The Problem with Rocklahoma...

More on Rocklahoma today. The festival this year was basically a let down – I was very vocal from the start about the weak lineup. I knew attendance would be light – still it was weird actually experiencing a half empty rock fest.

Did I have fun? Yes.

Did I enjoy seeing my friends? You betcha.

Do I feel like an abused consumer? Yes.

I spent $450 on my VIP ticket (including fees). This isn’t counting money on airfare, a car, a hotel and extras. Rocklahoma started giving away buy one, get one reserved seats a few weeks ago – then promoters allowed upgrades at the gate. These upgrades were cheaper than my ticket – and often the people got better seats!

Last night on Eddie Trunk Live, Eddie Trunk broke down all of Rocklahoma’s problems. He didn’t say anything I haven’t said over the past 10 months – but now maybe someone in control will listen.

The attendance issue, according to Eddie, is because of billing. No kidding. Eddie and I both agree Stryper does not a Saturday headliner make. In the same vein, Anthrax isn’t a headliner either.

Eddie kept using the number 5,000 to describe attendance. I would imagine he has access to the true attendance figures, so if 5,000 is the official tally, that’s really sad.

Like me – and ANYONE that attended Rocklahoma over the weekend – Eddie thinks the fest needs moved from July. It’s simply too damn hot. It’s miserable, the bands get sick and no one wants to sit on a hard bench when it is 115 degrees at 2 in the afternoon. I don’t know if moving the festival to May or September would work, but at this point, I’d say it’s worth a shot.

Midway through the weekend, Eddie announced a VIP renewal special for $250. This is obviously a major discount. There are conflicting reports that the event will be four days next year – some people say they heard three. The people working in the VIP tent said people could only get the $250 rate on-site, but the Rocklahoma Twitter is advertising the special now – so what is the motivation in giving the festival money so far in advance? There is none.

I’m pleased Eddie was so brutally honest on his show. He talked about agents taking advantage of the Rocklahoma promoters, overcharging and grandstanding about the quality of bands. Someone apparently gave the person with the pocket book some bad information. Eddie implied he offered advice on the lineup for this year, but no one seemed to pay attention.  Maybe someone with the checkbook will listen to Eddie for 2010. At least he understands the difference between a headline act and a main stage opener.

Finally – there was no official program book this year. Instead, volunteers were passing out a newspaper type program. The thing was filled with errors, including saying Jani Lane is the current lead singer of Warrant and this Rocklahoma performance would be their first time together in a long time. Problem is, Robert Mason is the lead singer of Warrant – and Warrant with Jani Lane played Rocklahoma last year! There were plenty of snide comments mocking the Glam bands, calling Helix old, using a picture of RATT with Robbin Crosby and mentioning the addition of John Corabi “...from Motley Crue.”

As a Glam supporter, I don't want Rocklahoma to die. I also don't want to be ripped off and watch a bunch of bar bands play for 200 people when they were promised 10,000. I can't imagine what it feels like to be on stage and look into an empty crowd. I assume it's one of the worst feelings in the world.

I promised more photos and they are coming - life is chaos - but thank you for reading as always. Hopefully I'll have the snaps up ASAP!

Comments

[Brian]

Great review Allison. I enjoyed the read.

[Gator]

Thank you for writing about ROK 2009 Allyson, although it is sad reading a lot of these comments. But most of them are dead on. Rocklahoma needs to change/adapt.

I happily attended the first two years, and had an absolute blast. It was great hearing the music from my younger years onstage for 3 days, and the crowds were great. But troubling signs were there last year, in that there were too many bands over too many days. My friends and I did not renew our VIP tix this year, and after seeing the complete lineup, we did not regret our decision.

I understand that ROK is supposed to be a "glam festival", but I for one applaud the branching out to bands like Anthrax, Metal Church, etc. I would rather go more in this direction than towards the 1970's classic rock stylings of UFO and Triumph. I think it should be taken one step further: don't be afraid to add some hard rock/heavy bands from after 1991. It would certainly increase attendance, while keeping a lot of glam bands on the bill that we all know and love. I'm thinking about Buckcherry, Saving Abel, etc. These bands loved the 1980's rock scene, and will play a festival anywhere. I'd rather see either of them any day than Danger Danger or Vixen.

Secondly, less is more: there's no reason that ROK can't be 2 or 3 days. If they scale down, it will be easier for people to come for a long weekend instead of 5 days. Tickets should be cheaper, and the quality and quantity of bands would be better. As the pictures showed, not a lot of people want to sit in 100 degree temp. at mid-day to see Helix and Hericane Alice.

