All good issues come to an finish, if for no different purpose than that the human physique can solely take a lot adrenaline-packed moments of sonic mayhem earlier than being spent and in want for a return to normalcy. Given the totally explosive array of performances that topped off Day 3 of the Welcome To Rockville festivities, it was all however stipulated that the ultimate chapter of this 4 day slough would quantity to a denouement compared. Certainly, the roster of acts that might take the varied levels on Could 21, 2023 on the Daytona Worldwide Speedway could be about as faraway from the ferocity that despatched our bodies flailing away within the mosh pit courtesy of the likes of Sepultura, Kreator, Suicide Silence and Pantera. Nonetheless, the lineup of predominantly punk and various rock acts that might draw this monumental event to a detailed have been not at all missing within the influence division, nor was the keenness that they delivered to the desk misplaced on the haggard plenty nonetheless in attendance.
Among the many early entries could be a band with an intensive historical past at their backs, specifically Pittsburgh punk rock veterans and politically-charged rabble-rousers Anti-Flag, bringing an abridged model of the energetic show that they’ve been bringing to the American south for the previous couple days. Recognized for his or her extremely melodic and catchy method to songwriting and their socially-conscious lyrics, they loved a extremely constructive and animated crowd response regardless of their early time slot, and reciprocated in variety insofar as stage exercise was involved. Suffice it to say, the likes of Fir For A King bassist Ryan Kirby could be placed on discover with reference to how a lot leaping might be completed throughout a brief set by the gravity-defying leaps of bassist Chris “No. 2” Barker alone, whereas the remainder of the band have been solely barely behind in preventing to remain off a stage which may as effectively have been on fireplace. Traditional cuts with an ultra-catchy edge in “The Press Corpse” and “This Is The Finish (For You My Pal)” would spherical out the entries that might get the plenty shifting, although the viewers was at their most attentive to the marathon medley of classic punk covers that included staples like “Ought to I Keep Of Ought to I Go”, “God Save The Queen” and “Blitzkrieg Bop”.
Citing the New Jersey finish of the punk scene could be Ridgewood’s personal post-hardcore/emo trustees of the 2000s Senses Fail, whom would observe the stage practices of their elder predecessors Anti-Flag in comparable type. Helmed by vocalist and now lone founding member James “Buddy” Nielsen, decked out in enterprise informal apparel, was a mannequin of how crowd work can actually make a set, as underscored by his barely humorous remarks to the group “Now we have been collectively for 21 years, we’re from New Jersey and we don’t fuck round. We promise we’ll play Free Fowl if everybody within the viewers will get a beer of their fingers”. His stage presentation was no much less dynamic as he proceeded to twirl the mic just like the successor to Roger Daltrey and rival the leaping feats of their aforementioned predecessors. Guitarist Gavin Caswell would do his finest to maintain up and offered a strong rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” to kick of an energized set that included a number of acquainted bangers from their famous 21 yr historical past, to not point out their very own medley that included quite a few nu-metal classics like “Chop Suey”, “Down With The Illness” and “Break Stuff”.
The clock could be turned again a bit once more with the late afternoon entry of other/industrial rock veterans Filter, whom would draw a really spectacular mass of onlookers to their stage regardless of the heavy competitors from the opposite three and their considerably sparse studio output over the previous decade. Kill Hannah guitarist Jonathan Radtke and keyboardist/guitarist turned bassist Bobby Miller proved to be highly effective focal factors all through regardless of flanking one of many extra charismatic and enigmatic entrance males from the heyday of 90s various rock, however the eccentricities and quirky stage presence of vocalist Richard Patrick would reign supreme as his odd mic dealing with model was matched with a really stellar efficiency. Certainly one of their newest singles “Face Down” would grace the set to a good roar of approval from the group, however the closing coup de grace in 90s mega hit “Hey Man Good Shot” could be the knockout blow that despatched everybody in attendance again to 1995 when this act’s platinum debut Quick Bus first hit retailer cabinets.
