M3 2011 Day 2 Review
Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 12:01AM 
The second day of M3 was the big one, featuring performances by Modern Superstar, Danger Danger, Firehouse, Slaughter, Great White, Mr. Big, Sebastian Bach, Tesla and Whitesnake on the main stage. On the side stage, there were performances by Korupt, Pretty Boy Floyd, Hurtsmile, Black n' Blue, Faster Pussycat, Big Noize and Lita Ford.
The weather was freaking cold in Columbia, Maryland on Saturday. So cold that at one point I was wearing a T-shirt, my husband's button down, Christian's long-sleeved Whitesnake shirt and a hoodie. And my toes were still numb. The rainy mist was annoying as all get out, too. Still, the weather didn't deter the crowds and that is great. Also, as a side note I bought a margarita from one of the vendors and almost had to call my bank for a loan. $13 for a frozen strawberry margarita? Insane. I bet Merriweather Post Pavilion made a ton of money off concessions during the two days of M3. I digress.
I didn't see Modern Superstar so I have no comment on their set. I arrived just as Danger Danger was performing. People were filing in to see D2 and Ted Poley sounded great as always. During Danger Danger, I noticed a guy two rows in front of me. Let's call him Hot Pleather. Anyway, it was clear that Danger Danger was maybe his favorite band. He stood, fist in air, the entire set. His pleather pants were gleaming, and his mesh shirt just seemed appropriate. When Ted jumped from the stage and ran up the aisle, I poked Christian and said "Watch." Sure enough, Hot Pleather flew to the center aisle to high-five Ted. It was very cute. During "Naughty Naughty" Hot Pleather called a friend and held the phone in the air. Dude was having a great time and that was good to see. Danger Danger doesn't play live very often and they are a treat to catch live. Definitely one of the better bands of the weekend. Oh, and they dedicated "Rock America" to Seal Team 6 which was cool.
I didn't catch Korupt so the first side stage band I saw (briefly) was Pretty Boy Floyd. They did the songs they always do live, including "Toast of the Town" (the Motley Crue song) and Steve Summers gave away some stuff. The band did sound good, very glam. And Steve had on a furry jacket which was humorous. Honestly, I didn't hang around long -- everyone in my little group was giving each other a look. So we wandered back to the pavilion to get ready for Firehouse.
Firehouse is one of those bands that is just chock full of awesome musicians but isn't all that great in a festival setting. Why? Because Firehouse is a ballad band. And by this time, the pavilion was pretty full, people were standing and cheering... and then the ballads started and it was a total buzz kill. While the slower songs are not great for a festival, Firehouse does them well and C.J. Snare can just sing his butt off. So props to them. I love "All She Wrote" and "Don't Treat Me Bad" so there you go.
We left Firehouse early to check out Hurtsmile. They were probably the band I was most curious about so we pushed fairly close. Gary Cherone is awesome and he was wearing a shirt that said "INFIDEL" which I wanted really bad. The band is heavy and I like their debut record. Gary's brother Mark had some guitar issues, but things worked out okay. They did a Van Halen tune and Extreme's "Hole Hearted." They were very, very solid - another top band of the weekend.
Of course I didn't get to hear "Hole Hearted" because I had to move back to the main stage to see Slaughter. The over lapping bands was insane and got worse as the day went on. No matter what, it ended up that you usually missed the band's most famous songs because you were moving from one place to another.
I watched Slaughter from the lawn but I wasn't paying much attention -- all I wanted to hear was "Fly to the Angels" but did I? No. We stood, listened, heard "Mad About You" among others and decided to try someone we hadn't seen yet. Let me say I know Mark Slaughter takes a lot of flack for his voice, but I didn't think he sounded bad. The jumbo screens focused on drummer Zoltan Chaney a lot and I noticed our resident drummer Brian was studying Zoltan's nutty moves.
Because I was looking for someone, I did not catch any of Black n' Blue. While we walked past the side stage Christian said "Didn't we see Jamie St. James with another band not long ago?" I said "No" and then it dawned on me. "Yes! With Warrant at the first Rocklahoma!" And then we laughed.
