4
No, youʼre not having flashbacks. These intensely vivid heavy metal memories youʼre about to experience will ignite in 2011. Kix, Warrant, LA Guns, Whitesnake, Tesla and Lita Ford will be among the acts taking over Merriweather Post Pavilion, playing full sets of their glam rock and heavy metal hits, along with other unexpected amazements.
In its third year, I.M.P. Presents M3 Rock Festival will add a Kick Off Party and Concert featuring full sets, since one day alone canʼt contain all this metal. The Official M3 Kix-Off Party will get things started Friday, May 13th at 7pm. The full-blown 2011 M3 Rock Festival begins Saturday, May 14 at Noon. Last year VIP and Pavilion seats sold out faster than you could flick your Bic, so headbangers hoping to get close enough to smell the sweat will want to be at their computers Thursday, Feb 3 at 10am EST for the insiders pre-sale. Only members of M3 Rockersʼ Forum will be given the pre-sale promo code. Fans can sign up for the Rockersʼ Forum on http://www.m3rockfest.com/
Discounted 2-Day Packages will go on sale to the general public Friday, Feb 4 at 10am EST. If there are any tickets remaining as of March 4th, they will go on sale as Single-Day tickets at 10 am EST through Ticketfly. Tickets can also be purchased at the Merriweather and 9:30 Club Box Offices. For more information, visit http://www.ticketfly.com/
M3 Rock Festival will feature two music stages, the Freak Stage and a Festival Village. Playing Friday night, May 13: Kix, with special guests Warrant, LA Guns and Jetboy. Playing Saturday, May 14: Whitesnake, Tesla, Sebastian Bach, Lita Ford, Mr. Big, Slaughter, Great White, Danger Danger, Firehouse, Big Noize, Black and Blue, Hurtsmile, Faster Pussycat and Pretty Boy Floyd.
VIP ticket holders will have:
• Special VIP parking • Private VIP Entrance gate • Official M3 2011 Festival T-shirt • Official M3 2011 Concert Poster and sharpie • Access to floor and front of house seating • Access to M3 VIP Deck located backstage (access to VIP concessions and VIP restrooms) • Access to Artist Meet-&-Greet Lounge.
2-Day Packages (May 13th and 14th) – On Sale February 4
• VIP • Pavilion 1 • Pavilion 2 • Lawn
$175.00 Ticket Limit (4) $95.00 Ticket Limit (6) $65.00 Ticket Limit (6) $45.00 Ticket Limit (6)(IF AVAILABLE) May 13 Official Kix-Off Party and Concert Tickets-On sale March 4th
• VIP • Pavilion 1 • Pavilion 2 • Lawn
$60.00 Ticket Limit (4) $35.00 Ticket Limit (6) $30.00 Ticket Limit (6) $25.00 Ticket Limit (6)
(IF AVAILABLE) May 14th 2011 M3 Rock Festival Tickets- On sale March 4th
• VIP • Pavilion 1 • Pavilion 2 • Lawn $35.00
$150.00 Ticket Limit (4) $75.00 $55.00
0 Jeff Duncan from Armored Saint to perform with Dizzy Reed at M3!
Bravewords.com is reporting that Jeff Duncan (ARMORED SAINT/DC4) will be performing at this years M3 Festival with GUNS N’ ROSES keyboardist DIZZY REED on June 19th at The Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland.
Acts on the bill for the festival include: SCORPIONS, CINDERELLA, VINCE NEIL, KIX, WINGER, L.A. GUNS, WARRANT, NELSON, TRIXTER, JETBOY, DIZZY REED, BANG TANGO, Z02, BLACK MAMBOOZA and MASS.
Festival details can be found at this location.
5 Rockitt Rant – A Breakdown of the 2010 Music Festivals
It seems to me that this year, as well as in years past, Europe has been kicking the United States ass when it comes to major music festivals. I decided to breakdown some of major festivals this year and see which ones provided the most bang for your buck.