In one more nod to the great previous days could be that of west coast punk rock veterans Pennywise, hailing from Hermosa Seashore, California and continuing to condemn all in attendance to dying by d-beat. Not one to be upstaged by the legion of leaping jackrabbit acts that had preceded them, they have been an animated presence all through their set, managing to cram 11 short-length doses of up tempo depth into a quick 40 minute time slot with little in the best way of dillydally. Typically famous for his or her capability to merge the subversive with the celebratory, the subject material coated by lead vocalist and de facto each man Jim Lindberg was a bit extra numerous than that of Anti-Flag, however his working class baritone did effectively in getting a couple of jabs on the state of society at giant by way of politically-charged anthems like “Homeless”, “My Personal Nation” and “Society”. The gang was a correspondingly kinetic sea of flailing our bodies all through, although it couldn’t be understated simply how off the hook issues would get when this Stephen King impressed band of punk rockers trotted out a blazing rendition of Nirvana’s “Territorial Pissings”.
The stylistic bag would grow to be extraordinarily combined with the arrival of the Texan experimental rock outfit The Mars Volta, pulling again on the impact-factor in favor of a extra nuanced combination of sonic peaks and valleys that might be equally effectively obtained. Although the punk rock bona fides of the members of this fold have been so as given the connection to former El Paso firebrands of the style At The Drive-In, the presentation would have extra of a technical aptitude and dynamic sense of gradualism, underscored by a lyrically numerous assortment of anthems given guitarist/composer Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s penchant for penning conceptual works. Whether or not it was the spacey but pounding grooves of fan-favorite anthem “L’Through L’Viaquez” or the mellow balladry with a couple of jagged edges of “The Widow”, there was a robust emphasis on musicality and contrasting themes to go together with the compulsory stage of power that was on show, to talk nothing for the usually Robert Plant-like vocal gymnastics put forth by Zavala and the wild, Slash-like shredding courtesy of Lopez on the previous.
The progressive rock vibes introduced forth by The Mars Volta could be additional bolstered courtesy of New York’s personal Coheed And Cambria, taking issues in a considerably extra accessible path by way of a higher emphasis on traditional rocking themes and a much less overt train in stylistic fusion. In typical style, lead vocalist/guitarist Claudio Sanchez stole the present with bouncy stage conduct, which by some means noticed him head-banging at nearly each alternative whereas miraculously not lacking a single lyric or riff. That being mentioned, the remainder of the band have been no slouches in matching their technically intricate musical elements with a correspondingly animated stage presentation, with bassist Zach Cooper taking so many events to lift and decrease his instrument that it was a marvel that his strap didn’t snap. Sadly the often intricate gentle present that goes together with considered one of their riveting shows and proves a boon to their eclectic and energetic repertoire was absent, nevertheless it was a forgivable omission when contemplating the banger show that included latest entries like “Lovely Losers” and “The Liars Membership” alongside the same old traditional treats “The Struggling” and the long-lasting, metal-infused breakout hit “Welcome Residence” to shut issues out.
The musical show would tackle extra of a mellow tone with the funky 90s various rock and Billboard darlings from Calabasas themselves, Incubus; although paradoxically this extra mainline adherent to the realm of rock would discover a much more chaotic viewers response. On not one however two separate events; as soon as throughout their extra upbeat rocker “Circles” and once more later within the set through the efficiency of “Sick Unhappy Little World” the band would stop enjoying in order that an injured fan might be attended to, although the extent of professionalism and care displayed helmsman Brandon Boyd and the remainder of the fold would greater than cowl for these unlucky outcomes and every track would thusly resume and not using a hitch. To place it a technique, the generally raucous, at different occasions easy mix of hip-hop, rock and post-grunge kinds that typified the lion’s share of their set was a recipe for a maddened show of motion and sound from the group, and although entries like “Glitterbomb” and “Stellar” scored many a cheer, it could be their distinctive tackle The Beatles’ “Come Collectively” that might see the viewers response at its apex round roughly the center level of the set.
