The 10th Anniversary Of Rock On The Range Gives Columbus 3 Days Of Rock

Rock on The Range
May 20, 21, 22
Mapfre Stadium- Columbus, OH

The Lineup

PROS:

Where to start with this lineup; I feel that it’s pretty diverse as far as what Rock on the Range is usually known for. They threw on rapper and Cleveland native Machine Gun Kelly, which seemed to be a hit with the Ohioans of the festival. There was a band for everyone at that festival, from the young to the old. You had a lot of Warped veterans on the bill that made the festival a little more diverse for the younger generation, such as Miss May I, Memphis May Fire, and Enter Shikari to name a few. Then you have bands that have been popular for at least a decade to bridge the gap between the younger and older crowd like Wolfmother, A Day to Remember, and Bring Me The Horizon to name a few. There were also a handful of comedy acts every night.

Day one was a bit heavier in the dad rock genre with the last three acts of the night consisting of Megadeth, Shinedown and Disturbed. There was also the comedy tent headlined by Jay Mohr that night. Day two was also a night geared towards the slightly older crowd with ROTR vets Five Finger Death Punch, Rob Zombie and Lamb of God. Lacey Sturm opened up stage two for the day; I personally thought she could’ve played a little later in the day as Flyleaf has a pretty decent backing and the crowd was loving her. Again, some Warped veterans were at the show (which personally stuck out a little to me), such as Parkway drive, Crown The Empire, and New Years Day. Steel Panther also performed on Saturday, and at this point, I feel that Steel Panther is a must at Rock on the Range. I remember them performing at the Friday opening ceremony before ROTR was a 3-day event.

Day three was one of the best lineups for the day in its’ entirety. It included At the Drive-In closing out the second stage for the night and the festival itself. The post-hardcore Texas band performed twice in 2012 at two festivals, but have not performed since their break up in 2001. Lead singer Cedric Bixler seems like the kind of guy who gives absolutely no f*cks as to what’s going on around him, throwing around his mic stand (which would’ve impaled me if I didn’t deflect the stand) and speakers to name a few. It was also the Red Hot Chili Peppers first show back since front man Anthony Kiedis was hospitalized with intestinal flu on May 14. Many of us were still skeptical on whether or not RHCP was still going to make it incase Kiedis was still feeling under the weather. It’s safe to say that RHCP was the glue that bound the diverse crowd together with their funky tunes and catchy lyrics. The final day also had the Deftones, Bring Me The Horizon, Pennywise and Between the Buried and Me performing.

CONS:

While the lineup overall was pretty cohesive, I believe there were a few acts that kind of stuck out for ROTR. For Day 1, all of the acts seemed to all be somewhat relatable in genre. I feel that some bands of a more metal decent could have replaced We Came as Romans, which was second on the third stage. The setup of the comedy tent was also a little interesting, with everyone having nearly 15 to 20-minute-long sets, performing between A Day To Remember and Megadeath. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’d go to ROTR to see a comedy show over either of those bands. Same situation for the other days as well; I think Crown the Empire and New Years Day could have been switched out with acts that complemented the festival more.

Another huge con with the festival setup was the schedule; last year, the two side stages were staggered so one would be able to catch half of one act and half of another without running back and fourth between the stages. This year, both side stages started up at the same time; which makes my life as a photographer a bit more challenging.

The Weather

PROS:

While there was a bit of rain throughout the weekend, there was also a lot of sunshine and heat. While there was a light sprinkle on Saturday, by the end of the night, the clouds and rain cleared up and the night was beautiful. Sunday was full of sunshine and brought the heat, which was a “refreshing” way to end the festivities.

CONS:

May is a beautiful time of the year where the weather will vary from being perfect, a little chilly or a little too hot. ROTR definitely had its’ fair share of all of those, with Friday night having a constant stream of rain and a bit of chilly winds, all the way down to Disturbed, which I noticed a lot of people left early (with the weather being a huge factor). It also sprinkled a little during Saturday, but nothing that would warrant anyone leaving or having a bad time.

Misc.

PROS:

While the comedy tents were at unconventional times, the idea surrounding it is great. Especially with Rob Zombie making a guest appearance as a speaker for the “That Metal Show” set. The crowd is always especially vibrant at festivals like this; I saw a ton of boobs, belonging to both men and women, a lot of overgrown men in itsy bitsy bikinis and crowd surfing children. I think one of the most interesting forms of entertainment at festivals is definitely the crowd; while At The Drive In was setting up to preform, random men throughout the crowd were getting tossed up into the air and flashing their bare chests, with loud cheers following after. There were also plenty of crowd surfers who took it upon themselves to create a two-man unit with one person laying on the crowd with another standing on their back, surfing their way to the front.

Another thing that I really like about this festival is the location. Because it’s at Mapfre Stadium, the Ohio State fairgrounds is right nearby. So the festival organizers utilize that to their fullest extent by allowing RV’s and overnight campers which you don’t often see with festivals located within the city. Nothing sounds better than going to a rock festival for a weekend in an RV with a group of friends; and if you ran out anything or wanted to pick up a case of beer, you could easily drive five to ten minutes in any direction to replenish your stock.

CONS:

Like all other festivals, the prices for beer and food is absolutely ridiculous. Twelve dollars for a couple pieces of chicken on a skewer, $10 for three small tacos, and $9 for a warm shitty beer? Not worth it, but hey, this festival’s a vacation and vacations cost money. On top of the crazy prices within the festival, the parking fee was absolutely insane. Charging $20 per day, that amounts to $60 spent just in parking alone for the weekend. On top of that, there are only two entrances and exits out of the festival grounds, so it took over an hour to get out of the festival grounds after RHCP played.

Review by: Judy Won

Friday:
A Day to Remember