Carolina Rebellion @Rock City Campgrounds, Concord, NC May 6-8, 2016

This past weekend the Rock City Campgrounds at Charlotte Motor Speedway played host to the biggest rock and roll festival in the Southeast as it was once again time for Carolina Rebellion. This year the festival was expanded to three days allowing fans to spend a long weekend in the Carolina sun enjoying some of the best rock bands around. With four stages set up in different areas of the festival grounds, there was continual live music going on each day of the weekend. In addition to the music, there was plenty for fans to do with a ton of food options ranging from your standard fair food of burgers and fries to real gourmet treats like local barbecue and Asian noodle treats. A special shout out is deserved for those in charge of the food and beverage as well as the workers as everything in this area moved smoothly and there was rarely a wait. Attendees also had a variety of shopping to choose from with vendors selling festival and band merchandise to blankets, hats, and gift items. Of course, the longest lines of the weekend were seen at the signing tents where scheduled bands appeared to sign autographs at various times over the three days.

With so many great bands on the bill for the weekend, it was a challenge at times to keep up and take it all in but I paced myself and was able to check out 42 bands during this year’s Rebellion. Day one saw things kicking off early on the smaller Gold Stage with newer rock acts like From Ashes To New and New Year’s Day getting the ball rolling. Some of the main stage highlights on Friday included a set by the Swedish metal band Avatar. With matching circus costumes and makeup, they were a great way to amp up the theatrics of the weekend as they ran through solid tunes including their latest offering “The Eagle Has Landed.” HellYeah gave a great performance with heavy metal superstar Vinnie Paul behind the kit and charismatic frontman Chad Gray. Sixx:A.M. blew the lid off the place with a rousing set featuring their latest single “Rise.” Now that Nikki Sixx can devote all his time to this fantastic band it is only a matter of time before we are asking Motley who? A noteworthy performance on the Black Stage came from Filter with lead vocalist Richard Patrick waving a rainbow flag during their new song “Pride” and speaking out about the controversial NC anti-LGBT law known as HB2. Stadium rock was the theme for the rest of the evening with Collective Soul closing out the Black Stage and great sets from 3 Doors Down and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Security was looking forward to what they referred to as family night and were hoping to get a break from the moshpits and crowdsurfing before the metal acts on Saturday. But fans would have none of that as they found they could crowdsurf to just about anything including more mellow tunes like “Loser” from 3 Doors Down and even Skynyrd’s classic “Freebird.” As I walked to the Rebellion Stage for the final act of the night, I was shocked at the amount of people leaving before Scorpions even took the stage. It was disheartening to say the least. Those who left early missed one hell of a show as well as a being a part of rock history as this was the very first show to feature Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee. As true rock and roll royalty, the Scorpions commanded the stage like the true veterans they are. With giant video screens and a huge, elevated riser for the drum kit, the visuals were amazing as well. Vocalist Klaus Meine sounds as good as ever and guitarist Rudolf Schenker is a guitar god and consummate showman. The highlight of their set included a poignant version of “Loving You Sunday Morning” and their encore which included the love song “Still Loving You” and the classic “Rock You Like a Hurricane.”

Day two of the festival was a great mixture of old and new with metal, metal, and more metal ruling the day. Texas Hippie Coalition rocked the Gold Stage with their special brand of Red Dirt Metal as frontman Big Dad Ritch threw cds out into the crowd. Radio host Jose Mangin brought some local military members out on stage to honor those who serve prior to an ass kicking set by Anthrax. Megadeth kept the moshpits going with Dave Mustaine’s classic growls. The real chaos however was found on the Black Stage where the crowdsurfing was out of control during Parkway Drive’s performance. The security guards were certainly earning their pay as body after body kept coming over the barricades. The chaos would continue for them as the Swedish metal band Ghost took the stage. The musicians are known as Nameless Ghouls and dressed in matching outfits and masks while lead vocalist Papa Emiritus III was in full face paint. With smoke and lights, it gave an eerie feeling to the set and the fans showed their appreciation by shouting Ghost! Ghost! as the band took the stage. As action on the Black Stage took a break, Florida rockers A Day To Remember killed it on the Rebellion stage. As confetti cannons kicked off their set, the crowd was a sea of confetti and beach balls as the band took charge and marched through a solid selection of hits led by frontman Jeremy McKinnon who seemed to be a huge favorite with the younger girls in attendance. Lamb of God was up next on the Black Stage. I’m not sure who was behind the decision to put LOG and the other metal acts on this smaller stage but it should be revisited for future festivals as the crowd was just too large for this smaller set up. Of course Randy Blythe took it all in stride and jumped, hopped, and ran all over as much as he could while the band tore it up. It was back to the Carolina Stage for Five Finger Death Punch and the crowd was more than amped up to see them. Frontman Ivan Moody worked it as they ran through both Death Punch classics and newer tunes like “My Nemesis.” Guitarist Jason Hook was blistering all night with a guitar that lit up in green and drummer Jeremy Spencer’s black and white painted face was all that was visible of him behind his massive drum kit. Moody even invited some younger kids in the crowd up on stage and had everyone cheer for the future of heavy metal . Afterwards it was time for the main act of the night, the arena rock heavy hitters of Shinedown. A recording of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” played before the band took the stage with “Fly From the Inside.” Shinedown always sounds fantastic in a live setting and this night was no exception with vocalist Brent Smith’s powerful pipes filling the night air. The band has a great chemistry and rapport with each other on stage and the interplay between them is something special. “I’ll Follow You” literally gave me goosebumps but the highlight of the evening was an audience sing a long to a shortened acoustic version of “45.” Then as guitarist Zach Myers gently began playing “Purple Rain” on his acoustic guitar, Smith dedicated the next song to Prince and delivered a poignant rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man.” This also made for an interesting dichotomy between Friday and Saturday night as Skynyrd themselves had played “Simple Man” during their performance. It’s not often that a cover version can match the original but in this case it absolutely did as both Skynyrd and Shinedown were phenomenal. The “Sound of Madness” capped things off and it was time to go home before heading back to Rock City for the final day of Rebellion.