Great White had Terry Ilous singing lead. Terry can sing but it's weird hearing things like "Mista Bone" from a different voice. I'm not sure it was even fair, Terry singing. But still. It wasn't like the band was advertised as Great White featuring Terry Ilous. But, Terry did say at the beginning of the set "Jack sends his love" which was nice. I think everyone is pulling for Jack Russell to get well. I have no problem with the band using a fill in singer to get through gigs but some people were perplexed, asking what was going on. "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" sounded slow and hollow. It's hard to explain, but it didn't sound like Great White's signature song at all.
After a snack of pita chip and hummus - which I'll admit in hindsight was an odd choice from a festival booth - I was back in my seat for Mr. Big. Holy Glam, they were awesome! Billy Sheehan rocks! He played his bass guitar with an electric drill. Paul Gilbert is awesome. But you know what I didn't get to hear? You guessed it: "To Be With You." Look, I know a lot of people hate that song but I've never seen Mr. Big live and I wanted to hear that one. Why didn't I get to hear it? Because I had to freaking go back to the side stage to catch Faster Pussycat. Seriously, the overlapping bands was awful.
I figure Mr. Big will tour and I'll catch them that way with a full set. I'm a big Sheehan fan.
So me and Kari went to the rail for Pussycat. I've seen them live... oh I dunno... maybe a dozen times. And this was the best. They were seriously awesome. Man, Taime Downe is paler than me - and I keep my skin about as white as a sheet (I stay out of the sun). But while you can tell I just use SPF 100, Taime looks more... crypt-like. Dude was chain smoking and saying "good morning." It was roughly 5:30 in the evening when the band took the stage, so that was funny. The band pushed through their set and the crowd was freaking nuts for them - just people on top of people. "Bathroom Wall" was awesome and so was "House of Pain" as well as "Cathouse." There was no electronica-whatever here: all glam.
So after Faster... it was time for Bach. He was good and came out swinging and head banging. He whips his microphone around like a wacko and my husband was down in the pit taking photos. He said every photog ducked each time Bach started swinging his mic. Christian asked me how long before someone in the band gets decapitated.... it was that insane. Bach did some of his Angel Down stuff and mostly Skid Row material like "Slave to the Grind," "I Remember You," "Youth Gone Wild," "Monkey Business" and "18 and Life." When "18 and Life" started, Brian said "I hate this song," sat down and pretended to shoot himself. So yeah. At one point, Bach got the crowd riled by dedicating a song to Seal Team 6, started a "USA! USA!" chant and mocked the bullet through Bin Laden's brain. It was all very patriotic... for a Canadian.
The surprise of the day? Big Noize! Joe Lynn Turner and Carlos Cavazo are awesome! Overall, Big Noize probably had the best set list because they did a ton of Dio and even some Quiet Riot stuff. Warrant singer Robert Mason came out and did a couple tunes and that was fun. My highlights were "Cum On Feel the Noize" and "Rainbow in the Dark." I was back on the rail with Kari and Christian for this one, so I could see for a change. Side note: I saw Joe Lynn Turner at the airport Sunday morning. His hair was just as big going through security as it was ripping through "Crazy Train." True story. Besides Kix, Big Noize was my favorite band of the weekend.
Tesla was up next. You always know what you're going to get with them: a solid rock show. The band did "Love Me," "Modern Day Cowboy" "Signs" and more. Toward the middle of the set, it was time for Lita Ford. Brian has never seen Tesla but he wanted to leave them for Lita so I went with him (telling him he was nuts, by the way) but off we trotted. By this time it was good and cold, dark and rainy. We got a spot toward the middle of the crowd and waited... and waited. Did I mention I had LASIK surgery two weeks ago? Well, I did. Which means I have chronic dry eye right now. This is aggravated by cigarette smoke. People were smoking so much during Lita, my eyes started running which was incredibly painful and I left Brian on his own. I flooded my bloodshot eyes with bottled tears, had to use the cold compress I had stashed in my bag and wandered back to watch the end of Tesla alone. So, I have no comment on Lita other than Eddie Trunk introduced her. I'm sure Brian can review her performance for us.
