May 3 2013

Rose’s Birthday at Earth Day Birthday 20

Yes, yes…. even Rose has a birthday.  We don’t remember the birth year anymore… somewhere around “the year zero” or something like that.  But the annual celebration always begins right around EDBD.  What luck!  We get to hang out with thousands of people who don’t even know it’s our birthday party!  This year when we arrived at Tinker Field, we could hear that NONPOINT was already into their set.  Damn!  Late again!  Got the car parked, got through the gates, waited in line for wrist band, waited in line for drink tickets, waited in line for drinks, (Good God… You’d think these people would give the birthday girl an express pass or something!) then we finally maneuvered our way through the rapidly expanding crowd to the main stage just in time to catch ALL THAT REMAINS.      

Kick ass music is what All That Remains has been doing since 1998.  Original members Phil Labonte and Oli Herbert were joined by guitarist Mike Martin, bassist Jeanne Sagan and drummer Jason Costa in 2004, 2006 and 2009, respectively.  All That Remains’ sixth and latest CD   “A War You Cannot Win” is not as heavy as most of their previous work, but still really stellar music.  ATR is always a great band to see live.

Then it was on to our hometown guys from Orlando, SOULSWITCH at the Bud Light Stage.  Nearly four years ago, we were fortunate enough to meet Jimmy, Matt, and Nic during a photo shoot for a local publication. 

                                     Back then, we hadn’t heard any of their music yet, but it wasn’t long after that we  caught their show and knew we would be seeing and hearing lots more.  Since that time, they’ve released two EP’s “SoulSwitch” and “As It Seems”.  They’ve been touring with everyone, everywhere delivering their music with the same fierce energy and infectious excitement that they had the first time we saw them on stage.  At EDBD they looked and sounded as awesome as ever…. Has any band played EDBD more than SoulSwitch?  After EDBD the band was off to Welcome to Rockville in Jacksonville and then back here in Orlando for a show later this week.

Rose first saw NER VER at a small local club and was immediately drawn to their no nonsense style.  We were exceedingly pleased to see them at EDBD delivering a great set on the Bud Light Stage.  Upon further research, we found their Facebook page to be almost devoid of information, none of the usual fluffy background or band history here…. It’s all about the music with these guys.  And rightfully so, their first full length CD “Bullfighter” was released in late 2012 and contains some of the best hard rocking music around.  Check it out on NerVer’s website:  http://www.nervermusic.com 

With all the walking back and forth from stage to stage, and the price of the drinks, we can’t figure out how so many people get trashed at Earth Day Birthday.  It must be the Bud, because the cranberry juice and water (with a drop of vodka) couldn’t possibly have had any effect on you.  On the positive side, we didn’t get dehydrated and cranberry juice is very good for the kidneys.  

The best way to people watch and listen to David Draiman’s new project DEVICE was definitely from the four-story high (guessing at the height here) Ferris wheel .   Interestingly enough, the sound quality was really good up there.  As one of my favorite moments of the day, I got to thinking it would be really cool if EDBD 21 added bumper cars or a roller coaster.  Wouldn’t that get interesting as the day progresses?   And you know what we like about Device?  They sound a lot like Disturbed.  You know what we aren’t really sure we like about Device?  They sound too much like Disturbed.  But, maybe we need to listen to them a little more (at ground level) so we can provide you with a fair opinion. 

It took a minute to find the acoustic stage; it was kind of oddly placed with a few vendor tents on the other side of the fence where you’re not sure if you’re supposed to go, but we did anyway.  When we got there, it was a breezy little retreat with shade and chairs!  Seemed kind of weird to be in a chair at Earth Day Birthday, but nonetheless my butt welcomed a place to rest for a little bit.  Thank you, to the nice unknown man who actually gave me his chair.  Even better…. we found SAM STONE and BILL PECK of Exit the Ride playing an amazing set that included acoustic versions of  their songs “Live Forever” and “Alcohol and Cigarettes”, along with their hot cover of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”.   The beautifully played guitars were accompanied by great vocals and magnetic smiles.  Must make it a point to see Sam and Bill at another show soon.