The Download Festival is quite possibly the biggest music festival anywhere. The promoters for this festival understand that if you want to draw a lot of people, you have to have a major headliner. This year, the Download festival has more than one with AC/DC, Aerosmith, Megadeth on the same bill. Add Motorhead, Rage Against The Machine, and Stone Temple Pilots to the bill, and you have the makings of one incredible rock show. The lineup for this festival is already stout, and they will be adding more bands soon. Will Aerosmith implode before then? Who knows? I imagine the paycheck must be pretty fat for big rock shows. Maybe money has healed all wounds with them. I know that if I lived in Europe, there is no question where I would be that weekend. This festival drew 120,000 in 2009, and will probably exceed that in 2010.
The six festivals I chose are Download, The Stockholm Rockout, The Sweden Rock Festival, Rock on the Range, Rocklahoma, and M3. There are many more that I didn’t consider in this including Sonisphere and Hard Rock Hell. Any way you look at it, Europe has the U.S. beat on major rocks festivals.
Why is the United States getting the major shaft on major festivals? What can be done to turn this around? What are your thoughts about this? This rock fan is fed up!
HRH Grade: A
Download Festival June 11 – 13
Donnington Park, Derby, United Kingdom
(196.35 – 244 prices include camping)
AC/DC
Aerosmith
Megadeth
Rage Against The Machine
Billy Idol
Them Crooked Vultures
Deftones
Stone Temple Pilots
Bullet For My Valentine
Thirty Seconds to Mars
Stone Sour
Wolfmother
Motorhead
Lamb of God
Volbeat
Five Finger Death Punch
Stockholm Rock Out is a newer festival that is comparable to M3 in Columbia, Maryland. This festival has a solid lineup, although there are no real headliners. There are twenty bands performing over the two days of this festival, many of which you will not see perform in the United States. Is it worth $166 dollars? Probably not.
HRH: Grade C+
Stockholm Rock Out (April 30th – May 1st)
Stockholm Sweden
2 Day ticket $166.07
Slaughter
Great White
Steelheart
KIX
Keel
Dizzy Reed of Guns n Roses
Pretty Boy Floyd
BulletBoys
XYZ
Vains of Jenna
TUFF
Tigertailz
Nasty Idols
M.ILL.ION
Shameless
CrashDiet
Chris Laney
Badmouth
Dynazty
Killer Clan of F.U.N.
The Sweden Rock Festival has been around since ’98, and seems to get bigger and better every year. This multi-day festival has a good mix of hard rock and heavy metal. It would be this metalhead’s dream to see some of the band’s on this bill play live. With 4 days at $295.00, the price is pretty steep for the average rocker. I am guessing most folks will buy a single day ticket, and catch some of their favorite bands and live with it.
HRH: Grade A-
Sweden Rock Festival (June 9th – 12th)
Sölvesborg, Sweden
4 Days $295.00
1 Day avg $165.38
Guns N’ Roses
Aerosmith
Gary Moore
Slayer
Billy Idol
W.A.S.P.
Bachman & Turner
Danzig
Cinderella
Rick Springfield
U.D.O.
Opeth
Sabaton
D-A-D
Saga
Suicidal Tendencies
Unisonic
Stratovarius
Magnum
Nazareth
Behemoth
Watain
Aldo Nova
Pendragon
RATT
Y&T
Death Angel
Alestorm
Steel Panther
Anvil
Big Elf
Blackberry Smoke
Raven
JORN
The M3 Rock Festival is a hair metal festival in Columbia, Maryland that is celebrating its second year. This is the only music festival that I attended last year, and will probably be the only one in 2010 as well. If you are really low on dough, you can cough up $35.00 for a lawn seat (an pray it doesn’t rain). The average price in the pavilion is $75.00. For 14 bands this isn’t a bad deal at all, although I admit there are a couple of bands on the bill that I could skip. Seeing the Scorpions on their farewell tour is a must! I am looking forward to this one!
HRH Grade: B+
M3 (1 Day $35 – $175.00) Saturday June 19th
Columbia, MD
Scorpions
Cinderella
Kix
Vince Neil
Winger
Trixter
Jetboy
L.A. Guns
Warrant
Dizzy Reed of G&R
Nelson
Bang Tango
ZO2
Black Mambooza
Rock on the Range has become the premiere modern rock festival in the U.S. This is the festival’s fourth year, and the festival promoters always manage collect a large amount of radio friendly bands. This year, I believe the festival lineup is a lot weaker than the 2009 bill which had Motley Crue, Slipknot, Alice in Chains, Avenged Sevenfold and Buckcherry but it is still a solid bill nonetheless. No single day tickets are available for this show, which is a complete disappointment to me. Is Godsmack or Rob Zombie a true festival headliner? I don’t think so. This festival typically draws about 60,000 over the two day event. My guess is, this year it will be less.
