Rocklahoma Review Series
There has been so much talk about the Rocklahoma Music Festival in 2007, I started the Rocklahoma Review Series, which will feature artists that will be participating in the Rocklahoma Music Festival on July 13th - 15th.
In this series, I will feature reviews on material from each band participating in the Rocklahoma Music Festival.
For more information on this festival, be sure to visit www.rockfeverfest.com
Rocklahoma Review Index
Week 1: Poison - Flesh and Blood
Week 2: Tramp’s White Lion - Rocking the USA
Week 3: W.A.S.P. - Dominator
Week 4: Britny Fox - Bite Down Hard
Week 5: L.A. Guns - Loud and Dangerous
Week 6: Firehouse - Prime Time
Week 7: Warrant Born Again : The Delvis Video Diaries DVD
Week 8: Y & T - Meanstreak
Week 9: Vince Neil - Exposed
Week 10: Twisted Sister - The Video Years DVD
Week 11: Faster Pussycat - The Power and the Glory Hole
Week 12: A look at some live CD’s from the bands Headlining at the Rocklahoma Music Festival.
Queensryche has replaced W.A.S.P. on July 15 after the band dropped out. I’m writing the tour book for the event, so you can trust me that the information is correct. We are launching http://www.rocklahoma2007.com very shortly. I’ll let you know when it goes live. Thanks. Nice site by the way
Thanks David! Stop back and let me know when the site goes live. I will be sure to let it be known.
I am actually doing a future Queensryche review segment as a result of last week’s news. Stay Tuned!
rocklahoma…..on the 13th…rocked real well….all but zendozer…….. and ratt really disapointed me and others as well…but all and all we partied hard and there was nothing but cool people in oklahoma….cant wait till the next one!!!!
Dokken was Awesome! Ratt was absolutely AWEFUL, and only because Steven Pearcy was gutwrenchingly BAD. He couldn’t hold a single note, everything he sang was an absolute butchered up mess. They have GOT to get rid of him NOW!
Thanks Rocklahoma,..Had a blast….A wonderful 4 days…Good to see “Good Rock -n- Roll”….
I am embarrassed for Vince Niel. I really like him as a person but he either needs to deliver or hang up the mic. It broke my heart to hear everyone making fun of him in the VIP tent knowing that he directly influenced most of their favorite bands. He was really really bad. I can see Led Zeppelin cover bands in Austin!
I saw Ratt by themselves in a small club called Floyds Music Store about 2 weeks ago and they kicked major ass. It sucks to see these bad reviews on Ratt. Well I’ll see them again in Sept. with Poison. From there I will make another opinion. Maybe they just had a bad night.
Just returned from RocklaHoma. It was terrific. I think it was not the artist that sucked, but the equipment. I spent Fri. Sat. and Sunday there. Even Quensriche had mike problems. It was the best Concert I have ever been to. The croud was excellent. Very well behaved, young and old. It ROCKED!!!!!! I can’t wait until next year.
I liked the Ratt show and am glad Pearcy is back! Even if he wasnt perfect, at least he’s the original singer. Drink a six pack and he sounds awesome!
RATT had the greatest set list of any of the bands.
There were a few botch jobs on the audio, but that was the sound board, not Pearcy or the band. The sound board continued to hose things up each and every night. I’m sure that crew won’t be hired again.
With the audio being the “downside”, there were even a few surprise “upsides” - Don Dokken had to be in most jovial mood of his entire life; his sincerity truly seemed believable. And Dubrows (QR) was sober and well…. quite honestly… the exact opposite of a horse’s backside. I had low expectations for those two sets, and left pleasantly surprised.
Y&T, Steelheart, Great White and Jackyl brought some good hard tunes and high energy to the table; JJD was in full-force with his trademark stage antics (we even had a little sidestage spectacle that got security involed). Queensryche was Queensryche - calm, cool and collected as always; don’t recall hearing them gripe about the heat once (though they did start at dusk, but it was still “hot as balls” out). Winger still knows how to get the job done. I will say Kip is one of the most talented (if not the most talented) frontmen of the day. Hand him a mic, a guitar, a bass or a keyboard, and he’ll start making the young girls scream. Any instrument, any time. Twisted Sister beat my expectation. Dee is quite simply a “freak” (but in a good way). He’s is in absolutely incredible shape, his energy level was off the hook, and he got me to smile quite a bit. The only thing that I wanted to choke him for was the playing the Xmas tunez. Ugh!