Finally, to the promoters I say: know your audience! Stryper is NOT a headliner. I know bands like AC/DC, Motley, Def Lep, etc. are out of the question, but you should've backed the Brinks truck up to Judas Priest and Whitesnake. There's two nights of headliners right there. Result: MORE FANS! Didn't you see the applause for Tesla last year? Why weren't they headlining in 2009? How about the Scorpions? I could drone on, but I think (hope?) you get the message.

Attendance shouldn't dwindle so greatly in only two years. I loved ROK 2007 & 2008, but as it stands now, I can't see ever attending another one. From the looks of all the empty seats, it sadly appears that a lot of fans agree with me...

[kari]

I don't feel like bitching, I had a great time. Highlights for me were RATT, SKids, Twisted, Danger Danger, Bang Tango, KIX, DIRTY PENNY, Faster Pcat, LA GUns, Jackyl. I drank plenty of jackyl juice with the bong hits guys, sweated my a** off, screamed Dirty Penny sucks to the point where I was hearing it in my sleep, lost my voice, laughed, cried, rocked out with great friends, and can't wait to do it again next year. I'll wait and see how things unfold but I love this festival, I love the ppl that go, and most of all I love the spirit of ROCK that the festival brings! that's my story and i'm sticking to it.

[Xandra73]

I think I agree with everything Allyson wrote in her post and I think it's cool that Eddie Trunk was speaking the truth. Maybe it will help.

I loved Rocklahoma 2008 despite all the bitching from everyone. We flew over from Europe and we had the best time ever.

I never believed the bigger and better statements from the organisators,but I have to agree - this years line-up was not up to par to last year. And the attendance numbers are depressing.

Let's see how the other festivals do this year. Right now it's too much with too many of the same bands.

I would love to go to ROK again one day and so my heart would bleed if it dies.

[GloriaGlam]

5,000 is a generous number. I sat in section B by myself for too many hours.
I finally gave up and we left and went back to Vegas Saturday night. Seriously.. did we really want to go through another day of that to see Stryper? Seriously?

The bands were of very poor quality, the V.I.P. tent was too hot to eat in.. and the beer was warm by the time you got back to your seat.

"It's all about the party"..?? WHAT PARTY?
It was like a horror movie out there.. everyone looking like a zombie...including the bands.

I have attended all 3 years and I will never go back, even if the tickets are FREE.
It's a huge waste of money.
My husband and I are both angry right now about wasting our vacation time on this epic failure fiasco.

[Lucas]

I know that everyone has different views on ROK, so here is mine. I, like many, traveled long and far. I started near Baltimore, dropped my kids off in Pittsburgh and continued on. I logged in 20+ hrs of driving, one way. It was an experience that I will never forget. I agree....Stryper and Anthrax were not good headliners and that they should have gotten some bigger acts. I did not watch either one, but in the overall big picture of things, the whole four day rock fest was terrific.
The food was amazing, the volunteers that worked for the Chamber of Commerce gave their time and energy for a good cause, and boy were they friendly. The Staff, onsite, were also super. They kept the food stocked, cleaned the areas around the VIP tables and really cared about the Peeps. I also thought that the bathroom facilities were well kept cared of. For as many people that were there, the Port-o-Johns could have been horrible. I noticed that truck were going around daily, sucking out the waste and making sure that it was clean for all us fans. The showers were clean and I did not feel grossed out when I was using them.
I thouht Retrospect did an amazing job brining in really good side stage bands. The sound systems were for the most part right on during these shows. I was very pleased with how all the techs delt with the mixing, checks, etc.
Yes, ROK needs to do some changes as other have mentioned on this forum, but wow...was I ever please, as a first timer.

[paula]

I think they were trying something new and it failed miserably.. But with all the competition (RGW etc) I can see what they were thinking. They have to know they can't keep booking the same bands year after year. RGW has a lot of newer bands mixed in with some 80's rock stuff. ROK probably thought they'd try mixing it up some but I don't think they realized that Anthrax fans probably don't own a Nelson CD and visa verca. I can see someone owning Puddle of Mudd and LA guns though, so RGW will likely go over a little better. I really hope that the ROK promoters paid attention this year. The ones of us who have gone 3 years running have spent thousands of dollars and travel from the ends of the earth. That's who they need to listen to. The investors...

Will I be there next year? In the heat? YOU BETCHA!

[GetOutOfOK]

Moving the festival out of July? How about moving it out of Oklahoma! What a grim place to have a rock festival -- amongst a bunch of rednecks. Move it to California where it belongs -- where 80's metal was born and raised.

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