                     Rose’s show buddies insisted that we check out OTHERWISE back at the Bud Light Stage.  Otherwise has had a good amount of radio play; but they grabbed the attention of my friends when they caught them at a show in Vegas.   This hard rocking bunch of guys from “Sin City” are as impressive live as they are on their debut CD “True Love Never Dies”, which features “Soldiers”, their anthem to all who persevere through the disappointments and hardships of life.   Rose’s pick from this CD would be the slightly harder edged “Silence Reigns”.   Otherwise is:  Adrian Patrick – Lead Vocals;   Ryan Patrick – Guitar/Vocals;  Corky Gainsford- Drums/Vocals;  Vassilios Metropoulos – Bass/Vocals

As much as we detest wasting time and money on food… you do get hungry at these all day festivals.  And typically, there is nothing that one would really consider food…but wait… there was an “Asian Confusion” truck.  Rose recommends the Pad Thai … a huge spicy portion served up by an adorably flirty man.  What more could you want for lunch?  (Insert inappropriate thoughts here)  We also heard the Mongolian Beef was pretty good.  Just sayin’ for food truck food… this is pretty decent faire.    

And guesss what?  We didn’t really miss NONPOINT because they returned for another set at the Acoustic Stage.   The little tent was so crowded, we couldn’t actually get close enough to see them, but we most certainly heard their songs, including “Bullet With A Name”, sounding pretty damned good unplugged style.  

And then there’s the flying balls of Earth Day Birthday.  Most people like to play with them,  some people actually seem  annoyed with them; personally we are very amused by them.     How can you not find flying balls entertaining?  Enough said! 

Volbeat’s music has been circling around my world for a few years now; so we’re kind of embarrassed to say that we didn’t really catch on until our favorite little dude (he’s six years old and already a self-proclaimed metalhead) introduced us to the virtues of Volbeat primarily through their 2010 album “Beyond Hell/Above Heaven”.  Intrigued by their sound and impressed by the fact that they were joined on this recording by the likes of  Barney Greenway of Napalm Death, Michael Denner of Mercyful Fate/King Diamond, and Millie from Kreator ; we had to listen and learn more.  Fortunately for us, it was their connection in the European leg of  ”the big four” (Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer)  tour that brought them across the sea to the U.S.  In their live show, Copenhagen native, Michael Paulson’s reverence to America’s music bad asses is undeniable with tattoos and tributes to Johnny Cash, Elvis, and Social Distortion.  While their roots are deep within the soil of death metal, Paulson and Volbeat masterfully link all that is classic American metal, rock n’ roll, punk and old-school country with a dash of Danish flavor.  To add to their bad-ass line up, Rob Caggiano of Anthrax has joined them for this year’s tour in support of their new release “Outlaw Gentlemen and Shady Ladies”.  Rose’s pick from this CD – “The Hangman’s Body Count”.   Volbeat is:  Michael Paulson – vocals; Jon Larsen – drums; Anders Kjolholm – bass; Robb Caggiano – guitar.  

Rose wrapped up her Earth Day Birthday just  inches from the Stone Sour pit..but still  much too far from the stage.   With our phone battery dead, we have no pictures to insert here.  The ever  rebellious Corey Taylor and company delivered the Stone Sour goods in what seemed to be a very short set that included “Through the Glass”,  ”Bother”,  ”Made of Scars”,  ”Say You’ll Haunt Me” and “30/30 150″.  It was the latter that saw the pit swell to the most brutal of the day, with the most people singing, screaming, and head banging along with the band.  

For a song entitled after the author’s adolescent jean size….. the meaning seems to be “one-size-fits-all” shapes, genders and generations…. we can all reach back there and see where the feelings came from.   We can all reach back there and see why we are what we are now.   We highly respect Corey as a writer.  He has a unique ability to use simple words in the most complex terms.  There’s nothing simple about the feelings in his lyrics.  And while the situations are different for each of us, the feelings are common to most of us.

 “Corey Taylor / Stone Sour”

By robins • Local Bands Orlando, Local Venues Orlando, Music and Life, Orlando Metal Bands, Uncategorized • 0 • Tags: All That Remains, Corey Taylor, Earth Day Birthday, Exit The Ride, NerVer, NonPoint, Otherwise, Sam Stone, Stone Sour, Volbeat