The Rockstar Uproar Festival [August 25th, 2010]

When? August 25^th, 2010

Venue: Molson Ampitheatre, Toronto,ON

 2^nd Stage :
            * Hail The Villan                        *Airbourn
            * Hellyeah                                    * New Medicine           

Main Stage:

            * Avenged Sevenfold                        * Disturbed                       

           * Stone Sour                                    * Halestorm

The summer is coming to a close, and kids are starting to dread the thought of going back to school, so what’s the best way to make the summer end with a ‘BANG!’ ?! The Rockstar Uproar Festival. This festival hit Toronto on August 25^th, 2010 and not only do you get to witness this amazing line up, but your ticket also grants you admission into the EX the day of the show! With that being said, that’s the best way to get your parents to take you, by telling them for the price of the ticket they can spend a full day of quality time with you at the EX right before seeing the show!

Unfortunately, I was not able to see the 2^nd stage because it was quite spaced out and located a little further into Ontario Place. But the idea of actually having a second stage set up was pretty neat because when you look at the ampitheatre you can never really imagine how they would pull it off until you get to see it with your own eyes. The day started off rainy and cleared up by the time doors opened at 7pm, so apart from being a little muggy the weather was nice – not too cold & not too hot.                        

First to hit the main stage was Halestorm, they are a hard rock back from Red Lion, Pennsylvania. The band consists of Lzzy Hale (vocals), Arejay Hale (Drums), Joe Hottinger (guitar), and Josh Smith (bass). When I first saw them on stage, I wasn’t too sure what to expect,  but when Lzzy started belting out the songs, I knew it was going to be a good night. They reminded me of a more hardcore version of Paramore, but they were a lot more entertaining than what I was expecting. Not only were they all over the stage and having a good time, they also gave us a surprise! Everyone was a little confused when they went off the stage around the 4^th song, but they just left briefly to go get some metal garbage cans to bang on! It was pretty neat to see them use resources to create new beats. As their set was entertaining and got everyone rallied up, their music seemed to be just the generic hard rock, nothing really special that could give them the “umph” to stick out more than any other band musically, but I do applaud them for being able to keep me entertained for the set.

Up next on the main stage we had Stone Sour, this five piece is from Des Moines, Iowa and consists of Corey Taylor (vocals), Jim Root (lead guitar), Josh Rand (rhythm guitar) , Shawn Economaki (bass) and Roy Mayorga (drums). These guys sound grate live, but their set was not as interesting to watch as Halestorm.  They were able to promote their new album “Asylum” for their set and played a few songs off it which had the people going, so I give them props for that but still wish they had done something more exciting during their set.

Finally, the event that most people have been waiting for.. Avenged Sevenfold! If you aren’t familiar with this band, they are five piece band from Huntington Beach, California and recently lost their back in December as Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan was discovered dead in his home. A7X consists of M.Shadows (vocals), Synyster Gates (lead guitar), Zacky Vengance (Rythym guitar), Johnny Christ (bass) and for just this tour, Mike Portnoy was playing drums (he had also helped out the band in recording the new record). One thing I noticed in this crowd was that there were a lot more A7X shirts floating around amongst the people than Disturbed, who were the main headliner. As the lights dimmed and the sheet that was blocking the crowds view of their stage lowered the crowd began chanting for A7X. Something I’ve learned over the years from seeing them perform is that they always make sure their set is memorable. As they started playing ‘Nightmare’ they had a stunt man jump off the top of the stage as if it was a suicide and had the pyros going off all night with their graveyard stage props and 3 backdrop changes, one in which was a picture of the guys hugging The Rev and it appeared while Shadows was giving a tribute to their fallen friend. With just that being said, they were able to keep everyone entertained for the night! With The Rev gone, I wasn’t too sure how the band would sound, but Portnoy pulled off The Rev’s style perfectly while adding his own twist to it.  At the end of their set, they hung back on stage while throwing their drumsticks & guitar picks into the crowd and said thank you. You could see that Portnoy didn’t want to take any of the Rev’s spotlight so he tried to not stick out a lot, but the fans still went wild over him, greateful that he was willing to help the band out and do a killer job!

After A7X got everyone up and going (and if you were lucky after their set you might have bumped into Papa Gates who was wandering the venue), it was time for the main act Disturbed. If you aren’t familiar with this four piece, they are from Chicago, Illinois and have been around pulling off big shows like these since 2001 where they first opened for Marilyn Manson. The band consists of David Draman (vocals), Dan Donegan (guitar), John Moyer (drums), and Mike Wegre (bass).  Disturbed managed to keep the great mood going, but I didn’t think their set was out of this world, there was a lot more going on during A7X and you could see it in the crowd as the moshing wasn’t as bad. One thing that I saw during their set that I have never seen before was a wheelchair crowd surf. One young man was in a wheelchair in the pit and during Disturbed’s set he got hoisted up and moved a little bit closer to the stage, that was truly an amazing sight. Sound wise, Disturbed killed it, as they played a good mix of new and old songs.
More photos will be up soon!