Another M3 Rock Festival has come and gone. For the
seventh year in a row I headed down to Columbia, Maryland to meet up with my
great friend Rob Rockitt (of Hard Rock Hideout fame) for some much needed
mayhem and music. This year we were joined by two other metal heads, Christine
Sixx and Dee Deadly. They are fabulous friends who love the music as much as we
do. This would be their first time in attendance for an M3 rock festival and I
knew they were in for a spectacular weekend. I also knew from years of
experience that there were going to be good times, bad times, and even ugly
times. This is my take on all of them.
The Good
86 Bullets – 86
Bullets was the first band to kick off M3 this year, and they were a band I had
never heard of before that night. We settled in our seats just as the band
amped out their first song. I don’t know the titles of what they played, but I
know that I was very impressed with their quick set. Hard hitting, heavy
performers, 86 Bullets is a band that I need to pay a little attention to this
summer.
Lynch Mob – “I
got that Wicked! Sensation!” Oni Logan and George Lynch (along with the rest of
the mob) were fantastic! Their Friday night performance was one of the best of
the weekend. I’ve always loved Lynch Mob. They are an exceptional band that
always delivers and this night was no different. They performed their best
known Lynch Mob songs (“Wicked Sensation,” “She’s Evil But She’s Mine,” “River
Of Love”) and some classic Dokken songs (“When Heaven Comes Down,” “Into The
Fire,” “Tooth And Nail”). The Dokken songs sounded magnificent, much better
than Don Dokken’s version. Seeing Lynch Mob for the abbreviated M3 set reminded
me just how wonderful the band really is. I need to seek out their headlining
shows and take one or two in.
KIX – Every
year KIX brings their best and gives an incredible live performance. This year,
was no exception. They played a perfect blend of new cuts (from Rock Your Face Off) to classic hits
(“Cold Blood,” “Kix Are For Kids”). The hometown fans absolutely adored it.
I’ve said this several times over the years, but it bears repeating: KIX is an
exceptional live band. And while I was disappointed that a couple of my
favorite classic KIX songs were not included in this year’s set, I was
extremely happy to hear the new material. Sure, I missed “The Itch,” and
“Midnight Dynamite,” but I love the new songs, so I fell that the trade off was
worth it. KIX was one of the few bands at this festival that actually released
an album of brand new original material in the last two years. They should
perform the new songs. The new material easily stands up to the classic cuts. KIX
was the perfect way to end Friday night.
Every Mother’s
Nightmare – I will admit that I didn’t even remember Every Mother’s
Nightmare prior to this show. They were one of the bands that I just didn’t pay
attention to in the 80s. I don’t know why, because they were excellent!
Granted, Rob and I were only able to hear three of their songs (due to getting
to the venue a little late), but what I heard was terrific. I did get to hear
their signature song “Love Can Make You Blind” and they played it note perfect.
I am going to have to watch some of their old videos and maybe even pick up
their CD on the used market.
Faster Pussycat –
I don’t get to see this band in concert enough. Every time I witness their
performance I tell myself that I have to see their headlining set, but I never
do. And then the next time I see them live, I scold myself for not seeing them
more.
Faster Pussycat gave a quick, gritty, intense set filled
with hits and fun. Taime Down wore a headpiece that proclaimed his love of the
female sex (or at least what’s between their legs) which made me laugh. At first
I thought the headpiece had I love cock written on it. I quickly realized that
it wasn’t cock, but the c word for a woman’s nether regions.
Even though it was 11:30 in the morning, the seats were
almost 70% full. Fans came out in droves in the early morning mist to see
Faster Pussycat and they were awarded with a great set. “House Of Pain,”
“Bathroom Wall,” and “Cathouse” were all played and sounded superb. Faster
Pussycat showed that they are still a great live force. And yes, I need to
catch one of their headlining sets soon.
Night Ranger – Whenever
I see Night Ranger, I am just amazed. This band still has it almost 35 years
after they got their start. Jack Blades, Kelly Keagy, and Brad Gillis may be
nearing social security age, but they still perform with the best of them. And
although Joel Hoekstra left the band for Whitesnake, Keri Kelli was an
exceptional replacement. His chemistry with the band was apparent from the
opening song (“Touch Of Madness”). Night Ranger was tight and extremely happy
to be on stage together. They performed their biggest hits, two Damn Yankees
songs, and their latest single (“High Road”). There really isn’t much more that
we could have asked for.
