Rocklahoma 2010 - Better or Worse?

My initial reaction to this year’s Rocklahoma upon seeing the lineup was “What the heck? They’ve destroyed this festival.” I’ve had a few days to since digest the new direction of this year’s Rocklahoma and now I’d like to dissect it a little bit and point out the good, the bad, and the what the…?

The Good
The modern bands scheduled to perform are exceptional ones. Theory of a Deadman, Buckcherry, and Saliva are all up and coming massive hard rock acts in their own right. Godsmack (even though I don’t particularly care for them) is coming off a successful stint at CrueFest and they are loaded with a huge fan base that loves them. Adelita’s Way, Chevelle, and Saving Able are up and comers that have a nice follow of fans.

The classic rock bands on the bill are awesome ones. Cinderella, Tesla, and ZZ Top are about as good as it gets when you go back to 80s rock. Cinderella is huge as they haven’t toured in a while and a lot of fans are dying to see them in concert again. Tesla always deliver an incredible show and ZZ Top are classic rockers at their finest.

The decision to move this festival to May (rather than the ultra-hot and humid July) was also a good decision. One of the biggest complaints of Rocklahoma’s past was the disgusting weather that the fans had to sit through. The heat was sweltering during the day and not much relief was offered under the cover of night. Having the festival in May should alleviate a lot of the weather concerns.

The Bad
The total makeover of this festival. Now that AEG is promoting Rocklahoma, they’ve got their hands all over it. They took what was an awesome collection of 80s hair metal bands and they destroyed it. Now it’s a modern rock festival with the occasional 80s band thrown in to appease the masses. And who the hell are half of these bands on the bill? Janus? Aranda? Taddy Porter? Like A Storm? Never heard of them! Am I really going to shell out the money and travel to Oklahoma to see Within Reason and Year Long Disaster?

While moving the festival to May was a good idea, moving it to Memorial Day Weekend was a bad decision. This is a very busy travel and getaway weekend, and while a holiday weekend may make it easier for some fans to attend, others have annual plans that weekend, and this may make it more challenging for them.

What The…?
Out of the 27 bands performing, I’ve heard of 12 of them. That means more than half of the acts are ones that I don’t know, and I suspect not a lot of others do either. This is AEGs way of filling the bill with bands they don’t have to pay that much. I have to be honest, this lineup SUCKS. It is not a listing of acts that is going to make people fly in from all over the country. It’s more of a lineup that would make me say “Hmm, I might go to this,” only if I lived in a nearby state. I don’t know what AEG was thinking when they put together this lineup and I don’t know who the “very special guests” still to be announced are, but unless it’s the Beatles or Kiss, don’t expect it to change the attendance of this festival.

Look, if you’re going to change the entire chemistry of the festival by switching from hair metal to modern rock then at least add a lot of bands that people know and want to see. The Used, Taking Back Sunday, Rob Zombie, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, and Pop Evil all would have helped beef up this lineup and create a buzz. Now, it’s just a joke. It’s a shame to see what was a great hair metal festival go down the tubes due to a major concert promoter that is only looking at lining their pockets with more cash.

What are your thoughts? Are you planning on attending this year’s Rocklahoma, or are you planning on attending a different festival with a lineup suited toward your tastes? Comments are open. Feel free to post some.

For more information or to order your tickets visit: http://www.rocklahoma.com/

Aerosmith/ZZ Top Summer Tour

Are Aerosmith insane? They recently announced their tour dates with ZZ Top for a summer tour of arenas and amphitheaters and naturally, I was excited. I’ve seen Aerosmith several times and I know how great they perform in concert. I was thinking this would be a worthy summer show. The boys in the band are getting older by the day, so who knows how much longer they will be touring?

I was disappointed that they decided to stop working on their new album (their first in a long while) to go on tour, but I was still interested in seeing them. ZZ Top doesn’t sell the ticket for me, but it would be nice to watch them open, since I’ve never caught one of their performances.

I hopped online to check the prices and see if this was a show that I could attend. I almost gagged when I saw the price. For the arenas, tickets range $125 - $175 per ticket. For the amphitheater shows, tickets range between $35 (for lawn seats) to $200, before ticket-bastard fees. What the hell is wrong with these guys? Are they so out of touch with the rest of the nation that they don’t realize people are not currently loaded with disposable income?

Now, I’ve seen Aerosmith in concert quite a few times, but I’ve never seen them put on a $200 performance. That’s pure insanity. Are they just cashing in because they think they can, or because they are at the tail end of their career? Do they just not care about the fans?

Am I wrong here? It seems to me that these guys have lost touch with the faithful ones that made them rich in the first place. It is bad enough we’ve had to endure 5 greatest hits collections over the past 10 years, but now they want to overcharge us to see them in concert? I just don’t get it. And I know it’s not just Aerosmith. Other bands are overpricing their tickets as well (U2 and AC/DC come to mind right away). Can’t some band just give back to their fans and say “$40 a ticket (or less), that’s all we will charge.” Is that even possible anymore?

It’s putting me into a position where I am only going to be able to see bands that are playing the small venues and clubs near my house. It lacks the punch of a big arena show, but choices are limited. $200 can buy a lot of necessities for most families right now. Somehow, I don’t think an Aerosmith concert ticket is on that list.

It just irks me that the guys sitting on top of the world forget all about the fans that got them there in the first place. At the very least, offer a fan club membership (for REAL fans) and then offer them discount tickets or something. Somehow this needs to be fixed, or it will be the rich and only the rich watching these concerts. I can imagine how rocking it would be then.

All right, rant over. Keep me in check, readers. Am I insane to think these prices are unreasonable, or am I right on the money? Comments are open. Feel free to post some.