Rocktoberfest Review
Hey everyone, Raven here with an Exclusive Live review. Growing up in Southeast Kansas I always dreamed of the day that Heavy Metal would come to my town one day. That day came October 7th, 2017 at Dudley's Done Right B.B.Q. in Iola, Kansas. In a town where the only radio stations you can tune into are Pop, Country and Classic Rock, local metalheads often have to turn to online venues to hear their favorite music and travel an hour or more to see their favorite bands, this was a history making breakthrough show. Featuring International and National touring artists Mushroomhead with special guests Unsaid Fate, Ventana, Hail Sagan, Motor Gun Hotel, Faces For Radio and The Bluetick Hounds, Iola, Ks did not fail to impress going just as hard as any major city venue, harder even. Doubling as a 40th birthday party for Marshall Barnhart, owner of Dudley's Done Right B.B.Q. there was plenty of great food, a free cd sampler from Stillpoint Visions and 1$ draft beers all day long. Partnering up with Memories by Dotty once again we headed out to enjoy an afternoon of great music. As far as we know Mayhem Music Network is the only News Media Outlet to cover this show.
The Bluetick Hounds
Kicking things off was The Bluetick Hounds of Lawrence, KS. The combination of Blues and Rock provided by The Bluetick Hounds was a great start to the afternoon getting us primed and ready for a day of great music. The passion these men had for playing and for the music could be clearly seen on all of their faces throughout their set. The combined skill of Guitarist and Lead singer Ryan Harvey shined through in his gravelley hard rock vocals and smooth blues guitar. Backing him up with an astounding combination of hard rock and blues guitar was Dillon Boren. Accompanying them with backup vocals and harmonica skills I have never seen before was Jack Feather Foot. Keeping things smooth and easy on the bass and providing backup vocals was Cody E. Bringing it all in and tying it together with some smooth beats was Brandon Ripley on the drums.
Faces For Radio
Following up The Bluetick Hounds performance was Faces for Radio. Playing as if they were in a stadium Faces for Radio did not fail to impress the crowd pulling out all the stops and providing us with great covers of some of our favorite songs like Don't You Forget About Me by Simple Minds and Toxicity by System of a Down the crowd went wild. The amount of energy these guys put into their performance was nothing short of phenomenal. Lead singer Mark Rose had a standout voice and an outrageous stage presence that left the crowd in an uproar. Pouring just as much energy into his performance the skill and range displayed by guitarist Adam Angelini had this reviewer stunned and shocked. Not only skilled but playing with emotion clearly on his face drummer Dustin Ensley's performance was an eye opener. Laying down the rhythm bassist Joe Herold's performance was a highlight of my show.
Motor Gun Hotel
Just recounting these guy's performance has my heart racing. Comprised of two former members of Green Jelly, Singer and Guitarist Jimi Craig and Bassist Brian Beckman are joined by drummer Jimbo Maciel to form Motor Gun Hotel. The excitement I had for seeing these guys play was unreal. Traveling 1400 miles from Southern California to play this show they left with quite a few new local fans. Carrying the weight and intensity often shown with 90's Singers and Guitarists, Jimi Craig's performance was top notch. Carrying just as much weight behind his performance Bassist, Brian Beckman had no problems laying it down for us. Last but not least was drummer Jimbo Maciel. What can I say about his performance other that it was completely incredible. Smiles all the way you could tell he was enjoying himself very much up there performing for us.
Hail Sagan
The surprise artists on this tour Hail Sagan were a last minute addition to the shows lineup. However having very little time to familiarize ourselves with them we can say that their performance was truly a sight to behold. Lead singer Sagan Amery's mixture of dark, alluring clean vocals and alternating screams had heads turning and fans going wild. The other members simply going by the name The Nothing they each poured an amazing amount of energy into their performance. Experiencing technical difficulties twice during their performance, as Sagan Amery pointed out during one of them, they quickly "took something bad and turned it good" with the drummer breaking down into not one but two solos during these occurances.
VentanA
Comprised of Mushroomhead's Rick "Stitch" Thomas joined by others, Ventana's performance was a highlight of the evening. It was during their set and onward that the crowd became the liveliest. Stirring the crowd up with his powerful vocals and energetic performance Lead Singer, Scott Beck was truly a sight to behold. Crowd surfing, climbing on the rail and impressively walking on top of the crowd, he set a standard for the evening's performances. Just as energetic was Rick "Stitch" Thomas, providing a combination of haunting keyboards and samples, as well as his own vocals, to oppose and compliment those of Scott Beck. Slamming the skins with energy and vigor was Drummer, Daniel Fox. Extremely talented and providing dark and soaring guitars was Tom Shaffner.
Unsaid Fate
Accompanying Mushroomhead on their Fuck Everything Tour, Unsaid Fate had the fans going crazy. Following up the standard set by Scott Beck, lead singer Jackie LaPonza too left the stage and walked on the crowd. I was lucky enough to be one of those fans holding her on top of the crowd. Backing her up with vocals of his own and some sick guitar skills was Don Debiase and accompanying him with some sick skills of his own was guitarist Luck Fockler. Not to be outdone, bassist John Calo's skills shone just as bright as those of his band mates. Backing them all up with some serious skill was drummer Mike LaPonza.
Mushroomhead
After waiting 10 years and four failed attempts I finally saw Mushroomhead. This show was an out of this world performance. Playing fan favorites like QWERTY, Damage Done, Sun Doesn't Rise, Out Of Our Minds and More the crowd passed the tipping point. Recognizable by their horrific masks and intense heart racing performances Mushroomhead is not an artist you want to miss seeing. Bringing local children up on stage to help play an amazing intro to Born of Desire the experience was phenomenal, opening the minds of once skeptical listeners. Their show had so much going on for it I cannot just pinpoint one member of this band as all of them lent their unique talents to this performance. Members: J Mann- Vocals Jeffry Nothing- Vocals Skinny- Drums Stitch- Samples/Waterdrums Church- Guitar Dr. F- Bass Roberto Diablo- Drums/ Waterdrums
Mayhem Music Network would like to thank all of the musicians that performed this show for us. It was truly an incredible and fantastic performance. Mayhem Music Network would also like to thank the following for making this show happen: Dudley's Done Right B.B.Q. and Marshall Barnhart Sponsorship of Sampler CD and videography by Stillpoint Visions Photos by Memories by Dotty Dudley's Done Right B. B. Q- https://m.facebook.com/dudleysbbq/
Memories by Dotty- https://m.facebook.com/memoriesbydotty Mushroomhead- https://www.facebook.com/mushroomheadofficial/ Unsaid Fate-https://m.facebook.com/unsaidfate/ Ventana- https://m.facebook.com/VentanaBandOfficial/ Hail Sagan- https://www.facebook.com/HailSaganOfficial/ The Bluetick Hounds- https://m.facebook.com/thebluetickhounds/ Motor Gun Hotel- https://www.facebook.com/therealmotorgunhotel/