Sunday was a bit more of a chilled out day as I got to take in performances from some bands that I was relatively unfamiliar with. The Atlanta based Royal Thunder had a great soulful vibe with bassist and vocalist Miny Parsonz a true shining star. The afternoon was a good one for British rock with a crazy set from Enter Shikari complete with robotic dance moves and a rousing set from The Struts. I was urged by another photographer to walk down to the Rebellion Stage in the heat of the afternoon to check them out and I was totally enthralled by these British darlings. Their classic sound is part Queen and part Rolling Stones and frontman Luke Spiller has all the Jaggeresque moves to match. Back on the Carolina Stage, rap rock was the order and both Yelawolf and Cypress Hill were there to deliver. The southern rock rap of Yelawolf was a welcome change up as he danced on the speakers and spewed the requisite Budweiser on the crowd. Cypress Hill kicked things up old school style and had the crowd singing along to “Insane in the Brain” and “Jump Around.” Bring Me The Horizon was a favorite for the younger crowd with their melodic rock hits “Happy Song” and “Go To Hell for Heaven’s Sake” as the scene kids crowdsurfed one after another. The Black Stage was not without action as well with a wild crowd for the elusive Baby Metal and none other than Alice Cooper headlining the evening. I really wish that Alice would have been on one of the main stages. He has a remarkable show with fantastic props including a guillotine where he is “beheaded” at the end of his set. He had a giant crowd rocking out to hits “I’m Eighteen” and “School’s Out” and I would love to see what he would have done with more space and time. Cooper is an outstanding performer and gives the audience everything he has each and every time he is on stage. His band is also world class with guitarist Nita Strauss shredding it up. Another showman extraordinaire, Rob Zombie, was up next. Of course with a moviemaker like Zombie, the visuals are as important to the overall effect as the music His set was a circus horror show theme and he had all the crazy lights and smoke you could ever want to see. He truly seems larger than life as he stands behind his giant mic stand with fringed coat and cowboy hat ready to memsmerize you. Guitairst John 5 is one of the best in the business and bassist PIggy D nevers disappoints as he interacts with the crowd and urges them on. A highlight of the set was Zombie dancing on the speakers to the riff from Tone Loc’s “Wild Thing” and talking to the audience. The final act of 2016’s Carolina Rebellion was a crazy set from Disturbed. They opened up with “Ten Thousand Fists” as flames shot up on each side of the stage and drum riser. What better way to kick things off than David Draiman urging the crowd to get their fists in the air? The band was tight as they tore through a mixture of old and new including the Simon and Garfunkel classic “The Sound of Silence” and a medley that included a bit of “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2 and The Who’s “Baba O’Riley.” Capping off the covers medley was Disturbed’s version of “Killing In the Name” by Rage Against the Machine. Once again, fists were pumping the night air, this time with middle fingers up as Dramain and the audience screamed “F…You I Won’t Do What You Tell Me!” Their set closed with “Indestructible” before returning for an encore of “Voices” and their biggest hit “Down With The Sickness.” Can you feel that?! It was a perfect ending to this year’s festival . With a crowd of over 90,000 in attendance, next year’s Carolina Rebellion can only get bigger and better. Until then Rebels, metal horns up!

Scorpions Set List:

Going Out With a Bang
Make It Real
The Zoo
Coast to Coast
Loving You Sunday Morning
Tease Me, Please Me
Rock ‘n’ Roll Band
Dynamite
In the Line of Fire
Drum Solo by Mikkey Dee
Blackout
No One Like You
Big City Nights

Encore:

Still Loving You
Rock You Like a Hurricane

Shinedown Set List:

Fly From the Inside
Diamond Eyes (Boom-lay Boom-lay Boom)
If You Only Knew
Unity
Enemies
I’ll Follow You
State of My Head
Cut the Cord
Second Chance
45(Acoustic, first verse and chorus only)
Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover-dedicated to Prince)
Sound of Madness

Disturbed Set List:

Ten Thousand Fists
The Game
The Vengeful One
Prayer
Liberate
Stupify
The Sound of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel cover)
Inside the Fire
The Light
Closer/I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For/Baba O’Riley/Killing in the Name
(Nine Inch Nails, U2, The Who, Rage Against the Machine covers)
Indestructible