Here is the Dispatch's review of Rock on the Range from yesterday.
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/arts/stories/2010/05/24/Concert-Review-Rock-on-the-Range.html?sid=101
CONCERT REVIEW | ROCK ON THE RANGE
Zombie, Slash give crowd enough thrills
Monday, May 24, 2010 12:02 AM
By Kevin Joy
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Rock on the Range, a blistering outdoor bacchanal where uncouthly phrased T-shirts and glow-in-the-dark devil-horn headbands are de rigueur - and baring one's breasts atop a companion's shoulders can easily win as much audience affection as a headlining band - is about more than skin and sin.
The two-day festival, which concluded last night in Columbus Crew Stadium, was, in part, about reunions. The night closed with a performance by 1990s rap-metal revelers Limp Bizkit, who joined up again last year because of their "boredom" with and disgust for the state of the rock industry.
Perhaps they should have stayed defunct.
Judging by the opening songs, which featured 39-year-old frontman Fred Durst whining about how "drama makes the world go round" and dropping a tidal wave of angst-free f-bombs, the entertainment's expiration date was evident when the audience began to filter out early.
To be fair, Durst did perform My Generation, whose chorus repeatedly states that he doesn't care much about what you think, anyway.
More context, though, would have helped; Limp Bizkit began 20 minutes past its scheduled start time, and the full set couldn't be viewed to meet deadline.
Yet Rock on the Range was also about not being too old to, well, simply rock - or, as Rob Zombie demonstrated, be moderately ridiculous.
The devilish 45-year-old amped up the crowd with yowls, small talk and a sense of ghoulish fun.
His stage show featured giant moving robots (prominently showcased during a performance of his 1995 hit More Human than Human), synchronized plumes of fire and snippets looped from B-list horror flicks - including his own, House of 1000 Corpses.
In Zombie's case, at least, the music had beat and bite, including an extended guitar solo (yes, there was a tooth-plucked Star-Spangled Banner riff) by band member John 5 as well as electro-tinged songs that chugged and churned (Superbeast, Scum of the Earth) with Zombie's snarls to "bury me as a dog / icy hands surrounding me."
Despite the heavy theatrics, it was about showing a softer side, too.
South African alt-metal band Seether had tattooed limbs swaying with its beefed-up cover of 1985's Careless Whisper by Wham!, and it also showcased a radio-ready balance of heart and muscle that ranged from rowdy (Gasoline) to reflective (Fine Again, Broken).
It was also about familiarity. Yesterday's best moments came in fits of nostalgia, thanks to Slash.
The former Guns N' Roses lead guitarist, billed under a singular name but playing with a full band, didn't hesitate to dip into his catalog.
When the curly-haired musician - who hasn't seemed to age, sunglasses, top hat and all - launched into Sweet Child o' Mine, a time and place would have been difficult to pinpoint (Myles Kennedy, a vocalist who fronted the ensemble, sounded remarkably like GNR's Axl Rose).
While listening to Paradise City in a sweaty pit of tattooed, sunburned bodies that were cooled intermittently by not-so-clean water from hurled plastic bottles, the heat and hordes became less icky and instantly more tolerable.
Too bad not all the day's flashbacks were as memorable.