As for the rest of the show, Firehouse was good, and the remainders sounded like they were a little washed up. While Poison could have brought it, they didn’t. All Brent kept repeat before and after every song was how “this is what its all about” (guessing he means us fans showing up to listen to his music). He kept going on about how great it is and how he appreciates all of us. He was like a broken record - a hypocritical broken record. A buddy and I had backstage meet-and-great passes for Poison for my bud’s 40th birthday (special shout out to Kevin Kash @ XM’s Boneyard for hooking us up with them). Poison showed up too late for that to happen before the show and it got reschedule for after the show. Then Poison just decided to say “screw all of you” and cancelled it altogether. So much for it “being about all of us”. And they can’t use the excuse that they were short on time; they were playing just over in Oklahoma City the next night. They could have easily stayed for an hour to say “Hi!” to the fans. Rest assured, if they show up next year, I’ll just take that time slot to drink beer and cleanse my bowels.
Was it worth going? Yes. Would I go next year? Wouldn’t miss it.
this was a show i was waiting for for a long time and it did not disapoint me it was f&%&en awsome they all did a sweet job to me it dont matter if they had bad mic. or they didnt sound as good its about the f rock and them being there after 20 year and still rocking everybody was great but i think the once that took the crowd was skid row, dokken, poison, and twisted sisters and the best part was on monday when i was going home to nj guess who was at the airport f twisted sisters and had the same small plain that i had dee sat right behind me and the rest in front that was sweet we went to get our bags and there they are again we talked hanged for a while they gave us a cool poster which had all of their signatures they are some cool dudes whats funny is that i had vip seats at the concert but i flew and hong out with them in newark new jersey at the airport that was sweet !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow, That is awesome Karl. Did you take any pictures?
My anticipation for this show was sure to leave me wanting for more. But, THIS SOW FREAKIN’ ROCKED! For all of you bi***ers about this band and that singer, I can assure you that there are things you do now (25 years later) that aren’t near as good as they used to be! If you went there to have a good time, you left just like I did…sad that it was over and ready to buy tickets for next year. I appreciate all the fans who kept smiles on their faces through the hot a** weather and parking lots woes. This will become an annual event for me and my crowd with the only change being the upgrade to VIP tickets and camp spots. Thanks to all those who shared a funny story or just a smile as we passed and we hope to see you next year. For all of you who keep complaining about this or that…take your a** over to Iraq…then you will have something to bi*** about!
Until Next Year!
Jill and the Longview, TX crew
What a party,everyone was so cool,the fans that is.The Bands all rocked out. I was bummed that Faster Pussycat played such a short set,but…Taime Downe was suckin anyway.Seemed he didnt want to be there.As for the rest of the bands”THANK YOU ALL” for showing up.Hope to see you all next year
dokken simply was the best at this festival. tooth and nail kicked everyone in the ass. all the hits and no b.s. rokken with dokken in 2007! do not miss this show if they come near you.
winger and warrant were yawn city.
vince was o.k.
twisted, queensryche, and skid row were top notch.
tracii guns is an absolute monster on the guitar.
lots of beer and lots of rock. if you missed this, sucks for you.
Top Shows in My Opinion:
1. Dokken
2. RATT
3. Skid Row
4. White Lion!?! Yes, that’s right! They were sincerely honored to be there and they rocked.
5. Great White
5. Great White
We had to miss some of the bands in the afternoons, but caught the last 4 or 5 each night. Here are my reviews…
Y&T: Sounded good. I’m not a big Y&T fan, but I enjoyed it.
SLAUGHTER: I figured Mark’s high falsetto singing voice would sound wimpy live, but he actually sounded really good. They had a few sound problems, but that wasn’t their fault (I don’t think). I also didn’t realize Mark played the guitar so well.
QUIET RIOT: Not too bad. Kevin was well behaved. Not sure about the Keith Urban style hair though (wig? he was going bald 20 years ago). The guitar sounded fuzzy like they had the input level set too high on the board.
RATT: Warren’s guitar playing was awesome. Stephen’s voice was not that good, but at least it was him. Ratt is not Ratt without Pearcy.
