Rock on the Range - 5/19/07 - Columbus, OH

By Art Michalski 

Many of modern rock’s big guns descended on the Buckeye capital of Columbus, for the inaugural Rock on the Range festival at the sold out Columbus Crew Stadium. Even though it couldn’t probably be confirmed, the 11-hour festival was probably the biggest event the Major League Soccer stadium had seen since the inaugural Crew game.

The all day festival, sprawled out over two stages, was a hits-heavy fest of old time headliners (ZZ Top), supergroups (Velvet Revolver) and up and comers (Black Stone Cherry).

The day started off with Cisco Adler’s Whitestarr and without the sunny and 75 degree forecast that was predicted, but a somewhat chilly and drizzling start to the show that didn’t slow things down, but wasn’t exactly what the weather people lead us to believe. As the overcast skies prevailed, at least the humor was cheerful, courtesy of Los Angeles’ 2 Cents. As drummer/lead singer Adam O’Rourke hit the stage, he announced that his band was switching genres. The band was switching the sleaze hard rock style to a “Christian heavy metal, techno group that covers only Ashlee Simpson songs!” O’Rourke’s comments got a good chuckle out of the crowd, and the music had a dirty swagger to it that held the fans over until the bigger bands started to hit the stages.

The first main stage band wasthe modern rock juggernaut Breaking Benjamin, who fought through drizzle and fans that might not have been fully awake to put together a 35-minute set that was dependable, but nothing extraordinary. With songs like “Sooner Or Later” and the major rock radio hit “The Diary of Jane,” Breaking Benjamin is a band that is probably bigger than they should be. Not a bad band, but nothing still distinguishes them from numerous other bands of the same genre.

Los Angeles band Operator hit the second stage next; lead by the aptly titled Johnny Strong, the band showcased some promising material from their debut album, out in late June. With songs like the current single “Soulcrusher,” Strong’s vocals are reminiscent of Chris Cornell’s before moving into a hard rock yowl. Keep an eye out for this group later this summer.

After the surprise comeback of 2006, Buckcherry kept the ride going with a fantastic 40-minute set that should have been a lot later in the evening. Relying on a set list heavy off of their comeback 15 record, the group played tracks such as “So Far” and the monster hit “Crazy Bitch.” Only two songs from anything other than the 15 album were played, as “Porno Star”, and the major rock and roll debauchery anthem “Lit Up” ended the band’s highlight set.

Kentucky’s Black Stone Cherry sounded much heavier live than they do on their debut CD. The fusion of hard rock and southern rock worked well for the band, as they ripped through cuts like “Hell and High Water” and the opener “Rain Wizard.” The band might not be the most glamorous looking band on stage at Rock at the Range, but the music stood out.

After choosing pizza over Three Days Grace (no offense to Three Days Grace; but we were hungry), we awaited the long time coming set from Puddle of Mudd. The second stage crowd woke up before and during their set, with lots of topless women and other fans getting rowdy. Lead singer Wes Scantlin emerged and s reconnected with fans he hasn’t seen in years, or least since the band last toured in 2004. Starting with “Away From Me,” the band showed off hit after hit as well as new song “Famous” that fit in very well with the band’s set list. As the set was about to conclude, the band’s guitarist messed up the opening of the massive hit “Blurry,” so Scantlin (whether the screwup was intentional or not) busted into the sing-a-long smash “She Hates Me.” Give Puddle of Mudd kudos for their kick-ass cover of Nirvana’s “Breed” at the end of the band’s set.

Over on the main stage, Chicago’s Chevelle put on a decent 40-minute set that focused in on hits such as “Send the Pain Below” and new single “Well Enough Alone.” With family disputes behind them, Chevelle sounded crisp and rejuvenated. Unfortunately, Chevelle is a lot like Breaking Benjamin, and didn’t send the crowd into a fervor.

The last band on the second stage, Papa Roach enjoyed the first sunshine of the day and some of the overflow of crowd debauchery from Puddle of Mudd’s set. Lead by energetic lead singer Jacoby Shaddix (this reviewer still digs Shaddix’s stage name of Coby Dick as a rock name more) Papa Roach launched into a lot of new material from their Paramour Sessions record, before playing P-Roach hits like “She Loves Me Not” and the usual set closer “Last Resort.” The material from Paramour comes off well live, and seemed to be well received from the fans.

Heading back to the main stage, Hinder won the dubious distinction of being the band to suck the life out of the audience. The crowd wasn’t digging most of the band’s 50-minute set, and that’s putting it lightly. The band’s cover of Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild” elicited a collective yawn from the crowd and the massive pop hit “Lips of an Angel” was drowned out by random cries of “I hate this f—ing song,” and other similar statements. About the only song that got crowd response was the final song, the tepid “Get Stoned.”

The supergroup Velvet Revolver hit the stage as the sun started its descent down and probably should have headlined this show. Dressed in his military dapper usual self, Scott Weiland ripped into Contraband cuts “Do It For the Kids” and “Set Me Free.” While the Guns ‘n Roses rhythm section of Slash and Duff McKagan wailed near Weiland, the band put on a set that was a relief to see, after Hinder’s boredom-induced funk. VR showed off of a lot of new material from their upcoming Libertad album, including the current single “She Builds Quick Machines” and the intriguing “The Last Fight.” With the power ballad punch of “Fall to Pieces” and the swagger of “Slither,” Velvet Revolver rescued the crowd for the rest of the evening. The show finished off with out with alt-rockers Evanescence and ZZ Top.

For 50 dollars, Rock on the Range provided a fairly cheap way to see many of modern rock radio’s big names (Compared to 50 bucks to see just Velvet Revolver in Detroit the week before), and gave the fans the maximum bang for the buck. With a sold out crowd of 30,000, its pretty safe to say that Columbus will be seeing another Rock on the Range come 2008.