Carolina Rebellion @ Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte, North Carolina 5-4-13/5-5-13

The biggest rock and roll show in the Carolinas rolled into town this past weekend, the third annual Carolina Rebellion. The festival has expanded to two days this year and moved to a new and more permanent location at Rock City Campgrounds adjacent to the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The new venue is large enough to accommodate the crowds and is more suitable to handle the high volume of traffic which made for a much easier time getting to and from the show.

The action got going early on Saturday with up and coming bands Young Guns and Otherwise kicking things off. The first surprise of the festival happened during Otherwise’s set as a lucky young man was brought out on stage to propose to his girlfriend who excitedly said yes! Australian rockers Sick Puppies put in a strong set with Emma Anzai tearing it up on the bass guitar. An early highlight of the day was In This Moment who put on a great show. Maria Brink and company absolutely command the stage and provide a visual treat with costuming and skull stage props. The crowds started to get heavier by this time and the chants of “AfuckingA!” began to welcome Asking Alexandria to the stage. Their high energy whipped the crowd into a frenzy and the crowd surfing began as lead vocalist Danny Worsnop called for a wall of death. Thankfully, and I’m sure security will agree with me, the wall of death did not transpire.

Halestorm was up next and they always put on a great show. Drummer Arejay Hale is not only a master stickhandler but an extraordinary showman as well. The excitement continued with sets by Bullet For My Valentine and Papa Roach. Frontman Jacoby Shaddix knows how to work the crowd and Papa Roach had the biggest crowd excitement of the day. Device closed out the Jagermeister stage for the day with a strong set. David Draiman has quite a persona about him and awed the crowd simply by walking out on stage in his simple long black coat.

Three Days Grace were next and I was curious to hear them live with new lead vocalist Matt Walst. Matt is a terrific performer and was fun to watch although his vocals struggled a bit on some of the older 3DG tunes. Following 3DG was the absolute wall of sound brought by Deftones who were incredible live. Fred Durst and Limp Bizkit got the crowd “Rollin'” as they ran through a bit of an unusual set that included covers of both Rage Against the Machine and the Who but failed to include their most notable cover, “Faith.” Headliners Alice In Chains brought a whole new level of intensity to the evening. Their set included hits like “Rooster” and “Down in a Hole” as well as their newest single “Hollow.” Guitarist Jerry Cantrell is in a class of his own and vocalist William DuVall was spot on all evening. As they closed out the first night of the festival with “Would?” the crowd left fully satisfied.

Unfortunately Day 2 of Carolina Rebellion did not go quite so well. Mother Nature simply wouldn’t cooperate and rain was the order of the day prompting the first band of the day, Nonpoint, to cancel their set. This did not sit well with the yellow ponchoed rebels who had been waiting in the torrential downpours and chants of “Rain or Shine!” began. After more delays and a rearranging of set times, the show finally got going with tenascious performances by All That Remains and Pop Evil. The rain did not stop Steel Panther from having a good time as they ran through a comedic set poking fun at themselves and posing and primping for the crowd. Raprockers Hollywood Undead were next and the audience finally got into it crowdsurfing and having a great time despite the conditions. It looked as though the weather might finally break as Sevendust took the stage. Lead singer Lajon Witherspoon and drummer Morgan Rose are simply outstanding and Sevendust rocked it out even as the rain started up again. As the jumbotrons announced the cancellation of Volbeat’s set, Buckcherry started their set early with “Lit Up” and absolutely killed it out there. Conditions were brutal and the rain was simply pounding on the stage but that did not stop Josh Todd from leading the band through a set of Buckcherry hits. One thing I can say about Buckcherry is that you always have a good time when they are performing and this time was no different. They closed out their set with “Crazy Bitch” which unbeknownst to the crowd would end up being the last song of the day.

While waiting for Rise Against to perform, rumors were beginning to circulate that Bush would not perform and that the show might be cancelled. Crews were frantically trying to dry the stages with squeegees and backpack blowers and a real battle ensued between “squeegee man” and “blower dude” with the audience taking up sides. The winner hands down was “squeegee man” who may have gotten the biggest cheers of the entire festival. After about a two hour delay, the announcement was finally made that the show was cancelled and Rise Against, Bush, and Soundgarden would not be performing. Rebels were clearly not pleased about the turn of events and the length of time it took to make that decision. After spending the day in the teeming rain and wind, who could really blame them? To make up for it, Sunday ticketholders will be given the choice of a free Sunday ticket for Carolina Rebellion 2014 or a partial refund. You can check out their website for further details.

Set Lists:

Alice in Chains:

Them Bones
Dam That River
We Die Young
Hollow
Check My Brain
Again
Down in a Hole
Got Me Wrong
Stone
No Excuses
Rooster
Man in the Box
Would?

Deftones:

Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
My Own Summer (Shove It)
Diamond Eyes
Rocket Skates
Rosemary
Tempest
Swerve City
Change (In the House of Flies)
Passenger
Root
Engine No. 9
7 Words

Papa Roach:

Burn
…To Be Loved
Silence Is the Enemy
Getting Away With Murder
Between Angels and Insects
Still Swingin’
Where Did the Angels Go?
Forever
Scars
Lifeline
Last Resort