Ohio’s Live Rock Scene: May

As is the case every year in these parts, May is the big dog as far as major rock & roll happenings in Ohio. Columbus is home to the Sonic Temple Festival (formerly Rock on the Range) and always brings in some of the biggest names in rock and metal music. This year is certainly no exception. We are going to start with that festival as they are bringing in the biggest metal band in the world and we will end in Cleveland with the biggest hard rock band in the world.

Next week, May 8-11, will mark the return of the massive Sonic Temple Music and Art Festival to Columbus at Historic Crew Stadium. In recent years it was expanded to four days and now even offers four stages of music. There will be over 100 performances over the course of the four days. The event is 97% sold out and it is definitely not cheap. If you haven’t already secured tickets, they can be purchased here. They do offer a “pay later” option if that is up your alley. If the event does not sell out, you will likely be able to score good deals on the days of the shows. I’ve bought from the long-time scalpers that stand on 17th Avenue before and they are usually pretty negotiable. Highlighting the four days will of course be Metallica. They will headline on Friday and Sunday and will play two entirely different set lists. No songs will be repeated. They will be supported on Friday by the legendary Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie. On Sunday, when they close out the festival, they’ll be supported by Alice In Chains. All of these bands put on phenomenal live shows.

Thursday May 8th will kick off the event and will be headlined by nu-metal titans Korn. Other great live bands that I’d recommend checking out are Three Days Grace, Poppy, Filter, and Killswitch Engage. . Joining Metallica on Friday will also be a thrash metal trio of Overkill, Testament, and Exodus as well as classic metal heroes Armored Saint from Canada. Saturday will welcome back Linkin Park to headline for the first time since 2014 when they headlined the former Rock on the Range. They will be supported throughout the day by bands such as Sick Puppies, Hoobastank, Trivium, Jimmy Eat World, Incubus, Bullet For My Valentine, and Crossfade. Lastly, joining Metallica and Alice in Chains on Sunday will be Chevelle, Swedish metal giants Arch Enemy, and the anticipated return of Power Trip.

Wednesday May 14th brings Nazareth to my favorite small venue; Columbus’ The King of Clubs. The 70’s rockers will be appearing there for the first time. Tickets are still available and range from $30 for general admission to $60 for floor seating. There are also tables available from $200-$300 depending on how many seats. I’ve never seen Nazareth, but think this should definitely be a show worth checking out.

May 19th brings two of the bigger hard rock acts of the 2000’s to Blossom Music Center up in Cuyahoga Falls. Six days later they will also visit Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center. The tour features Staind and Breaking Benjamin. I’ve seen both of these bands a number of times and they both sound great live. There are plenty of tickets available for both shows and those can be purchased right here.

On May 21st Billy Idol and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts will come to Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center. I haven’t seen Billy Idol live, but Joan Jett was great at the very first Sonic Temple back in 2019. There are plenty of tickets available in all sections of the large venue. They range in price from $22-$270 depending on location and can be purchased here.

May 23rd will bring another classic rock veteran to the Buckeye State. Pat Benatar will visit The Ohio State University’s Mershon Auditorium. Tickets are pricey and range from $65-$270. They can be bought here. I saw her open for Journey once and her show was fine. The tour will make stops in Sylvania (Toledo-ish) the next night and down on the river in Marietta on the 27th.

There is only one active band right now that could top the Metallica visit next week. Short of Pink Floyd or Led Zeppelin reuniting, that band is AC/DC. It’s been a long time since the boys from Down Under have played in Ohio and it very well could be the last time that they do. They will be playing in Cleveland for the final night of their tour on May 28th at Huntington Bank Field; home of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns. The show is nearly sold out and the few remaining seats range in price from $221-$360. If you can swing it, buy your tickets here, and go see one of the greatest rock acts of all time for possibly the final time. I’ve been fortunate enough to see AC/DC twice and can’t recommend it enough!

That’s all for May! June has some good stuff coming up too, but May is definitely the time to go see some live music!

Posted on May 1, 2025 by chadjhobbs 0

Ohio’s live rock scene: April

Well, I dropped the ball on this one, and am already behind. Hopefully, you already knew that Cold was in Columbus at The King of Clubs last Saturday night. If not, my bad. The Jacksonville outfit also visited Cleveland two nights prior but won’t be back in Ohio for the remainder of the tour. They will visit nearby Indianapolis, Lexington, KY and Covington, KY to end the jaunt on May 30th through June 1st if you want to make the trek to see them.