Whitesnake headlined the entire festival. I've seen them before and I like them a lot. Too bad they weren't very good at M3. The set-up wasn't impressive for a headliner and the band played too many solos. Sure, Reb Beach and Dough Aldrich are awesome... but good gravy. A 30 minute solo block? Really? And a giant block of all new material? Really? Total buzz kill. People started leaving in droves. I didn't get to hear "Still of the Night" because that was the last song and we left early. Everyone in my group was tired and Christian was sick of me trembling from cold beside him the entire set. Kix should have just been the main headliner. Seriously.
To sum, I think this was a great festival but the overlapping bands must be fixed. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way -- and quite frankly, I enjoyed more side stage bands than main stage this year. Kix should always get a headline spot. Whitesnake should have done a festival set, not a regular headline show. Also, they ran out of the girlie-cut M3 festival shirts by Friday night. Too bad I went to the booth to get one Saturday morning.
It was great seeing friends from all over the country - and world! Special props to NirVrana and HRosaV for letting the entire Bring Back Glam! staff crash at their pad!
I have a zillion photos - and I haven't had time to edit them. So check back tomorrow.
Reader Comments (23)
p.s. My ex-lead guitarist sent me a YouTube of Faster Pussycat at M3! Awesomely Killarious. Check it out! (Of course, I'm a combination of being too much of an ingrate and too lazy to cut and paste it in here. Just go on there and check it out.) You will NOT be dissappointed.
Not a fan of PBF! They had quite the crowd though, so KUDOS to them! People love their GLAM!
Firehouse - this band has grown on me over the years but I think i've seen them enough at this point. Nothing really to comment on (I did stand up when they played Overnight Sensation - a fave of mine)
Slaughter - I think its painful to listen to Mark Slaughter at this point. Thank goodness for his band! I waited to hear Burning Bridges with my friend Mark on the Lawn (this BBGer floated throughout the fest from my PIT seats to pavillion seats with friends to side stage and sometimes on lawn with friends).
Liked Hurtsmile a lot! Gary Cherone is a class act and it was really cool to hear Without you off VH III (although I was hoping for Fire In THe Hole or Dirty Water Dog). Really enjoyed hearing them.
Great White - I really tried to be open minded with Terry singing but just wasn't feeling it. I am flexible when it comes to new singers coming in, but just can't support this. Jack's voice is a very unique one and although Terry has a nice voice, it just wasn't working! Yes, Terry singing is a lot better than the last two times I saw them with Jack but at this point I think this band is doing more damage to their reputation by continiuing to tour than if they stayed off the road and came back when Jack was healthy. But, hey, they are still getting gigs so guess promoters don't care! whatever!
Black & Blue = Craig Gas (comedian- sp?) introduced them and I was feeling the rock and energy of this band. At this point of the day is where it turned around for me!
**From this point on is where my anger grew more and more from the stage times overlapping**
MR. BIG = Was very excited to this band for the first time - and my jaw just dropped in AWE five minutes in. MONSTER TALENT this band has! It wasn't fist pumping rock with energy but they shredded and I hope they continue to stay out on the road. (sidebar: I think if VH goes out, this band would be a perfect fit to open).
I was with Ally and crew for Mr. Big and we knew the crowds would be INSANE for Faster so we had to leave early so we got a decent spot.
FASTER has become a fave band of mine to go see (just b/c you never know how Taime is gonna react on stage and its always entertaining)... No train wreck this go round and they may have had the best crowd of the sidestage I've ever seen in the three years I've gone to M3. I even told Ally they could have totally handled the Headline spot of the sidestage for the day!! They sounded great, the crowd loved every GLAM minute of it. Pissed I had to leave during Bathroom Wall (one of my alltime faves) but BAZ was up next and I was going to the PIT for this one.