Queensryche – Words
can’t even begin to describe how utterly spectacular Queensryche with Todd
LaTorre is. Christine probably said it best, “This guy has me loving
Queensryche again.” That’s a perfect statement to sum up the performance we
saw. Queensryche with Todd LaTorre makes me forget that they used to have a
different lead singer.
Todd’s voice is impeccable. He was able to hit every note
on every song, and the band pulled out some deep cuts. The roaring approval
from the crowd proved that we weren’t the only ones in love with Queensryche. They
were easily the best band at M3 this year and hopefully they will be the
headliners for 2017.
The Bad
The Weather –
It was rainy, cold, and downright miserable for certain portions of the
festival. It had to be terrible for those that were on the lawn. Thankfully we
were in the covered seats section, so the rain didn’t affect us too much.
However, by the end of Friday night we were shivering. April may still be a bit
too early for this festival.
The Food – New food vendors charging higher prices. I
get that the Merriweather Post Pavilion is undergoing renovations and they need
to raise money, but the quality of the food has gone down severely and the
prices increased almost 25%. What the heck?
Every year I look forward to getting a cheese steak
sandwich at my favorite concession stand near the back of the pavilion. This
year that concession stand was gone and the ones that had cheese steaks were
terrible. In the past it was real steak with real cheese and all the fixings
(lettuce, tomato, onion). This year it was steakum and cheese whiz. Ugh! Just
terrible! And the other food was equally as bad. $12 for a slice of pizza that
was no better than something I could buy in the frozen section of my grocery
store? Come on!
Enuff Z’Nuff –
Enuff Z’Nuff with Chip on vocals was not good. And that really saddened me,
because I love Enuff Z’Nuff. With Donnie Vie and Johnny Monaco no longer in the
band, Chip decided that he could handle lead vocal duties. Unfortunately that
was a poor assessment on his part. He just can’t sing the tunes the way they
were meant to sound. I understand that Donnie Vie is focusing on his solo
career, but I wish they would have found a way to bring him back for this one
performance. It just wasn’t the same without him --- it was actually pretty
dismal.
The Ugly
Vince Neil – Vince
Neil was terrible! We’ve all heard the stories of how Vince is out of shape,
sings every third word (if he remembers them at all), and really can’t carry a
tune anymore. Sadly, those rumors are true. Look, I understand we all age. I
understand that eventually father time is going to catch up to everyone. But I
also understand that sometimes you need to have the wits to go out gracefully.
Vince is at that point in his career where he may want to
reconsider performing live. It was just a shame to see. I truly believe that
his glory days are long behind him, and Vince doesn’t have much to bring to a
live show anymore.
Slaughter – I’ve
said this before. Slaughter really needs to hang it up. As much as it pains me
to say that, it’s the truth. Slaughter is just a shell of what they used to be.
Their amps are turned up way too loud, the bass overrides all the music, and
Mark Slaughter no longer has a voice. Yet he still tries to sing in the high
octave that made him famous. Unfortunately it just sounds like an angry cat
now.
If they aren’t going to retire, the least they can do is
try to perform to their current ability. Dana should turn his bass down and
Mark should sing in a lower octave. We understand that you won’t hit the notes
the way you used to. And if you try to adjust your talent level, we’ll forgive
you. Unfortunately Slaughter tried to prove he still had it as rock screamer. He
failed.
They did have one saving grace however. Drummer Zoltan
Chaney (who also drums for Vince Neil) was absolutely insane! His bezerker
style of drumming is a pleasure to witness live. He uses his hands, feet,
elbows, and every other body part he can to bang the drums and cymbals. Chaney
is nothing but high energy and he was the best thing to see in Slaughter.
Stephen Pearcy – One
word comes to mind when reminiscing about Stephen Pearcy’s set---atrocious. He sounded terrible. He forgot the words to
his songs. He came in to the bridge too early. And generally he looked like he
didn’t want to be there.
Pearcy came out in a hoody and sunglasses, with the hood
pulled tight over his head. He sang the first two songs this way. Rob mentioned
that he heard Pearcy say he was hungover and apologized to the crowd. He
should, his performance was awful. If you’re going to party the night before,
have the sense to remember that you have to perform the next day. You owe it to
the fans that paid money to see you in concert to always give your best. Pearcy
did not give anything but his worst. It was just terrible.
The Bottom Line
As long as they keep having it, I will keep attending. The
M3 rock festival is just a blast of 80s metal memories and good times. And
having great friends to go with every year makes the festival that much more
enjoyable. Sign me up for 2017!