If you are in the Cincinnati area, southern rock legends ZZ Top are rolling into the Queen City TONIGHT at the Andrew Brady Music Center. Plenty of tickets remain available and range from $46 to $165. They can be purchased here. I’ve been fortunate enough to see ZZ Top twice and they were stellar both times. This is the Houston trio’s only announced visit to the Buckeye State this year.

Classic era Queensryche vocalist Geoff Tate is on tour and visiting each of the three big C’s of Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus. On April 12th he’ll be playing at the Taft Theatre in Cincy. On the 15th he’ll play TempleLive Cleveland and on the 16th he will visit TempleLive Columbus. The tour is featured as the final time that Tate will play Queensryche’s famous Operation Mindcrime album in its entirety. Tickets are still available for all three shows through Ticketmaster. If you dig 80’s era metal, this is a show worth looking into. My buddy Dan and I met Geoff Tate several years ago as part of an after show meet and greet from a Queensryche gig. The show was fantastic.

Thursday, April 17th, folk rock legend Bob Dylan stops in Toledo at the Stranahan Theater. This show is sold out. Two nights later the music icon stops in Youngstown at the Powers Auditorium. At the time that I am writing this, there are three total tickets still available. Dylan, who will turn 84 in May, is one of the most influential songwriters of all time.

April 19th brings options to people in Columbus. Icons like Bob Dylan? No. However, rock favorites from nearby Point Pleasant, West Virginia that have adopted Columbus as a second home, Bobaflex will be playing a rare live show at The Newport Music Hall. The band has largely been quiet for the better part of a decade as some members have moved on to a quieter life and others have soldiered on with a new project: The Lonely Ones. Occasionally, though, the McCoy brothers convene the Bobaflex band to do these one off shows at The Newport. General admission tickets are still available for $20 and can be purchased here. They aren’t all that active these days, but Bobaflex used to play anywhere and everywhere in the Buckeye State. They’ve played its biggest festival, the former Rock on the Range, but I’ve also seen them three times in Marion and another time in Mount Vernon. They aren’t in it for the stardom, they just want to play live shows…and they’ll probably party with you afterwards.

Across town, at the same time, at A&R Music Bar will be New York rockers Wheatus. Admittedly, I don’t know anything about them outside of their absolute banger; “Teenage Dirtbag”. Tickets are available here for only $17-22. At that price point, you really can’t go wrong. At the bare minimum, you’re going to get live music and get to sing along to one of the most iconic rock songs of the early 2000’s. It’s kind of hard to not have a good time under those circumstances. If you’re closer to the Cleveland area, they will be in Lakewood the night before at Mahall’s.

Wrapping up April will be arena rock legends Journey. They are coming to Cleveland for a private concert for season ticket holders of the Cleveland Browns on April 24th. The concert will be a Draft Day party and will feature a full headlining set at Huntington Bank Field, the home stadium of the Browns. Tickets are free for Browns season ticket holders. As of now, they are available for purchase from Ticketmaster as resell tickets. The current range is $20-$182. I expect these prices to steadily drop. Ohio weather in April is unpredictable and a band like Journey is not going to want to play to an empty stadium. If you know a Browns season ticket holder, reach out to them for their tickets if they aren’t going to go. Journey has been a great performance each of the several times that I have seen them over the years; albeit with three different singers. Few bands have a catalog of tracks that everyone knows every word to. Journey is one of them. This one should be a good time as long as the band members keep their egos in check and leave their drama in San Francisco.

That wraps it up for April. Go try to see some live music! If April doesn’t do it for ya, don’t worry, we’ve got the big boys coming up in May.

Posted on April 8, 2025April 8, 2025 by chadjhobbs 0

Pickerington bangs their heads with Quiet Riot at annual festival

Quiet Riot. The members that are continuing to carry on the legacy of the very important heavy metal outfit headlined the annual Picktown Palooza festival in the Columbus suburbs last weekend. The band was fantastic and were touring on their ongoing 40 Years of Metal Health (41 now) tour that began in 2023. Their story is one of triumph and tragedy alike, and they were sure to pay homage to their former band members that aren’t with us anymore; namely an iconic trio of rock stars that left this world too soon: guitarist Randy Rhodes, drummer Frankie Banali, and lead vocalist Kevin DuBrow. Anyone that dares refer to themselves as a metal head, ought to know the importance of 1983’s Metal Health record and what it meant for the future of the genre. Metal Health was the first metal album to every top the Billboard charts. Ever. It’s a great record from start to finish and I strongly encourage anyone to put it into their rotation regularly.