BAZ came out guns-a-blazing, fist pumping, loud, in your face METAL! He may have been my favorite of the day but once again b/c of the stage overlap times and the fact I was so anxious to see BIG NOIZE, I had to leave during Monkey Business. I know I'll see Baz again, but I knew I'd probably never get to hear Joe Lynn Turner again so I had to skip the end of Baz' set. trending #bachnroll #americanmetalhead
ANGEL DOWN ROCKS! can't wait to hear the new material!
BIG NOIZE! I was a giddy kid for this one. It was a dream come true to hear Street of Dreams & Stone Cold sung live. There was a great RJD salute which went into Last In Line (all metal horns in the air). The band was solid, it was fun watching Robert Mason come out and sing a little Q.Riot - JLT is a goofly little guy with bad hair and yet his voice sounds flawless to me!
I stayed for the entire set b/c even though I knew Tesla was going on, I've seen this band atleast twice a year for the last few years so it wouldn't kill me to miss a little of the first song.
Tesla NEVER EVER EVER disappoints. I may have been the only person in my area of the pit that new LOVE ME when they played it. In all the times I've seen them I'd never heard this song live. And then they go into Song and Emotion next and I've fallen in love all over again with TESLA! Liked the new song 2nd street. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this band!!!
NOw, Finally, a break for me. The only person I could have cared less to see was Lita so I didn't go. I thought she was great at ROK in 2008 but the few times I'd seen her since was just a train wreck. I've heard decent things about her performance Sat night but I wasn't there and I think its safe to say I prob didn't miss much. (sidebar: I do give her props for always playing ONE WAY TO ROCK by Hagar though).
WHITESNAKE, WHITESNAKE, WHITESNAKE!!! I loved em. yes, there was a bit of elongated solos in the middle of the set and they should have played about two more songs but I'm a fan of the new cd and loved watching Coverdale charm the audience and Reb and Doug dual guitar solos's all night long. Not a fan of drum solo's so I thought it was unnecessary, a few of the new songs didn't go over well with the audience so maybe they'll take note of that. Still of the Night was a great send off for the evening!
Overall, a very successful event! I think the KIX OFF should be an annual tradition from this point on and I'm already looking forward to next year.
GLAM BAM THANK YOU M'AM!
Danger, Danger - have only seen them once (in '89), so looking forward to their show. I was more impressed than I thought I would be. The energy was impressive for 12 noon (Ted Poley acknowledged the early set time, plus alluded to a hangover!), and even though the pavilion was half full, DD played like it was a packed house. Quick aside - it's nice to have a hard rock/glam metal band that has a lead singer who can actually SING. While some of their music is a tad derivative, Ted's voice more than makes up for it. Would like to see DD on more of these kinds of shows.
Caught the last few songs of Pretty Boy Floyd, and although I am not a huge fan, they sounded good. Although they looked like Marilyn Manson circa 1997, the crowd was into them.
Firehouse: They really don't belong in the 80's glam category, as all of their hits were in the early 90's, but give them credit. They are a decent hard rock band who have catchy songs, and they tour relentlessly. Perhaps a little too polished at times, but solid nonetheless. I don't care for their ballads, but Shake and Tumble and Reach For the Sky rocked. I caught them in St. Louis a couple of years back, and they did a righteous version of You've Got Another Thing Coming. Would've loved to hear that at M3, but no such luck.
I was looking forward to Hurtsmile, as their CD is very good, but already the stages were starting to (annoyingly) overlap. I did catch their last 4-5 songs, and despite the sound problems, they sounded good. It was nice to hear the VH song from the Cherone days, as well as a spirited Hole Hearted. I need to catch their full set sometime.
Back to the mainstage for Slaughter: My first reaction was "Damn, Mark's been hitting the buffet line a little too much", but I'm hardly in the best shape, so who am I to talk? Sadly, his voice is long gone, but at least the energy was still there, and it's always great to see Dana Strum, who does not always tour with Slaughter. Mark even came out into the crowd. Burning Bridges and Eye to Eye were good, but Fly to the Angels brought the house down as usual.
