The date was July 26th, at the Darien Lake Theme Park Amphitheatre, & the “Mayhem Monsters” did a stop for Buffalo NY’s radio station 103.3 – “THE EDGE”. The summer BBQ show was headlined by Disturbed with additional appearances by Trivium, In Flames, & my personal favorite Godsmack. Due to unforeseen circumstances with Machine Head, the line-up had changed a bit with the addition of Megadeth, which was okay with me – considering it had been 20 plus years since I had seen them perform LIVE.
After arriving, & getting my tickets & passes straightened out, I walked around the venue to get familiar with the setup. The crowd seemed pumped & you could feel the “Mayhem Vibe” in the air. The first band to hit the stage was Trivium. The high-energy set included “Built to Fall”, their first ever radio-single from the upcoming album “IN WAVES” – due out in August. They did a great job getting everyone pumped for the rest of the evening. The second slot was the Swedish metal band ”In Flames”. They wasted no time getting down to another killer performance. About three quarters through their set, singer Anders Friden noticed a fan filming. He then asked for the camera, so he could get some killer stuff of the crowd…from the band’s perspective. After he finished shooting, he gave the camera back to the lucky fan & told him, “When you get this home, post this sh*t on YouTube!”
As the banner donning Megadeth’s logo rose up, so did the crowd’s enthusiasm. Again, not knowing there was a line-up change, I think the crowd was as surprised & excited as I was. Throughout their set, the band covered the classics such as “Wake Up Dead”, “Hangar 18”, & many others from their long history. After the song “Symphony of Destruction”, Dave Mustaine called a lucky fan to the stage, who had won his guitar in a contest through the local radio station (103.3 / The Edge) – a sponsor of the event. He unplugged his axe, handed it to him, & shook his hand. What an awesome moment for that fan, for sure! They also played a new song “Public Enemy No. 1” from their soon to be released album TH1RT3EN, treating the crowd to a taste of what’s to come.
Next up, was the GODSMACK POWER HOUR. They opened with ”Cryin’ like a Bitch’’ followed by ”The Enemy”, in which Sully Erna commended the United States Military for finding & eliminating Public Enemy #1, Osama Bin Laden. They also cranked out the hits “Straight Out Of Line”, “Awake”, & “Voodoo” to name a few. If you have ever seen them live, you know when Shannon Larkin’s drum kit starts to move stage-right & Sully’s kit emerges, it’s time for the spirited drum duel “Batalla de los Tambores” – where each of them take turns giving the audience some incredible solos & highlighting the raw talent within the band. Then they join forces for a drum medley of some of hard rock’s greatest hits including “Creeping Death”, “Back In Black”, “Moby Dick”, & Rush’s “Tom Sawyer”.
Following a brief video introduction, Disturbed took the stage. Wasting no time, the band opened with the title track off of their newest studio album “ASYLUM” – right into head-pounding versions of “The Game”, “Prayer”, & “Liberate” coupled with some incredible visuals from the large screens & pyrotechnics behind them. The band also covered “Inside the Fire”, “Stupify”, “Ten Thousand Fists”, & “Indestructible” between “The Animal” & “Warrior” from the new album. And just as the crowd had reached its peak, or perhaps was just about to fade, a closing cure of “Down with the Sickness” was in order to ramp the crowd back up – just in time for their rides home.
All in all, the 2011 Rockstar Mayhem Festival gives the fans an opportunity to catch some great bands all in one evening. I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t all three stages & a full day of music, but I’m glad I got the opportunity to cover the festival again & check out two bands I wasn’t familiar with – Trivium & In Flames. Definitely, need to add them to my ever-growing CD collection.
Jason Kotas – August, 2011
