It wasn’t the hottest day on record in Arizona, but for many, baking on the pavement during a festival on a 105 degree day, it surely felt volcanic. As the Uproar Festival kicked off on two outdoor parking lot stages mid-day, fans were skirmishing for whatever shade could be found in the parking lot. This wasn’t cabana/sipping a margarita type shade, but standing in the shadow of a merchandise tent type or maybe sitting beneath one of the nearby cargo trucks.
Just as things were heating up, Danko Jones announced from the stage in his all black attire, “Earlier someone had the nerve to give me a popsicle? But, I’m looking at you all and I see you’re freezing, we’re going to warm you up.” Hardly the case, but it made for a good sarcastic twist to a rather punishing time of the afternoon. Following the band’s KISSentric “Legs,” Jones again unleashed his inner Gene Simmons with his ode to oral sex, “Lovercall,” that involved plenty of tongue wagging and X-rated commentary.
The roster of afternoon bands were granted small 25 minute set times, pretty much enough time for them rock out quick and make an impression. Each minute on stage counted as each band rallied through a chosen set-list that served as an audition tape for bigger stages. Unlike many other festivals, the early parts of Uproar kept to the true sense of bonding both fans and band, as there was no backstage and musicians connected with their fans for meet and greets. This type of modesty keeps it real in the hard rock verse many of the more pretentious indie bands that dominate the festival scenes of today. You wouldn’t see Beach House or Bright Eyes milling about with the general public at Bonnaroo.
Richmond, Virginia’s Chuck Shaffer Picture Show emerged as winner of the 2012 Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands and as a result,l earned a slot on this rodeo. Playing to a mid-afternoon crowd getting their caffeine overload on (Rockstar provided free drinks all afternoon in their ten) their high energy melodic rock could have fit in at festival like Coachella as they could here at Uproar. Beware of Darkness another young band who just recently released their debut album Orthodox in May, showed potential of getting big soon with their bluesy whirl that harkens both the Velvet Underground and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, atop urgent rock vocals by front-man Kyle Nicolaides as he screamed throughout his set- “Are you with us?” With all the free Rockstar, ADD wasn’t an issue and helped get fans hooked on these smaller acts. Other small bands like New Politics and Middle Class rut would have fit in well on the Warped Tour with their pop punk and dance rock, while the later has been compared numerously to headliner Jane’s Addiction and it’s rightfully deserved.
Dead Daisies and Walking Papers, the last two bands on the outdoor stages were granted a bit more stage time and were given the “respect your elders” treatment. With each band hosting members of Guns N’ Roses past and present along with other rock and roll trade-men, these were probably the smallest stages many of these band-members have played in decades. Fronted by Jon Stevens, formerly of INXS, Dead Daisies also consisted of David Lowy, Richard Fortus and Dizzy Reed, both of Guns N’ Roses, Brian Tichy, and Marco Mendoza of Whitesnake/Thin Lizzy fame.
Proving the old saying “the show must go on”, Stevens performed from a chair while in a walking cast as the band delivered their modern 70s/80s influenced rock. It was interesting to see a band like Dead Daisies with so many established musicians play on a smaller stage and so unabashedly even evoking hair band antics of the 80’s as Mendoza spun around with his various glam bass moves, spitting water upwards and stripping down to just leather pants. But front-man Stevens belted some powerful vocals that gave the band some fire aside from the rock and roll facades as he ripped originals like “Lock N Load” and a true to form cover of “Helter Skelter.” Although the band sounds dated here and there along with featuring a lineup of too many alpha dogs, it’ll be interesting to see if their tunes can find an audience beyond middle-agers.
Fueled by the bluesy voice of Jeff Angell, the Walking Papers set was delivered in a much more powerful relevant and evoking way than any of the other Uproar acts. It’s always difficult for middle agers to start a new band without sounding like a rehash, but Walking Papers is forceful and biting without echoing their individual glory days. Led by Angell’s voice and guitar playing, Duff McKagan on bass, Barrett Martins thunderous drumming and Ben Anderson on keyboards, the band’s compositions remains dark yet compositionally elegant, sort of a sinister version of The National. A highlight and much to the crowd’s delight, during the performance of “The Butcher” (a song without guitar), Angell wrapped the mic cord around his neck and left the stage to perform the song from the middle of the audience. This wasn’t the last time Angell would join the crowd, as he would be seen working the merch booth at 11:00 PM following Alice in Chains’ headlining set.
Coheed and Cambria love em or hate em, brought their concept rock that delivered fan favorites “Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the Defiant”, “A Favor House Atlantic” and “Goodnight, Fair Lady.” Aside from their dedicated fan base which probably can pin-point many high-lights, for those not in the Coheed know, the highlight was the guitar heroics of Claudio Sanchez as he rifled through various solos while strapping on a double neck and playing over his head during the set closer “Welcome Home.” The band wowed and converted new comers and although many weren’t familiar with their longwinded songs, they left to a standing ovation and calls of “Claudio is God.”
Jane’s Addiction has never been able to recapture the recorded glory of Ritual de lo Habitual form 1990, their last true to form album. Their last couple studio albums have fallen flat, and the energy of their live performances revolves around their classic Nothing’s Shocking and Ritual numbers. Their show has always been a sort of ecstatic tribal glam event that showcases sexuality and spirituality in a multi-stimulating presentation with sexy female dancers and other shenanigans. But despite how well their classics hold up live, the band still appears to be running through the motions some, disconnected to touring and not in the same creative stratosphere as their early Lollapalooza days. Stephen Perkins remains the catalyst of the band as his versatile drumming remains drawing point along with some poignant bass playing from Chris Chaney filing in once again for original member Eric Avery. However founders Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro appear more into displaying their fountain of youth ab show than reinventing the rock scene. Come one guys, a few carbs in your diet might do some good to add some immediacy and urgency to your performances.
Headliners Alice in Chains evoked the passion of a songbook that still sounds ripe today twenty plus years after a majority of their songs were first recorded. Hand painted upon Sean Kinneys bass drum were the letters LSMS”, paying homage to fallen band-mates Layne Staley and Mike Starr. Staley who was home to one of the most iconic voices in rock history is close to impossible to duplicate, but William DuVall, as he has for the past seven years, served as a knock em dead replacement, particularly in the Facelift composition “Love Hate Love” where he was just 50 pounds, paler skin and a long goatee awayt from the originator.
AIC performed a distinguished set that touched on just about every part of their catalog. Having just released their new album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here at the end of May, the two singles “Hollow” and “Stone” fit nicely in a mixed history set that included “Them Bones”, “Man in the Box”, and “Damn that River.” The highlight of the evening, aside from many Jerry Cantrell moving and guitar solos, (that solo in Them Bones never gets old) was “Get Me Wrong” from the Sap EP, where Cantrell asked the crowd pre-chorus, “how you feeling?” just before the crowd answered back –“I haven’t felt like this in so long.” For many who haven’t seen Alice in Chains since the early to mid 90’s it couldn’t have been said better.
Photos by Leslie Michele Derrough