HRH Grade: C+
Rock on the Range (May 22nd & 23rd)
Columbus, Ohio
US $99.50 – US $119.50 (for 2 day ticket)
Godsmack
Rob Zombie
Three Days Grace
Limp Bizkit
Seether
Slash
Deftones
Papa Roach
Theory of a Deadman
Mastodon
Killswitch Engage
Bullet For My Valentine
Coheed & Cambria
Puddle of Mudd
Sevendust
Drowning Pool
Apolcolyptica
Halestorm
Airbourne
Mushroomhead
Skillet
Escape the Fate
Cold
Anberlin
Nonpoint
Violent Soho
Janus
Shaman’s Harvest
Year Long Disaster
Taddy Porter
Like A Storm
Noise Auction
Wow, I understand that the folks at Rocklahoma nearly lost their shirts last year, but this new direction is not a good one. Something had to change, as the attendance was absolutely abysmal in 2009. AEG has taken this hard rockin’ hair metal festival and turned it into Rock on the Range part 2. In years past, Rocklahoma was a destination music festival. Now it is a regional one at best. They still haven’t figured out that you need a headliner to draw folks to a show. While I like ZZ Top & Godsmack, they really are not headliners. While I love Tesla and Cinderella, having them on the bill isn’t enough for me to travel to a multi-day festival. They at least got it right by moving the date to Memorial weekend, when it isn’t 105 degrees in Oklahoma. I am betting that they have alienated the majority of the folks who attended (or played) in this festival in the past. M3 will continue to grow as a result of this. Will the attendance be better than last year? Yes. Will it exceed 25,000 for the three days? Highly doubtful.
HRH Grade: C-
Rocklahoma ( May 28th – 30th)
Pryor, Oklahoma
(95 – 749)
ZZ TOP
GODSMACK
BUCKCHERRY
TESLA
Cinderella
Chevelle
Stone Sour
Theory of a Deadman
Saliva
Saving Abel
Adelitas Way
Janus
Aranda
Burn Halo
Richy Nix
Shaman’s Harvest
Taddy Porter
Like A Storm
Taking Dawn
New Medicine
Year Long Disaster
Brookroyal
Within Reason
Wildstreet
Firstryke
Krank
The Glitter Boys
6 M3 Festival Review
I must admit that I was pretty excited when I first read about the lineup for the M3 festival in Columbia, Maryland. Unlike Rock Gone Wild, and Rocklahoma, this is a one day festival, cram packed with more classic hard rock acts that you can handle in one day. There was several bands on this festival’s roster that I have not seen before, so it was a complete no-brainer. I made the trek to Columbia, MD Friday night. Sure it took roughly 8 hours each way by car, but it was well worth it, in my opinion.
The weather was perfect for the event. It was hot and sunny all day, and the crowd for M3 filled up the stands pretty quick.
Before most folks made into the festival, they were greeted by the heavy beats of Carmine Appice’s SLAMM. I only caught the tail end of their performance, but it seemed pretty cool for the most part. This wasn’t SLAMM’s scheduled set time, as they played later on in the festival. Their early performance helped to generate excitement amongst the large crowd filing into the venue.
The festival kicked off with former Guns N’ Roses and Kill for Thrills Guitarist, Gilby Clarke. Gilby’s set was short, but he fired off some of my favorite songs of his including “Tijiuana Jail“ and “Cure Me or Kill Me“. He even threw in “Be Yourself” from the Rockstar: Supernova CD. Imagine That! I never expected to hear a song from this CD again. I think Gilby handled it better than Lukas Rossi.
After Clarke’s set, I had to pick and choose which bands I wanted to see play live because several of the set times over lapped. I HATED this part of the festival. I genuinely like every band on the bill, and wanted the chance to see every band perform. This was not possible, so I had to sacrifice one band over another several times throughout the day. I don’t think this was fair to the bands, or to the fans who paid to see them.