For starters, the festival has definitely grown tremendously since the last time that I attended. I believe that it was in 2019 when Dokken headlined and the event was held in the middle of town. It is now held on the campus of one of their huge high schools and was certainly much larger than in the past. Sponsored by local rock station, QFM 96, the concert attendance numbered in the thousands by my estimation. The show was highlighted not only by the hits but by deeper cuts like “Love’s a Bitch” and “Run For Cover” but the absolute highlight was being able to finally see “Thunderbird” performed live. You can check my video of that performance below.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZlkT7bgbJ34%3Fsi%3DQ3ysRCFJ-dbJ9HqI

Quiet Riot performing “Thunderbird” live at Picktown Palooza

The last time that I’d seen Quiet Riot was in 2007 at The Ohio State Fair when they played the Celeste Center with Slaughter. While classic era members DuBrow and Banali were still in the band at that time and the show was great, the set list was very short (only 8 songs for a headliner?!) and didn’t have enough stuff from their iconic album. Sadly, DuBrow would leave this world just three months after that gig at the young age of 52. The current era of the band righted those wrongs in Pickerington with a 15 song set that featured a heavy portion of the Metal Health record. Afterall, when you have an album that went 6x platinum, it’s wise to feature it in your live show. With that being said, however, I always encourage new music and I was happy to see the band play a song that wasn’t released until 2022; “I Can’t Hold On”. The song was a lost demo track written by DuBrow and Grossi back in the early 2000s that had been forgotten about until it was found on an iPod in 2021. The current band constructed the track from its demo status and released it two years ago.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=SmWZ2rDe1oQ%3Fsi%3D09_mTkyVlySpGB9W

They did that and more. The current lineup was energized and lead vocalist Jizzy Pearl (who has also sung for contemporary acts L.A. Guns, Ratt, and Love/Hate) had great control of the crowd. Drummer Johnny Kelly (formerly of Type O Negative, Kill Devil Hill, and Danzig) had the unenviable task of trying to fill the enormous shoes of Frankie Banali. Banali famously held the spot behind the drum kit from 1980 until his death in 2020 and poured his life into keeping the band’s legacy alive after DuBrow’s death in 2008 as was documented in the 2014 rockumentary: Quiet Riot: Well Now You’re Here, There’s No Way Back. It is a fantastic film that documents the real life struggles of a band that seemingly had it all, lost it all, and the lifelong grind of trying to climb back to keep the dream and the music alive. It’s seriously a great film and a must stream if you haven’t already. Like I said, no small task for Kelly to sit in Banali’s seat. However, he played great and combined with iconic bass player Rudy Sarzo, the rhythm section was on point all night. Sarzo is one of those guys that has been around the heavy metal and classic rock band block, general good guy, and is well respected not only for his work with Quiet Riot but also in the following bands: Ozzy Osbourne, Dio, Blue Oyster Cult, Whitesnake, The Guess Who and Geoff Tate’s Queensryche. The last of those, with Queensryche, I felt he was the star of the show when they played Columbus’ famed Newport Music Hall about a decade ago. The dude is a legend. Lastly, lead guitarist Alex Grossi, has held down that spot for nearly 20 years now. His playing did justice to those Cavazo riffs of the heyday era but he also made sure to pay homage to the all to brief career of the bands founding member; Randy Rhodes, as well. I hope that this incarnation of the band continues to tour for many years and perhaps for the 45th or 50th anniversary of Metal Health, they can play it in its entirety!

Quiet Riot Set List – July 13, 2024, Pickerington, Ohio

1. Run For Cover (1983)
2. Slick Black Cadillac (1983)
3. Mama Weer All Crazee Now (1984) (Slade cover)
4. I Can’t Hold On (2022)
5. Sign of the Times (1984)
6. Love’s a Bitch (1983)
7. Condition Critical (1984)
8. Thunderbird (1983)
9. Party All Night (1984)
10. Blackout in the Red Room (1990) (Love/Hate cover)
11. The Wild and the Young (1986)
12. Let’s Get Crazy (1983)
13. Highway to Hell (1979) (AC/DC cover)
14. Cum On Feel The Noize (1983) (Slade cover)
15. Metal Health (Bang Your Head) (1983)

