OC Music Magazine

Daniel Martinez

Thisyear?s KROQ Weenie Roast y Fiesta was a success in my books. The eventwas a marvel of efficiency, as rotations between bands were blazinglyfast: with the end of each set, the stage would rotate to reveal thenext band. The use of this alone saved at least an hour if not morethat would have been spent setting up each band.

    I?ll start withthe closing band. The crowd was packed as they welcomed Orange Countynative Travis Barker;    TRV$DJ-AM, were the last band to hit thestage. I didn?t know what to expect from this group, I had never heardany of their music besides Travis?s previous work. It was part music,part visual art - it was different, it was original. Visually they tookadvantage of the jumbo screens above their heads. Barrages of balloons,packmans, psychedelic swirls and all other sorts of animations filledthe screen. Overall I am torn on this group because it is not their ownwork that they are sampling from. Some tracks that they go through arestraight recordings while others are reinterpretations with a heavyelectronic feel. I found their reinterpretations to be interesting andfun. Above this, the audience participation was much higher than Iwould have expected. Many parts became giant anthemic sing alongs.  Forexample part of the set had the whole audience clapping and chanting tothe rhythm of the White Stripes ?Seven Nation Army?. This group ismaking music fun and interesting from the audience perspective.Amphitheatres just don?t go along well with rock n? roll, there is onlyso much fun that can be had while standing in one spot. And that bridgebeing made through audience participation is something that is worthexperimenting with and further developing.

   Other acts to grace the stage were Weezer, Kings of Leon, Yeah YeahYeahs, Jimmy eat world, Silversun Pickups, and Rancid. Weezer wasamazing as usual, the whole audience was standing and singing the wholetime. Despite a set time switch the group did really well. Butsurprisingly the Yeah Yeah Yeahs got a less than amazing response. TheNew York trio simply were not awe-inspiring. Many got up and used thegroup as an intermission. Even though this band was my sole reason forattending the event, I walked away somewhat disappointed. It felt likethe day that I found out Santa Clause wasn?t real.  Nick Zinner?s useof guitar is completely revolutionary and amazing in my eyes. His riffscome from somewhere else with their ability to keep the song chuggingalong without having to resort to the excessive use of chords. Like RocAsheton, he takes bare minimalism and makes it gorgeous. Their live setjust did not convey the musicianship that they have set down on tape.His use of loop pedals to play pre-recorded material made it hard todifferentiate from where the man and machine started. And with theinclusion of a synth for new songs, his virtuosity is put on hold.Songs such as ?Date with Night? gave me a taste of what the old YeahYeah Yeahs were like. Straight ahead playing, with no loops to get inthe way. Karen O brought her banshee wail, without hitting any awkwardsour notes. She hit the signature poses, and brought her attitude andswagger. Karen O and drummer Brian Chase played with a marvel ofconsistency.

   Cage the Elephant, the little band from Oregon, somehow found a way tostand out. This is remarkable especially since they were eclipsed bythe shadows of the giants that were to play after them. I expectedlittle from this band. I personally am no big fan of their hit single,?No Rest for the Wicked?, but their sound is so much more diverse thanwhat is projected from their signature track. One part Pixies, a smidgeof Oasis, and a liberal amount of garage rock must be responsible forhaving bred this group. Several of the group?s songs reminded me oftracks such as ?Where is my mind? and ?Caribou? to a small degree.Their guitarists used a gold top Les Paul and Orange amplifier thatgave him a very trebly yet full sound, reminiscent to Joey Santiago. Abig acknowledgement has to be given to their lead singer: His commandof the stage was remarkable. This is definitely a group worth lookinginto. I am going to take a second listen to their work.

    Rancidhas long since shed the awkwardness of having to earn respect from acrowd. As one of the grand daddies of the 90s punk movement, theycertainly had the eyes and ears of the packed amphitheatre. But whatwas really impressive was that they were not there to prove that theystill had it. They simply brought the same Rancid that dominated theairwaves. A standout moment was when Lars played ?The Wars End? withoutthe accompaniment of the group. He stood there alone, crooning to thecrowd in his characteristic rasp. For just a moment, he turned the lenson himself and we got to see an introspective look at one of the mostunder appreciated guitarists of his generation.

   Although the lineup was fairly diverse, there was a major trend that Inoted sonically. At least within this group of musicians the Marshallamplifier was no longer king. The exception was Lars Frederickson.Nonetheless it appeared that Fender and Orange took on the roles ofking of the hill. As surprising as this is, it may be a sign thatmusicians are ready to move on. Few bands even had a half stack. Asmall combo amp was plenty for many of the guitarists. To me itappeared that all the combos were Fender, with the exception of oneVox. Perhaps this is a sign that the Indie movement is starting toleach further into the rock scene? Perhaps common sense is taking hold?I did not leave the amphitheatre with my ears bleeding. There is only avery slight buzz in my ears, as I sit and write this after the show. Ihave left smaller, and shorter shows with my ears annihilated bycareless sound technicians. I brought my musicians earplugs just incase, but there was no need to put them in. The volume was just loudenough, without being excessive. This was definitely a great day forOrange County. As it stands this is a tradition that should becultivated, especially since it?s right in our backyard.

Photo Credits: Brian Chase Pictures,  Access Hollywood, 182 Online