From both fan and press reviews, this show sounds like a bit of a logistical nightmare - a vast roster of bands, bands plagued by technical problems, violence in the crowd, problems with organisation and headliner Chris's planned meet-and-greet cancelled at the last minute with winners offered an alternative date in New York. And that's without even considering the 50 foot inflatable penis...

If you have the set list for this show, please get in touch!

By fade away

This was from my blog, so it's a little long (and since there were so many bands at this show, you may have seen this post on other boards); I was one of the meet & greet winners.

My friend and I arrived at the venue at about 9am; we were actually running late, I was planning on leaving at about 7 but I felt like shit (lack of sleep) and it was closer to 8 before we were actually on the road. But we still ended up quite close to the front of the line.

Of course, the free tickets that I won weren't available when we got there, so I was quite pissed. The people at will call had to call Chris' production manager multiple times before they were able to get the necessary information to issue the tickets and M&G passes. After about 20 minutes of standing outside of will call like an idiot, I was called over and given the tickets and passes-- I'm glad I brought a copy of the confirmation email with me or else it would have taken a lot longer.

So I get back in line and some drunk dude came up to me and declared his undying love for me and then hugged my friend (who's a guy). Then he proceeded to run across the parking lot, pulled his pants down, and took a 5 minute piss. Everyone started cracking up, including security. It was the most hilarious start to a concert ever. We ended up front row for the first 5 bands. Strata was alright; a little too whiny for me; the only song I like of theirs is the one that was on The Punisher soundtrack a few years ago, "Piece By Piece"--they played it, so I was happy.

A condom company (can't remember which) must have been a K-Rockathon sponsor, so there was a 50 foot inflatable penis in clear view from the stage. Packets of condoms were everywhere; people started blowing them up and smacking them around.

Sick Puppies are good live, their singer's mic wasn't working right though and kept cutting out. But the songs they got through without interruption sounded great.

Brand New Sin--I love them. They're from Syracuse, so it was awesome that they were finally given the chance to play at the show. At this point people realized that we were standing on wood chips (and larger bits of tree) and started to throw them- at each other and on stage; before Black Light Burns started, Nick (the guitarist) was smacked in the face with a piece. They ended up playing a short set; they were having issues with their shit as well, mic kept cutting out, etc.

Wes (singer) was clearly pissed, but he kept his cool. Told everyone to try and hit him with trash while the crew tried to fix everything. I don't remember the exact setlist, but they opened with "Mesopotamia", closed with "Lie", and "Coward", "Animal", "Stop A Bullet", and a couple others were thrown in. They didn't play "Cruel Melody" or "The Mark", which sucked. But this certainly won't be my last BLB show, so it's alright. Maybe next time.

Drowning Pool was very good; I'd go see them again. Everyone went crazy during "Bodies". Brand New Sin's singer sang with them during that one; and their guitarist crowd surfed--he almost landed on me. Bastard. I'm actually surprised I didn't get kicked in the head by anyone at all during the whole show. Good thing I'm short. We gave up our spots and went to get drinks during Evans Blue because neither one of us really care for them.

We were supposed to go to the sound board at 5:40 to be escorted to the area set up for the M&G at 6- that's what the email said. But the lady who gave me the passes said to go the the merch stand at 6. So we hung out until about 5:30, then went to the sound board and asked around--nobody had a clue what we were talking about. So we went to the merch stand and got the same response. While we were over there I saw Black Light Burns in a booth doing autographs and photos. This was all happening during Social Distortion, so I ended up missing them too, but it's all good because I can't stand their music. I had them sign my CD (brought it with me just in case). They were all cool and down to earth--very easy to go up and say hi to. I was thanked by each of them for buying the album- apparently they hadn't been given any recently to sign, a lot of people were having them sign posters and K-Rockathon t-shirts.