POISON: The bad part - wimpy simple songs, mediocre musicianship, zero originality. Basically just pop music with a heavy guitar thrown in. Too many cover songs. The good part - they sounded like Poison, they had all the original members, and CC was sober.
SKID ROW: They sounded okay, but it was just not right without Sebastian Bach.
WINGER: Kip’s voice was amazing and so was Reb’s guitar playing. These guys are talented! They did have some sound problems though.
DOKKEN: The best of the festival by far!!! I miss George Lynch, but Jon Levin kicked major a$$. Don was a little hoarse, but still had perfect pitch. Their sound was so much clearer than most of the other bands.
VINCE NEIL: Better than I expected, but still not very exciting. I did enjoy that “whole lotta love war pigs heaven and hell” medly that the band did. The guitar player was a way better singer than Vince!
GREAT WHITE: Good. Enjoyed the guest appearance by Jani Lane!
JACKYL: Kicked a$$ as usual! Jesse puts on a show and they sounded great. Second favorite of festival.
QUEENSRYCHE: Excellent! Tate’s voice was perfect. The dueling harmony guitar solos were flawless. Third favorite of festival.
TWISTED SISTER: Sounded good. Dee was charged up and his voice was great. To me they just have 4 or 5 really good songs and the rest are kind of boring.
Overall: The sound system could’ve used some more horse power. I love outdoor shows because the sound is usually clearer, but you gotta have a lot of power, especially for this type of music! The facilities were okay, but they could’ve had another shower house or two. It was HOT, but we had a camper with AC so we didn’t have to suffer too much.
I keep hearing that Dokken was awesome. I haven’t heard anyone say a thing about L.A. Guns. How were they? Were they any good?
Paul Black, the new singer, is a showman but his voice just isn’t there in any way. I am a big LA Guns fan but could not even recognize some of the songs due to the bad sound and Paul’s voice. Tracy Guns rocked.
Faster Pussycat was shaping up to be amazing BUT they got in a fight on the stage just before their best song and the guitar player dropped and dragged his guitar off stage. From what I could tell, it had something to do with the guitarist not singing his backup parts. Taime got pissed and threw his back up Sure on the floor. Then the guitarist stepped up and started singing to the empty stand. That was the last song. I don’t think it had to do with the 12 year old pussy joke. The sound company sucked all the way around and they should not be hired back next year.
I was there on the first (extra) day on Thursday nite. Traci Gunns and the band “Hwy 66″ consisting of musicians from other bands that were already in town just “jamming” was one of the highlights of the whole fesival. The sound-mix was perfect for them, the music strong and clean…..very good. If anyone knows the names of the other guys…..please post here. I may be a little different than others posting on this site. I did not have a favorite “dog in this fight”. LA Guns, Firehouse, Quiet Riot, Slaughter, Poison, Vince Neil (even without him), Steelheart, and Twisted Snider were my favorites, with a bunch of others right up there close behind. I did miss some of the other acts…they could have been a favorite if only I could have seen them. My least favorites were RATT and Jackyl. My wife was very disappointed that WASP couldn’t make it….Hope they can next year. Queensryche did a good job, tho. Concerning the sound, my buddy, Rocky, went over to see what was up and he said it seemed like they were too busy getting ready for the next acts than focusing on and taking care of what was on stage. He thought that they needed a guy to focus 100% on the board at all times….which they weren’t doing. I would like a DVD of the whole festival and acts if one is available in the future. We are already booked for next year. Overall, I was very satisfied wth the festival….great people putting on the party and a great crowd attending it. Rock ON!!
To answer hardorckhideout….LA Guns was the “Best of Show”!! Everyone has their own opinion…mine is that LA Guns were the best at Rocklahoma. I would pay to see them anywhere. Traci is the best “overall” guitarist that I have seen in a long time. He Rocks!!
Rocklahoma was a pretty kick Xss time. I was the most disappointed with Vince Neil. I guess I expected Motley Crue, shame on me. Dokken was awesome, as was Winger. Pearcy was dissapointing to me because I never got to see Ratt years ago, and I expected better. Nonetheless, I will go back every year because of the cool factor. So many cool people there rockin like it was 1988. Now, about some of that skin that was being shown…..
L.A. Guns was cool. They invited everyone that wanted too(fans)on stage to sing “Ballad of Jane” with them.
