Welcome to Rockville Becomes a Three-Day Festival – Part 3
By Barry Nadler
April 29, 2018 https://welcometorockvillefestival.com/
Day three of the festival was a slower paced day. The hit list included the newer band, Gretta Van Fleet. I was pretty interested to see what this band was like live. Anyone familiar with this band is aware that they are four young guys whose music have an uncanny resemblance to the sound of Led Zeppelin. It also included Bullet For My Valentine, Thrice, Billy Idol, and Foo Fighters.
This was an interesting day. Gretta Van Fleet has an incredible sound. Live and recorded, if you close your eyes, it is absolutely like going back in a time machine and seeing a young Led Zeppelin. But, if you open your eyes, what you see is a very young band that definitely needs some work on stage presence and style. I expect that will come and they will come into their own. Again, I lost my daughter to her friends after Gretta Van Fleet.
I was not familiar with Bullet For My Valentine. They have been around for a while, but I never really got into them. I thoroughly enjoyed their set and have been converted into a fan.
There were two disappointments for me on Day 3. The first was Thrice. I have a friend that is a huge fan of theirs and talks about how great they are a lot. They even played WJRR 101.1’s Earthday Birthday show last year (which I was at), but I did not see them at that time. I expected this incredible sound and stage show for them. Their sound was good, but their stage show did not impress. This was definitely a band that I was simply happy listening to their albums.
One of the things my daughter was quick to identify was that there were many mothers in the crowd for Thrice. They tended to protect the younger girls from the mosh pits during their set.
The other disappointment was Billy Idol. I think, based on the crowds varying responses on Facebook, they felt he was a mixed bag. I grew up in the 80’s and Billy Idol was huge! His guitarist, Steve Stevens, has a unique sound and I was looking forward to seeing him. However, I was a little surprised by the choice of songs for his set. I only knew half the music in his 10-song set. He has at least 9-10 songs I can immediately identify by name. So, he didn’t include songs such as “Cradle of Love,” “Mony Mony,” and
“Hot In the City.” His closing song was what you would expect… “White Wedding.” But, it was acoustic, which was weird. I even turned to a friend I was with and said “Man, it would have been cool to have Steve Stevens up there with him…” and later came to find out that he did. So, needless to say, his entire set was underwhelming to me.
There was a third disappointment that occurred, in that Killswitch Engage was supposed to be part of the lineup for the festival, but due to a medical situation, had to cancel. I have never seen this band and would have liked to.
At this point, it was time to start a mission and find that hidden gem that was Island Noodles. I did end up finding them in a corner of the festival and was treated to some very good noodles worth the search.
The band that closed out the festival was Foo Fighters. I will be honest, I wasn’t that excited about it. They were slated for a two-hour set (which is highly abnormal for a festival set). I can’t say I have ever been a huge fan of the band. I think I could identify two or three songs of theirs. However, I think I am in the minority for that one. I know a friend that literally saw them three times in one week on this current tour. Another friend had seen them a few days prior and was just singing their praises as the greatest band ever. So, the bar was set pretty high and I was prepared to be feeling just ho-hum about their set.
90,000 people showed up for the Foo Fighters. People sat the whole day at the main stage to have a good spot. It was unreal. Then it happened! They hit the stage and totally won me over as a fan. I had not seen a straight-up, old-fashioned rock show like that in a long time. They had a ton of hits I knew, the crowd was into every song, and they played several covers in a unique way…but still recognizable. There was literally something in this show for everyone. The drums were on hydraulics, so they raised to almost mid-way up the backdrop screen. They did a mash-up of John Lennon’s “Imagine” and Van Halen’s “Panama.” Dave and his drummer switched positions and he drummed for this song, while his drummer took center stage. After which, Dave Grohl said, “And they said it would suck!” He has a strong sense of humor about it all too. At one point, he asked the crowd to scream if this was their first Foo Fighters show, and a large percentage of the crowd roared. His response… “What the hell has taken you so long? We have been around for 24 fucking years!” I had to check that myself – I didn’t realize they had been around that long. These guys went on for two hours and never stopped for a breather! Another surprise included a duet with Billy Idol. The last surprise of the evening was when they started playing some of the music from the movie “Grease” and John Travolta walked out on stage and danced with Dave Grohl. How surreal is that? Billy Idol and John Travolta on stage with Foo Fighters at the same show. Needless to say, I am now a Foo Fighters fan and would say I would absolutely see that show again.
The end of the story about how the simple meeting between my daughter and the guy that put her on his shoulders for Ozzy is that they kept in touch and she now has a new boyfriend from that chance meeting. I have repeatedly written about how, in the end, music festivals are not just about the music. They are about the relationships and experiences people have during their time at the festival. This is what keeps people coming back over and over. Many are willing to buy their tickets without even knowing the lineups…because it’s about their time with the other people. Welcome to Rockville proved to be no different this year.
Bullet For My Valentine
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Greta Van Fleet
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Thrice
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