The Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival made their first of 27 stops for the 2011 tour on July 9th in San Bernardino, CA at the San Manuel Amphitheater. Anxious fans waited in the burning heat until the doors opened at 1pm. As it did, the empty amphitheater filled up within a few minutes. Fans headed in many different directions, one being the Jagermeister Stage where they would see bands including the Jager Band, Red Fang, Kingdom of Sorrow, Unearth and Trivium. Many went to the Revolver Stage where they could watch Straight Line Stitch, All Shall Parish, Suicide Silence, and Testament. Some even alternated stage to stage after each artist performed. In between sets, fans went to the merch booth which constantly had a large line, or to buy alcohol and food. After all the bands performed on both of the smaller stages, a line formed near the main stage. About 45 minutes before Machine Head hit the stage, security started letting people to their seats. The pit area became larger every second and the orchestra and lodge seats were filling up almost as fast as the lawn section. It was almost completely packed when Machine Head hit the stage. The fans were already pumped from all the other amazing acts and were really into Machine Head’s performance, especially when singer Adam Duce encouraged a circle pit and crowd surfing. As the band finished up their short set, the fans left again to buy merch and drinks. All were back at 8:10, 5 minutes before Godsmack hit the stage. The same amount of energy carried on from Machine Head to Godsmack and the time flew by before Godsmack finished. During the Godsmack performance, the Mayhem Festival had their first fire on the lawn which people could see and smell from the front of the stage. After they left the stage, no one left their seats. No one wanted to miss Disturbed, a band most people waited the entire day to see. As the song “Remnants” started to play, Disturbed members came onto the smog filled stage at around 9:45 and the fans went crazy. The lights shone on the audience where there was not one empty seat in the house. As the song ended everyone cheered louder then they had all day and the band quickly went into “Asylum” with fans screaming every word. Throughout Disturbed set, singer David Draiman constantly asked to see everyone’s “devil horns”. and by just the 2nd song it was crowd surfer after crowd surfer getting helped out the pit by security. Draiman thanked the crowd constantly and their 11 song set had to crowd begging and pleading for more. After Disturbed left the stage with no encore, many of the fans left. Not many people knew about Dethklok, the headlining band. They came on stage, a cartoon playing in the background. For those who stayed for their performance, it was something they probably never experienced during a rock concert. The cartoon in the background corresponded with the music and it was a very good stage production. At the end of the day, everyone got to see something they liked. Whether it was seeing a lawn fire, crowd surfing for the first time, meeting people or just enjoying the music, everyone had a memorable time at the 4th annual Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival
Mayhem Festival July 9, 2011 San Manuel Amphitheater
Main Stage Performances:
Machine Head
Godsmack
Disturbed