The quirkiness issue would go into overdrive because the night fell with born various steel and early nu-metal forerunner Deftones taking issues over, pumping much more wanted power right into a crowd that was all however battered into submission over greater than 3 days of shifting and shouting their approval at large succession of acts, and bringing a large array of lights with them that actually turned the presentation into a visible feast. The quintet proved to be no slouches within the stage present division, although their actions have been a bit extra understated when in comparison with the frenzied leaping and physique gesticulations that had dominated the day, with vocalist/guitarist Chino Moreno vacillating between a static stance and a wildly contorted show of motion relying on the dynamics of the encircling music, with the remainder of the 5 following a parallel if barely much less exaggerated mode of movement. Whether or not the tone and tempo of their 16 track slough of a set was a schizophrenic mix of loud and quiet like “My Personal Summer season (Shove It)”, smoother progressive romps like “Minerva” and “Rosemary”, or outright rocking numbers like “Swerve Metropolis”, the jolting shifts in really feel have been palpable, and the actual fact that there have been no repeats of fan accidents like those that twice interrupted Incubus was borderline miraculous.
The ultimate hurrah of this de facto denouement to 4 days of ceaseless festivity would fall to Los Angeles natives and trendy progressive rock standard-bearers Device, and regardless of closing their set 20 minutes early, the grand finale was a becoming conclusion to so large of an occasion. For a person who had already graced this pageant as soon as earlier than by way of his different challenge Puscifer on Friday, Maynard Keenan undertook his function as level man for the ultimate chapter of this large sonic novel with the effortlessness than one would count on from a grasp of the artwork, including an air of flamboyance and potential controversy to the event by performing in drag, sporting a blonde wig, exaggerated purple lipstick, and prosthetic breasts, to protest latest regulation modifications in Florida relating to drag reveals the place minors are current (Welcome To Rockville being an all ages occasion). His melodramatic vocal show was a pressure of nature unto itself, although the bolstering virtuosic show placed on by guitarist Adam Jones, drummer extraordinarie Danny Carey, and particularly the driving intricacies of Justin Chancellor’s signature bass work, with all three in unison erecting a colossal wall of sound that might transcend the smallness of a few of their association. Although the time period banger can solely loosely apply to the in depth compositions that this band grow to be recognized for regardless of their discography being among the many sparsest within the enterprise, that might be one of the best ways to explain the prolonged, odd-timed jams which are “Forty Six & 2” and “Pushit”, not to mention that of “Pneuma” and “Worry Inoculum” from Device’s newest studio LP, which had the distinct honor of toppling Taylor Swift from the highest of the charts a couple of years again.
If nothing else, regardless of rock taking a backseat to the hegemony of pop, rap and EDM on streaming media and file gross sales of late, it’s a foregone conclusion that the artwork is much from useless given the large array of older and youthful bands that rounded out this 4 day extravaganza: that the eulogy of laborious rock received’t be recited at any level this century. Kudos are naturally to ensure that all whom contributed to placing this grand event now 12 years working collectively and stored issues flowing easily, to talk nothing for the bands that stored to a really tight schedule and managed to entertain hundreds upon hundreds of souls for the higher a part of 96 hours.
Welcome to Rockville has grow to be the simple crown jewel of huge scale musical occasions within the Sunshine State – and arguably nationwide – and the one competitors it could face could be the one coming from his personal annual rise. It stays a thriller as to how the Danny Wimmer Presents crew maintain pulling off these large celebrations which such stage of accuracy, terrific line-ups and array of numerous possibility for the hundreds of attendees – specifically when now we have expertise first-hand the obvious shortcomings of different occasions on this class put collectively by different promoters – however the place there’s a will, there by some means all the time appear to be a manner.