While I was doing that, my friend was asking around about the meet & greet; found someone who knew about it around 6 and told him it was at 5:30. So we were quite pissed. But, I just found out that that was complete bullshit too, because I received an email at around 2pm yesterday (I was already there, so I didn't get it in time) saying that the M&G was switched to after the show because Chris wasn't even going to arrive at the venue until after 7pm. A second email came shortly afterwards saying that it was cancelled because he had to leave right after the show. I'm a bit disappointed, but I feel better knowing that it was cancelled rather than just missing it. To make up for it, myself and a guest were invited to one of the NYC shows. But I can't go; I'm and 18 year old student with two jobs, there's no way I could possibly have time (or afford) to travel to New York right now.

After Social Distortion was done, we weaseled our way back up through the crowd toward the stage. Ended up in about the 3rd row for Deftones - right in the middle of a mosh pit. I was pushed into the second row by the end of their set. Apparently they were filming for their new concert DVD, but I didn't see any cameras. Someone in front of me got kicked in the head by a crowd surfer pretty hard, so she left after the Deftones were done. Lucky for me because I got her spot up front.

Chris Cornell's set seemed quite short and his voice sounded very strained, especially during "Show Me How To Live" and "Jesus Christ Pose"--I think the poor dude needs a day off. He sounded amazing during the slower songs though; "Fell On Black Days", "Hunger Strike", etc. It was great to finally hear him live; I've been a Soundgarden fan since I was 6--lots of memories; I literally grew up with it.

Even though I was up front, I couldn't see much of anything because security was in the way trying to catch crowd surfers--it was getting ridiculous, they kept coming right after the other non-stop. I guess they were getting as many in as possible before the end. There was an older lady there (probably mid-40s) who was trying to get up close to the stage and kept bitching because she was getting pushed by moshers and almost getting hit by crowd surfers. It was kind of pissing me off--if you can't handle it, get the hell out of the pit. Her bitching was more irritating than the fact that I was in the front row and unable to see anything. Overall, I had a freakin' blast. It was the most fun I've had all year.

The Citizen

KRockathon lives up to reputation

You wouldn't know the temperature was only 75 degrees at the 12th annual KRockathon.

The crowd of close to 10,000 rock fans was rife with shirtless men and belly-baring women at the Cayuga County Fair Speedway Saturday. When concert staff broke out a fire hose between the bands' sets, many fans scrambled to get soaked.

Bands like Syracuse's own Brand New Sin and Black Light Burns provided the chugging soundtrack as the audience worked up a sweat moshing, surfing the crowd and getting crunched against the barrier.

“It's pretty crazy, a lot of people are going all out,” said Cody Compau, of Phoenix. Foam flying discs from sponsor AmeriCU and wood chips from the concert floor were routinely tossed through the air all day long.

“I think they're dangerous,” said concert-goer Courtney Roberts, of Bridgeport. Face-painted Black Light Burns singer Wes Borland even encouraged the audience to hit him with any debris they could toss when an equipment problem stalled his band's set. He counted three hits amid the storm of objects sailing toward the stage.

And all this happened before the show's headliners had started.

Drowning Pool, Deftones, Social Distortion and headliner Chris Cornell each attracted fans of a unique niche of rock and roll. Social Distortion fan Ben Robicheau, of Liverpool, turned out to see the veteran punk band but found little else to enjoy about the show.

J.P. Brennan, of Auburn, a veteran of six KRockathons, showed up to see the straightforward rock of Cornell and the heavier stylings of Drowning Pool. As he waited for their sets, he found the speedway a much more accommodating venue than in previous years.

“They opened up one building for food and a second set of stairways, they're nice improvements,” Brennan said.

Few concert-goers encountered the type of traffic problem that plagued last year's KRockathon and even prevented band Evans Blue from making their set time. The band returned this year.

“I left at 10:30 and there wasn't much traffic, but the parking was kind of hectic,” Compau said. Also unlike last year's show, dry weather kept the speedway grounds from turning into mud. But Nicole Lum, of Mattydale, found it just as difficult to find her footing on the wood chips covering the concert floor.

“You can stumble way too easily,” she said.

- David Wilcox, The Citizen, Auburn, New York.

Hunger Strike - thanks kotz1

Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2007