Rocklahoma 2009 Day 3
Sunday, July 12, 2009 at 12:02PM 
The Gypsy Pistoleros, Lizzy Borden, Keel, Kix, Jackyl and Stryper played the main stage on day three of Rocklahoma. I came in for Keel, so I didn’t see the GP or Lizzy Borden. Apparently, Lizzy Borden did a full show with make-up and blood, so I’m a little sad I missed that but the heat sucks and I had to make it to nightfall.
Keel sounded better than they did at M3, but the crowd sure was light. So light by this time of the day I’d say Saturday had the fewest people in the seats of every day thus far. Ronnie Keel talked about the band’s history and future in between songs. The band did “The Right to Rock” and a cover of “Because the Night” (from the album The Final Frontier).
...then it was time for Kix. We shall now transition to an open letter to the people of Oklahoma.
Dear Oklahomans:
Kix are, by far, the best band on the Rocklahoma 2009 bill. If you live in Oklahoma, there is no excuse for you to skip Kix. Everyone else in the world will get a pass because the economy sucks and it isn’t cheap to travel, but if you live within a three hour radius of Rocklahoma and you passed on Kix, you lose. Seriously.
Kix performed at a very hot part of the day, so it was brutal. The band played Midnite Dynamite, Same Jane, Sex, The Itch, Girl Money, Poison, Don’t Close Your Eyes, Hot Wire, Get It While Its Hot, Cold Shower, Cold Blood and Blow My Fuse. Did I mention it was hot? Good Glam, I felt like I was going to melt so I’d imagine it was 1,000 times worse for the guys in the band. The heat didn’t keep the band from doing their choreographed moves that I love so much. Steve Whiteman also commented “Last year we played in a monsoon, this year a heat wave. I’m not whining – except I am.” Fair enough. Beyond having the best songs of any other band at the festival, Kix also had the best sound. The mix was so bad for many of the other bands – Kix had the least amount of sound issues and they should be commended. The band didn’t do “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” which truly stunned me. I guess it was due to time...
...and that’s where Jackyl comes in.
Jackyl replaced Thin Lizzy as a very late add and instead of actually performing, Jesse James Dupree talked and got drunk. A little bit of stage banter is fine – but taking a massive amount of time on bullshit pisses me off considering Kix didn’t get to do “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.”
Seriously. I don’t need to see Jesse’s butt cheeks popping out of his sweaty onesie. Perhaps I’m the only one of that mindset, so be it. I paid to hear music, not crap. When Jackyl did perform, they sounded good on “I Stand Alone” and “She Loves My Cock.” By the time “The Lumberjack” rolled around, the band was nearly 20 minutes over, which pushed all the side stages back. Ridiculous. Kix should have been moved down a slot when Thin Lizzy pulled out.
I gave Stryper a chance. I’m not a fan of the yellow and black attack. To the band’s defense, the sound was awful and the seats empty. I’ve never seen less people watching a headline set at Rocklahoma than what I witnessed during Stryper. The band performed “The Rock That Doesn’t Roll,” “Calling On You” and a Boston cover. I left just before the end – I don’t know if the band threw Bibles. I assume they did.
Saturday attendance guess? 3500 at the peak. Yep.
Reader Comments (40)
1 Electro_Nomicon
2 Freakshow
3 Herman Rarebell
4 Lynzee
5 Wildstreet
Thank you Jose Gonzales
"Shelving" a band would mean not releasing their material , I did. So please think before you type.
And FYI , there's no chance of me going under any time soon.
It's easy to point fingers at a label who has released over FIVE HUNDRED albums in 5 years but the bottom line is , that particular label is keeping 80s Glam / Metal / AOR / Hard Rock alive far more than any other in the U.S.