The 2012 Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Festival is currently in its third year and made its annual stop in Western New York. This installment included one of the biggest bands on the planet, Shinedown, and also featured Godsmack, Staind, Adelita’s Way and a host of other bands that played the Ernie Ball stage throughout the day.
A few of those bands we caught was a band out of Hamilton, Ontario called Redlight King. Mark Kasprzyk, better known as Kazzer, did a great job with their short set and even played along with the “Lets Go Buffalo” chant and admitted his favorite team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, weren’t up to par with the Buffalo Sabres. He won over the fans instantly and their song “Something for the Pain” was the highlight of their set.
Next up was California’s “In This Moment.” The slot was a little early for an established band like them, but the true professionals they are, they didn’t let it phase them. With a new look and stage set up, In This Moment was looking to take no Prisoners. With original lead vocalist Maria Brink and guitarist Chris Howorth leading the way, the band completed a short half hour set focusing on material from their latest offering “Blood.” Stay tuned for an exclusive interview with Maria that was conducted after their set.
Next up was a band I never heard of, or know anything about, called Deuce. They brought a style reminiscent of Hollywood Undead and P.OD. In fact, closing the Ernie Ball stage was none other than P.O.D themselves. They totally got the crowd going as there was more crowd surfing for them than any other band during the day. They also have a new album called “Murdered Love” and played a strong 50 minute set.
The main stage unfortunately did not get to welcome one popular band, as Papa Roach lead singer Jacoby Shaddix had to have emergency vocal surgery which took them off the tour. So Shinedown, Godsmack, Staind and Adelitas way all played a little longer to fill in the void left by P.R.
Adelitas Way was first up and didn’t do very much in my opinion. I think having either In This Moment or P.O.D would have been the better choice. The band only played 7 songs and seemed like they could have cared less about being there. The band is garnering attention and getting lots of airplay on terrestrial radio hence the position on the main stage.
Next up was Staind, who has one of the best voices in rock in Aaron Lewis. The band played mostly a radio friendly set consisting of many hits including “ It’s Been Awhile,” “Right Here,” and “So Far Away.” The band sounded terrific and got a great response from the crowd.
Who could have easily been a co-headliner, Godsmack still showed why it’s still a force to be reckoned with. Regardless of how many times you see these guys perform, seeing the drum duels between Sully Erna and Shannon Larkin still doesn’t get old. Erna can go between playing rhythm guitar to just playing the frontman with the best of them. His snarling vocals are still strong as well as the drumming of Larkin. Both Tony Rombola on lead guitars and bassist Robbie Merrill are no slouches either as they performed their parts with notable timing and precision.
The headlining band who just seems to be getting bigger and bigger with every release is Shinedown. Now we have already covered them a few times earlier this year with the Rock on the Range festival and headlining their own tour, but consistency here should be noted. Every show including this one was great! Nothing was different from this performance except the mass amounts of pyro they added to their set. Shinedown are a well oiled machine and cranked through their set with ease. Vocalist Brent Smith continues to show no signs of wear from their constant touring schedule that he and his bandmates have found themselves in. A must see when they come to your town that’s for sure!
The crowd was very light for a quality lineup like this at Darien Lake with under 10,000 in attendance I would say. Lets hope this doesn’t scare the tour from retuning next year!
Shinedown Set List:
Sound of Madness
Diamond Eyes (Boom-Lay Boom-Lay Boom)
Enemies
If You Only Knew
Devour
I’ll Follow You
Unity
.45
Bully
Simple Man(Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)
Second Chance
Fly From the Inside
Godsmack Set List:
For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)(AC/DC cover intro)
The Enemy
Keep Away
Cryin’ Like a Bitch
Straight Out of Line
Awake
Re-Align
Speak
Voodoo
Batalla de los Tambores
Whatever
I Stand Alone
Staind set List:
Eyes Wide Open
Right Here
Now
For You
Paper Wings
It’s Been Awhile
Not Again
Outside
Mudshovel
Something to Remind You
Adelitas Way Set List:
The Collapse
Hurt
Alive
Cage The Beast
Criticize
Sick
Invincible
All Photos by Gus Griesinger except Staind photos by Jeff Gerew.
We would like to thank Kristine Ashton-Magnuson from Ashton-Magnuson Media for allowing BackstageAxxess to review the show.