The first choice was Y&T vs. XYZ. Y&T beat out XYZ in the battle of the alphabet bands,and rightly so. Y&T is celebrating their 35th anniversary in 2009, and I wasn’t budging from my seat. This band doesn’t know where Cincinnati, Ohio is on the map (they never play in my hometown), so I couldn’t wait to see them play. Dave Meniketti and company blasted out a rocking set of tunes that spanned over their vast career including, “Dirty Girl”, “Black Tiger”, “Mean Streak”, and “Summertime Girls”. My only complaint is that their set was too short. I would have loved to have heard some more Y&T songs. Some friends of mine were at the XYZ stage, and said XYZ put on a hell of a show as well. I guess you win some and you lose some. I enjoyed Y&T and I hope the rock gods will be kind enough to offer me another chance to see this band, when they can play a full show.
The next band dilemna after Y&T was Slaughter vs. Jetboy. I like Slaughter, but this was no competition for me at all. I immediately ran over to the second stage to check out Jetboy’s set. I got there early, and was front and center for the show.
Jetboy guitarist Billy Rowe was having some sound issues to start the show, but the crew got him fixed up pretty quickly. Jetboy rocked the crowd hard, and put on an extremely tight set of tunes. Out of all of the bands at M3, I would say Jetboy was in the top 2 as far as the performance they gave. These guys should have played on the main stage for sure. Mickey Finn’s vocals were great, and his bright green Mohawk made him one of the most photogenic rockers of the day. The whole band was on fire during this set. Fernie Rod and Billy Rowe’s playing was great. I didn’t know who to keep an eye on. Billy was blasting away on the slide guitar, and Fernie was adding in his awesome licks. Michael Butler is a pretty fun bass player to watch as well. This guy knows how to get a crowd going. New drummer Doug Hovan didn’t miss a beat. Those that hung out for Jetboy’s set got treated to some classic Jetboy tunes including “Feel The Shake”, and “Heavy Chevy”. They also a played a few new unreleased songs that were nothing short of A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!. I can’t wait to see what fans reactions are when they hear these songs. Prepare to be blown away!!
Next up on the main stage was Jani Lane and his new solo band featuring Kerri Kelli from Alice Cooper on Guitar. Jani’s set consisted primarily of Warrant tunes (no surprise there), and a brand new unreleased track. Jani’s voice sounded good, as did his band. Jani has always managed to attract some pretty good guitar players, and Kerri Kelli is definitely one of the better ones. I like Jani Lane and I wanted to stay for more songs, but he is coming to my hometown in a couple of months, and I will definitely be going to see him then. I hung out for 3 or 4 songs, and ran back to stage two for the Bulletboys.
Marq Torien might be the only original member left of the Bulletboys, but this band does not rock any less. I didn’t make it over for the start of their set, but I did catch three or four of their songs before I had to depart for my Jetboy interview. I was disappointed that I didn’t get to hear “Smooth Up In Ya”, but I will definitely catch the Bulletboys on their tour with Faster Pussycat later this year.
I met up with Fernie Rod and Billy Rowe, for a really cool sit down interview, which I will post at HRH later this week. By the time our interview was done, Dokken was finishing up their set. They sounded ok from where I was standing, and I was able to catch Jon Levin wailing away on those infamous George Lynch solos.
I quickly ran back up to stage two to catch Steel Panther perform. I didn’t expect much from these guys, but you know what…. I loved their set. Their songs are a really good hair metal parody, but they are so good at what they do, you can’t help but like them. I must admit that the only songs that I knew were “Death To All But Metal” and “Fat Girl”, but I liked all of the tunes they performed. I will certainly pick up their CD when it becomes available. I couldn’t stay for Steel Panther’s entire set either, as I didn’t want to miss one minute of Kix’s set. I ran back down the hill to stage one and got there right before Kix took the Stage.
The best performance of the day, easily goes to Kix. They were absolutely fantastic. Maryland obviously has a strong appreciation for their band, and rightfully so. Kix’s excellent set included the following songs (in no certain order): “Midnight Dynamite”, “Itch”, “Get It White It’s Hot”, “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” , “Cold Blood”, “Blow My Fuse”, “Girl Money” and a bunch more. Singer Steve Whiteman is every bit as good as the day he started this band. Ronnie Younkins and Brian Forsythe have to be one of the most under appreciated guitar tandems in rock today. Kix’s set was so good, they could have closed this show, and everyone would have been happy. Luckily, there was plenty of rock left on this day. I ran back up the hill to stage two to catch L.A. Guns.