After a quick sprint over to the side stage, I caught the second half of Black 'N' Blue's set. It was well worth it. Very impressed. The songs were good, the crowd was into them, and Jamie is a very engaging frontman. It's always good to see a singer who is clearly having fun, and their set was an early highlight, as others have said. They closed with Wicked Bitch, and the severley underrated Hold on to 18. Good stuff, and next year I want to see them on the main stage. Jaime briefly acknowledged their side stage billing, but was always polite and thenkful for the crowd. Good to see that 4/5 of the members have been together over 20+ years.
Great White: This is a tough one for me. They are one of my favorite bands of that era, and although I respect Terry Ilous, it is simply not the same without Jack Russell. The band sounded amazing, however, and it's always good to hear Lady Red Light, Face the Day, and the fantastic Rock Me live. What would've been one of the best shows of the day was actually still pretty good. But just not the same...
Mr Big: I was looking forward to them as well, as they were one of the few bands on the bill that I had never seen. They didn't disppoint, playing a technically amazing set. Now were they an audience favorite? Not necessarily, but the crowd gave them their due respect. They played a couple of new songs, as well as the insipid To Be With You. Sorry, never cared for that song. But they did close with a powerful Addicted to That Rush, so I was happy.
We missed a lot of Faster Pussycat (damn overlapping!), but I've seen them plenty of times, so it wasn't that big of a deal. Their shows can go 1 of 2 ways: either impressive, or a train wreck. This show was happily impressive. They had one of the largest crowds of the day, and they were loving FP. House of Pain always goes over well live, as does Bathroom Wall.
Have to run, but will finish the headliners soon...
M4's day # 2 was a great day. The weather was overcast, but the bands overachieved. I knew it would be a great day because there were several bands that I had never seen before. Lita, Firehouse, Danger Danger, Bach, Pretty Boy F, Whitesnake, Hurtsmile, and Big Noize.
As I mentioned yesterday, the musical talent this year was simply amazing. I thought Danger Danger did such a great job. The lead singer was all over the stage and from a distance, he looked like Ted Nugent. I also really enjoyed Firehouse, for that lead singer sounded just like the album would sound. I did not mind the mellowness, especially since I had never heard them live. And I totally think they fit the spirit of the 80s festival.
Pretty Boy F was interesting, because they had a cool sound, where they just did not care about anyone or anything. The Sleazed out look made for a great time. I kinda, initially thought of Steel Panther, but these rockers were for real. (I recently heard Don Jameson, on That Metal Show, mention that he does not like Steel Panther, because they make fun of our genre of music)
Now to Faster Pussy Cat. I really dig this band. Loved them when they first came out, while in College, lost touch with there music, and am now in awe. Tamme is balls out bad ass. His voice is Sleaze/Glam rock and the songs are great. I need to see them in a club, front row.
It was also very rockin to finally see Lita Ford. She is still hot and of course a Rock Legend. "The Runaways" She sounded very good and had some very neat guitars. I'm thinkin that she did well in getting rid of her man! My number, Lita is 485-448-3435
Now when Bach came out he exploded into Slave to the Grind with an enourmous about of enthusiasm. Mid way through the set, I asked my buddy what he had thought was better...Skid Row with the new singer or Bach and his band. A resounding Skid Row...and I must agree. The Skid Boys Rule the stage. However, could you imagine if they were to all get back together. I am thinking it could rival GnR getting back together. Just sayin.
Slaughter was great...especially the drummer. Saw that boy play for Vince Neil last yr and this year was even better. Amazing. Mark had a lot more energy this yr and sound much much better.
Tesla was amazing, too. They played so many great hits and the crowd was really into it. I will never forget when Tesla opened for Def Lep back in the day and thinking that they were great..They have not changed in all these yrs.
We totally skipped Great White, and I dont have much to say about the others.
Whitesnake killed it. I have heard a lot of complaints because of the 5 new songs and long instrumentals, but I disagree. The only thing I wish they would have played Slide It In and Slow and Easy. I definately was not disappointed. I've been listening to Good To Be Bad and ForeverMore a lot prior to this show and I was glad that they played their good tunes.
