Uproar Festival @ Darien Lake Ampitheater, Darien, NY
Sunday, August 22, 2010
By: Steve Bowe and Gus Griesinger
Attending festival after festival over the summer and being less than impressed leaves one a little jaded. Uproar had a lineup that looked like a good time, but it was hard to get psyched up for it. That feeling quickly faded. As Summer Dies, New Medicine and Hail The Villain all delivered sets that impressed right off the bat and I knew that it was officially time to throw down and have a great time. If youve never seen Airbourne, dont worry. Youll have the chance to do so soon. However, Id recommend doing it sooner than later. After all, its better to see a great band in a small venue, and its hard to see a band from your living room when the show sells out faster than you could get a ticket. These guys are the next AC/DC. Mark my words, this band delivers beyond what youd think is humanly possible. Reckless abandon put to music in the most pure rock n roll way you can imagine. Nothing less than spectacular. Seeing singer Joel O'Keefe taking to a security guards shoulders while playing through the mass crowd is a sight to see for sure.
Hellyeah continued the vibe in their southern metal way that was perfect for the continuation of the lets go apeshit tonight vibe. You cant have a bad time at a Hellyeah show, so it was a perfect warm up for what was to happen next. Halestorm took the main stage first. Theyre an emerging monster on the music scene. Go see them live and youll see what I mean. Lizzy is one of the coolest women youll ever meet, and she belts out everything she does in a way that almost scares you. Flawless vocals and killer tunes, backed up with a band thats solid as solid can be. Up next was Stone Sour. I could use all sorts of metaphors and fancy wording to describe it, but all I have to say is, HOLY SHIT! Bad ass at its most bad assness. I love Slipknot as much as the next guy, but Stone Sour brings raw, deep, hard songs to the masses better than youve seen in years.
Next was Avenged Sevenfold. Ive never been a big fan, until now. Sometimes a band needs to convey their true form through a live performance in order to win me over and convince me that theyre for real. Game over. They lose their friend and drummer for years and still go out and bang like a group of crazy teenagers. They obviously like fire as much as a bunch of teenagers would. I saw more pyro during their set than every show this year combined. What A7X does in the studio makes sense to me now. They also paid homage to their fallen drummer during the song "So Far Away." A backdrop of the Rev was unleashed and a heartfelt pouring of emotion accompanied this song.
The headliner Disturbed was up next to close what has been a very successful festival. They had a hard time living up to Avenged Sevenfold's performance. The band came out and played two new songs off of their upcoming CD "Asylum." They opened with "Remnants" and then went into the title track. They also cranked out their hits "Stricken," "Stupify," and "Ten Thousand Fists" which was quite good but it just didn't match the intensity that Avenged brought right before Disturbed took the stage.
The only thing lacking at this show was a giant bonfire. It was a hell of a time and a hell of a lineup. Finally, a festival that ripped from front to back!
Set Lists for Main Stage:
Disturbed:
Remnants
Asylum
The Game
Prayer
Liberate
Land of Confusion (Genesis cover)
Inside the Fire
Stricken
Fear/Meaning of Life/Numb/Voices (medley)
Another Way to Die
Stupify
Ten Thousand Fists
Indestructible
Encore:
Down with the Sickness
Avenged Sevenfold:
Nightmare
Critical Acclaim
Welcome to the Family
Beast and Harlot
Buried Alive
So Far Away
Afterlife
God Hates Us
Unholy Confessions
Almost Easy
Stone Sour:
Mission Statement
Reborn
Made of Scars
Say You'll Haunt Me
Come What(ever) May
Your God
Through Glass
Digital
Hell & Consequences
30/30-150
Halestorm:
It's Not You
What Were You Expecting
Dirty Work
Familiar Taste of Poison
Drum Solo/Circle
Nothing to do with Love
Photos by Gus Griesinger
We would like to thank Kristine Ashton-Magnuson of ASHTON-MAGNUSON MEDIA for allowing Backstageaxxess to cover the show.