This L.A. Guns is the version with Phil Lewis, Steve Riley, Scotty Griffin and Stacey Blades. The same lineup has been together for quite a few years now and sound great. Stacey Blades might not be Tracii Guns, but he is a damn good guitarist, and does a great job on these classic L.A. Guns tunes. Phil Lewis made this rock fan feel old by mentioning that 2009 was the 20th anniversary of the Cocked & Loaded CD. Good Grief…has it been 20 years already? I enjoyed their short set.
Extreme’s set over lapped with L.A. Guns so I missed the beginning of their show. I really wanted to stay for the whole Extreme set too, but the end of their set overlapped with KEEL’s. From what I could tell, Gary Cherone sounded exactly the same, and Nuno Bettencourt was amazing as always. I enjoyed the few songs that I got to hear.
I quickly ran back up the hill (are you seeing a pattern here) to catch the start of KEEL’s set. Judging from what I could tell from KEEL, I should have stayed to watch Extreme. I don’t know what the deal was, but something was missing in KEEL’s performance. I think Ron Keel may have been having some sound issues as his voice did not seem very loud in a few songs. He was using a wireless microphone, and this could have been oen of the problems. I thought his voice was a lot smoother, and no where near as coarse as it was back in the 80’s. It was this coarseness that gave KEEL such a cool metal sound, and I didn’t hear it during their set. They played songs from all of their albums which was cool, but I kept feeling like this was a phone in perfomance. Some of the songs from the KEEL set list was (in no order): “Cherry Lane”, “The Right to Rock”, “Speed Demon”, “Because The Night” and a few more. I hope I get the chance to see KEEL again. I love their music, and they definitely deserve a second chance. I had high expectations for KEEL at M3, and the band didn’t meet them.
I headed back down the hill one final time for RATT & Twisted Sister. I wanted to see Carmine Appice’s SLAMM, but I was ready to see two full sets of music before I called it a day.
RATT was up next, and they did not disappoint me. Pearcy’s voice sounded pretty good for the most part, and Warren DeMartini was awesome. He has been one of my favorite guitarists for a long time, and he did not disappoint. My seat for the main stage event was on the far right hand side of the stage, and the sight line wasn’t the greatest. I immediately realised that the rhythm guitarist was not Carlos Cavazo, but appeared to be John Corabi. His hair was a little different since the last time I saw him, and I almost didn’t recognize him. The one thing I have noticed the last couple of times that I have seen RATT is that Corabi kind of stands off to the side and lets the rest of the band do their thing. I don’t know if there is bad blood there, or what the deal is. Corabi is a terrific musician and singer, but I wonder how happy he is in RATT. Aside from that, I enjoyed RATT’s set. Their set list included: “Lay It Down”, “You’re In Love”, “Back For More”, “Wanted Man” and much to my surprise and enjoyment, “Nobody Rides For Free’ (From the Point Break Movie soundtrack).
Twisted Sister took the stage around 9:30, and immediately was experiencing sound issues. JJ French did not have any sound to start the show, and it took quite a while for the Twisted Sister crew to get him fixed up. After the inital snafu’s at the beginning of their set. Twister Sister kicked some major ass to close out the M3 festival. This was my first experience seeing Twisted Sister and a couple of things surprised me. These guys talk a lot during their shows. Dee Snider was pretty funny, but did he really need to continue to advertise his House of Hair Radio show during Twisted Sister’s set? Was JJ French’s rant about American Idol really necessary? Twisted Sister needs to play more and talk less during their shows, in my opinion. Aside from too much talking, I loved Twisted Sister. Their set was high energy, hair flinging fun, and the band really does try to put on the best show possible. Their set list included the following songs: “Under the Blade”, ‘Horror-teria”, “We’re Not Gonna Take It”, “Burn in Hell”, “The Price”, and I Wanna Rock”. Twisted Sister’s set was a great ending to an amazing day at Merriweather Post Pavillion. I hope they make this an annual event. If they do, I will be back!!