I have heard two takes on the issue. The first came from my buddy from Pittsburgh. He said that WS should have kept the spirit of the festival, given that set times are usually a little shorter. He mentioned that the solo's could have been eliminated. My first response was that maybe Coverdale is getting too old and needs breaks??
The other comment that I have heard is that M3 is a Music Festival, not a Memory Festival. I love Whitesnakes newest album! Just like Ratt's new album. Ratt played 4 songs from Infestation when they were touring to support it. (Is Ratt still together???)
Great Weekend.
M4's day # 2 was a great day. The weather was overcast, but the bands overachieved. I knew it would be a great day because there were several bands that I had never seen before. Lita, Firehouse, Danger Danger, Bach, Pretty Boy F, Whitesnake, Hurtsmile, and Big Noize.
As I mentioned yesterday, the musical talent this year was simply amazing. I thought Danger Danger did such a great job. The lead singer was all over the stage and from a distance, he looked like Ted Nugent. I also really enjoyed Firehouse, for that lead singer sounded just like the album would sound. I did not mind the mellowness, especially since I had never heard them live. And I totally think they fit the spirit of the 80s festival.
Pretty Boy F was interesting, because they had a cool sound, where they just did not care about anyone or anything. The Sleazed out look made for a great time. I kinda, initially thought of Steel Panther, but these rockers were for real. (I recently heard Don Jameson, on That Metal Show, mention that he does not like Steel Panther, because they make fun of our genre of music)
Now to Faster Pussy Cat. I really dig this band. Loved them when they first came out, while in College, lost touch with there music, and am now in awe. Tamme is balls out bad ass. His voice is Sleaze/Glam rock and the songs are great. I need to see them in a club, front row.
It was also very rockin to finally see Lita Ford. She is still hot and of course a Rock Legend. "The Runaways" She sounded very good and had some very neat guitars. I'm thinkin that she did well in getting rid of her man! My number, Lita is 485-448-3435
Now when Bach came out he exploded into Slave to the Grind with an enourmous about of enthusiasm. Mid way through the set, I asked my buddy what he had thought was better...Skid Row with the new singer or Bach and his band. A resounding Skid Row...and I must agree. The Skid Boys Rule the stage. However, could you imagine if they were to all get back together. I am thinking it could rival GnR getting back together. Just sayin.
Slaughter was great...especially the drummer. Saw that boy play for Vince Neil last yr and this year was even better. Amazing. Mark had a lot more energy this yr and sound much much better.
Tesla was amazing, too. They played so many great hits and the crowd was really into it. I will never forget when Tesla opened for Def Lep back in the day and thinking that they were great..They have not changed in all these yrs.
We totally skipped Great White, and I dont have much to say about the others.
Whitesnake killed it. I have heard a lot of complaints because of the 5 new songs and long instrumentals, but I disagree. The only thing I wish they would have played Slide It In and Slow and Easy. I definately was not disappointed. I've been listening to Good To Be Bad and ForeverMore a lot prior to this show and I was glad that they played their good tunes.
I have heard two takes on the issue. The first came from my buddy from Pittsburgh. He said that WS should have kept the spirit of the festival, given that set times are usually a little shorter. He mentioned that the solo's could have been eliminated. My first response was that maybe Coverdale is getting too old and needs breaks??
The other comment that I have heard is that M3 is a Music Festival, not a Memory Festival. I love Whitesnakes newest album! Just like Ratt's new album. Ratt played 4 songs from Infestation when they were touring to support it. (Is Ratt still together???)
Great Weekend.
My highlight of the fest was Black N Blue. This group has never come east, at least that is what I've heard. I was nice and close to this band and they were excellent. The lead was having so much fun and they were all so happy to have such a huge crowd appreciating their tunes. I kinda had a feeling that this show would be special and it did not let us down.
Man.....I have been reliving these last three days. I am sure it will last for a long long time.
When the work days get long and stressful..I plan on closing my eyes and thinking of Music May Metal Monsterous: M4
p.s. I've been watching a lot of M3 HD on YouTube! Fantastic! The Faster Pussycat clips are killarious!