Rocklahoma Baby! Way hot but so cool. I was one of the vendors that arrived on Wednesday and stayed all the way through the end. I came to Oklahoma with much anticipation and plenty of reservation. As we packed all of our stuff and readied for the road, it was hard to imagine that the event was over. Only now am I finally and truly able to start recollecting all my thoughts. We met some fun people, some nice people, and people from all over the world! This week end, among all things was suppose to be about the music! All the great, time warped, and time tested bands still standing. Still rocking. And still believing! And it really was. It really happened. From start to finish, egos aside, and comradery abroad, A gathering of the 80’s! From my stand point I wasn’t able to critique, or fully review the sound and style of every band, (I was working!) but I didn’t need to. Sure, not everyone sounded their best or looked their greatest and played the perfect time slot. But when it came down to the real core of this festival. It was more than just the music or the bands themselves. It was all about us, all 35,000 or so in attendance each day and night. It was about the fans, and the memories old and new. Rocklahoma was about the entire scene of a generation of fans neglected but unaffected. Beaten but never broken. Keeping the Faith and Still Rockin! Usually not one to conform, I was proud to be a part of history, a part of this great music. A part of those who make it and those who keep it alive. And The best part…. Rocklahoma 2008, baby!
This is kinda late… but I just stumbled across this site. I never thought in a million years I would have access to a festival like this and one that’s only AN HOUR AWAY!! F— YEA! It was hotter than f-ing Hades all four days… GOD BLESS the A/C in the VIP tent! (Oh and the FREE ice cold beer helped too!) All the bands rocked. Maybe not as good vocally as they were after 20+ years, but hell! They still rocked the crowds! My only complaint about any of the bands was Faster Pussycat. Taime Downe has f-ing lost it. You don’t come to the freaking Bible belt and talk about “12 year-old pu$$y”… WTF??!! I don’t know if he was asked to leave the stage because of that or for something else, but their set ended abruptly. Despite the scorching heat, we rocked out to as many bands as we could. Favorites were Twistes Sister… Dee Snider is in better shape now than he was 20 years ago. Seeing 35,000 + people all jump at the same time during “I wanna Rock” will give you chills… I don’t care who you are. We made some fantastic friends who we will be camping again with next year. We’ve all already bought our tickets and don’t even know who’s playing! Rumors abound that Maiden and Priest had signed on for next year. If that were true… it would be cool as hell!!! My biggest bitch is that it is now DECEMBER and the website http://www.rocklahoma2007.com is STILL not set up. There are thousands of us out there that want to buy the coffee table books, the DVD and everything else Rocklahoma, but can’t. I’ve contacted Rock Fever to no avail. All I can say is once they do get the site up… it’s going to f-ing crash with all the hits it’s gonna take after 5 months of no website. Both complaints aside… I WILL BE THERE NEXT YEAR! Rockin my @$$ of again and sweating my balls off (if I had any). Great site. ROCKLAHOMA 2008 HERE WE COME!!!!!
Lots of rumors are swarming about Rocklahoma 2008.
Confirmed acts so far
Krokus
Vixen
Gypsy Pistoleros
Unconfirmed
Jetboy
Hair of the Dog
Krokus??? Let’s hope the singer has lost the perm and the Spandex jumpsuits… Interested to know if anyone knows anything else about acts for Rocklahoma 2008… confirmed or unconfirmed. I missed Gypsy Pistoleros this year… heard they were pretty good… glad I’ll get to catch them again next year.
I am not sure if this year is going to be better or not.
I am not enthused about the addition of Vixen.
Now I am hearing that the Paul Black L.A. Guns, and Trixter will be there.
I guess we all need a beer break sometime. :/
Paul Black’s LA Guns suck. Phil Lewis & The “Real” LA guns kick azz. Tracie Gunns is great, but he left the band for another at a bad time. He was replaced and they moved on….get over it Tracie. Paul Black can not sing…how does he get that role…does he know someone?
My hopes are high for a kick ass line up at this years show, but it will be hard to top last years line up. There were just so many good bands. But, like Mr. Rockitt said… we all need a beer break sometime!
I drove from MOntana to check out Rocklahoma and was totally alone the entire concert except for a group of women that decided to adopt me. All in all it was an amazing time, even though I was camped between two RVs and the bugs at night were vicious. I came to see Queensryche and had a blast. You can check out the queensryche video i have on youtube by clicking here http://youtube.com/watch?v=4y9jsP5Javs