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ROCKLAHOMA:
PRYOR, OK JULY 12-15
By Michael Braun
The bands: (HOLLYWOOD ROSES, LILLIAN AXE, KISS ARMY,
ROUTE 66 (w/JOE LESTE & TRACII GUNS), WHITE LION, Y&T,
SLAUGHTER, QUIET RIOT, RATT, POISON, DOWN FOR FIVE,
BANG TANGO, BULLET BOYS, FASTER PUSSYCAT, ENUFF Z’
NUFF, FIREHOUSE, WARRANT, SKID ROW, WINGER, DOKKEN,
VINCE NEIL, BRITNY FOX, STEELHEART, LA GUNS, GREAT
WHITE, JACKYL, QUEENSRYCHE, TWISTED SISTER,
Flew to Oklahoma for this first annual 80’s hair metal
festival spread over 4 days hosted by Eddie Trunk. We
had VIP tickets 19 rows back from the stage, all you
can drink (pop, water, draft beer) and all you can eat
(Hamburgers, Sausages, Turkey, Chicken, Steak etc.
menu always changed and was really good food), special
VIP air conditioned tent to chill out in. It was very
well organized. Being a fan of all the 80's
hairbands, there was no doubt in my mind that I would
travel all the way from Toronto Ontario to Oklahoma.
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When we arrived on the Thursday, it was the pre-party
warm up which featured (HOLLYWOOD ROSES, LILLIAN AXE,
KISS ARMY, ROUTE 66 (w/JOE LESTE & TRACII GUNS).
Lillian Axe was awesome. They played all the fan
favourites as well as about 3 songs from the new album
"Rising Waters". The KISS tribute Band "KISS Army"
was next playing songs from the Alive II era. They
were entertaining to watch, but didn't sound much like
KISS. The surprise band of the night was ROUTE 66,
which was a band made up of various members of Bang
Tango and LA GUNS.
The Friday was when the real party started. Here's a
little rundown of the next 3 days......
WHITE LION - I wish it was the original lineup, but
the band sounded great. Played all the hits. Mike
Tramp's voice was awesome.
Y&T - I became a fan of these guys in the early 90's.
I wasn't all that familiar with all their tunes.
SLAUGHTER - I was really looking forward to seeing
Slaughter. When they came on, I noticed that Dana
Strum, Blas Elias and Jeff Blando were gone! Mark
was the only original member. The played a great set,
but I was always a fan of all the members in this
band. The new musicians weren't even introduced.
QUIET RIOT - This band put on a fantastic show. Very
entertaining. Kevin Debrow always knows how to work
the crowd. Played all their hits.
RATT - I was so looking forward to seeing RATT as the
last time I saw them was opening for Ozzy on the Bark
at the moon tour back in 1984. I was more than
impressed. I loved them and can't wait to see them
again when they open for Poison in Toronto on August
28th.
POISON - Never a disappointment. Killer show, lots of
energy and great tunes. It was nice to hear a few new
tunes in the set, even though they were covers, but
after all they were supporting their latest release
"Poison'd", an album of all cover tunes.
S A T U R D A Y
BANG TANGO - To be honest, I missed these guys...I was
in the V.I.P tent cooling off and eating, but my other
2 friends thought they were great.
BULLET BOYS - Have always been a big fan. Sounded
amazing and looked very cool. I hope they put out
some new material soon.
FASTER PUSSYCAT - I've seen Faster Pussycat 4 times.
It was what I expected. Tamie seemed bored, they
played the usual hits. I always like watching these
guys.
ENUFF Z’ NUFF - This band use to be awesome. First
off, the only original member is Chip Znuff. After
the 3rd album, these guys became possessed by the
Beatles because all their music started to sound like
them and they would always play Beatles covers. I
would suggest that they go back and only play material
from the first 3 albums.
FIREHOUSE - Awesome. I loved it. Played the tunes
that everyone wanted to hear. No disappointments
here.
WARRANT - JANI!!! COME BACK!!!!!. I would have much
rather seen a solo show with Jani Laine then watch
Warrant. The music was great....but Jamie St. James
vocals......NEXT!!!!!!
SKID ROW - Clearly one of the most entertaining bands
of the day. So much energy. These guys fucking
rocked!!! Even without Sebastian, they sounded
amazing playing all the great hits as well as new
material.
WINGER - I've always loved Winger. I love every album
by them. I found them to be a little boring this
time. Although they played many of the hit songs,
they would go into these long musical interludes which
put most of us to sleep. The sound was also terrible
for them which didn't help. I guess it was just a bad
night.
DOKKEN - This is the one band of the night that blew
me away! They were amazing! Can't wait to hear the
new CD
VINCE NEIL - Best Vince show that I've seen to date!
Dana Strum and Jeff Blando from Slaughter are now in
his band. I guess Vince pays more? Vince was in
great form. He looked fit and was happy. He played
all Motley stuff which was fine. He came on an hour
late due to sound issues, but the delay was truly
worth the wait. He said that the Crue would be
recording new material and then doing a world tour.
S U N D A Y
BRITNY FOX - Again, I'm a huge fan of this band from
the first album. It was great to finally see them.
STEELHEART - I've always loved this band and always
wanted to see them. It was worth the wait because
they kicked ass. Played various tunes from the first
few albums as well as songs from the movie "Rockstar".
They impressed the hell out of me. Although they
were never a huge band, they gained a lot of new fans
that day.
LA GUNS - Another surprise for me. When I heard that
original singer Paul Black was going to be singing I
didn't know what to expect. They were fucking awesome
through the entire set. What a great band to watch.
Everyone was really into them.
GREAT WHITE - Ok, I was back in the VIP tent again
for these guys. I heard from a few people that they
were really good.
JACKYL - Always a treat. Kick ass rock n' roll all
the way. Loved these guys and so did everyone else.
QUEENSRYCHE - The original band in this slot was
supposed to be WASP. I was really bummed that they
were taken off the tour. I don't know what the reason
was. Anyway, when they announced that the replacement
was Queensryche, the place went nuts. I am not a fan
of Operation Mindcrime II, but they stuck to most of
the classic tunes from Rage for order to Empire, and
played only 2 songs from the new album. I really
liked them
TWISTED SISTER - Killer show. What a way to end such
an amazing festival. I saw them back in December for
their Christmas tour and had so much fun. Dee is
awesome. He is one of the best front men out there.
I will see Twisted whenever they come back. I hope
the play Rocklahoma 2008!
I could go on and on about this event but overall it
was very unique and fun even though none of us got
much sleep but it was all for Rock N’ Roll!!! Me and
my friends already bought our ticketsfor ROCKLAHOMA 2008!!!!
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