Posted on July 21, 2024 by chadjhobbs 0

Avenged Sevenfold and Poppy burn it down in Columbus

Avenged Sevenfold made their second visit to Ohio’s capital city last night in support of their latest offering; 2023’s Life Is But A Dream…, a project that was five years in the making. They made their initial Columbus stop last May as the Friday night headliner at the Sonic Temple Festival. Admittedly, I was concerned after watching them last year at a festival that has become like a second home for them. Perhaps, it was just the long layoff after the pandemic that had made them seem somewhat rusty. Whatever rust they may have had last May has surely been shaken off by now. Last night at Nationwide Arena the band were in top form. Their proper headlining, fifteen song set saw them focus on their latest record but also dust off some of their more obscure back catalog.

The opener for this tour is alt-pop-metal outfit Poppy. Admittedly, I was unfamiliar with her or her band prior to last night and I didn’t have high expectations. I’m glad that I went into it with an open mind, however. I’m sure that I am not the target demographic for her music and will admit that it was certainly not in my wheelhouse of something that I’d normally listen to. With all of that said, there was something about the performance that drew me in. I can’t explain it. There were elements of techno, metal, and pop that fused into an oddly enjoyable blend of music. All I can say is I had never heard or seen anything quite like it before last night. I would explain it as if you mixed Rob Zombie with In This Moment and K-Pop. I’m generally not one that would be described as a very artistic person, but her performance was certainly art. I can and do appreciate that. While I might not understand it, I was entertained and drawn into it, and in retrospect there were things about her performance that fits with the experimentation and progressive path that A7X has been on since Hail To The King was released.

Poppy Set List Columbus, OH 3/26/2024

1. Bloodmoney
2. Church Outfit
3. Bite Your Teeth
4. I Disagree
5. X
6. Hard
7. Sit/Stay
8. V.A.N. (Bad Omens cover)
9. Fill The Crown
10. Anything Like Me
11. Scary Mask
12. Concrete

Shortly after 9 p.m. the lights dimmed and Kvinsky’s Nightcall played over the speakers as the intro before Avenged Sevenfold took the stage to kick off the night with a pair of songs from the new album. It’s no secret that over the course of the past two albums the band has been experimenting with new sounds. Like bands before them (Rush, Iron Maiden, Metallica, etc.) they’ve been pushing the boundaries into new territory. Avenged Sevenfold no longer fits into a cookie cutter box of a proper metalcore band. They’ve grown. They’ve evolved. That’s okay, too. How boring would it be, for them, to continuously make the same record over and over again? Do I have a fondness for their earlier work? Absolutely. I do enjoy seeing a band grow, though, and both The Stage and Life Is But A Dream… have grown on me with each listen.

The new tracks held up well in the live setting and of course the crowd went nuts for the songs from the “classic” era of this band. For a band that I worried about potentially being lost less than a year ago; those fears have been put to rest after seeing them last night. M. Shadows in particular seemed to be having fun again and his vocals were stronger than they’ve been in a long time. With eight studio albums now under their belt, during a career spanning twenty five years, there is always going to be a gripe with any set list that they choose to perform. Of course I want to hear “Beast and the Harlot“, but I’ll gladly trade that for a band that is still challenging themselves to make new music. That means the fire still burns within them. If that fire still burns, then you’ve got a band that is going to continue to create. Bands that create, want to share their art and perform it live. Give me that. Bands that become bored, don’t last. I need live music more than I need to hear a particular song. I’m thankful that Avenged Sevenfold is still driven to create and bring us their live show. Inspiration breeds motivation, and has led this band back to being on top of their game. They were on top of their game last night.

Avenged Sevenfold Set List Columbus, Ohio 3/26/2024

1. Game Over (2023)
2. Mattel (2023)
3. Afterlife (2007)
4. Hail To The King (2013)
5. We Love You (2023)
6. Shepherd Of Fire (2013)
7. The Stage (2016)
8. Roman Sky (2016)
9. Blinded In Chains (2005)
10. Bat Country (2005)
11. Nobody (2023)
12. Nightmare (2010)
13. Unholy Confessions (2003)
14. Save Me (2010)
15. Cosmic (2023)

Posted on March 27, 2024 by chadjhobbs 0

K.K.’s Priest headlines night of metal in Columbus

K.K.’s Priest performing at The King of Clubs, Columbus, Ohio 3/16/24 Photo by Chad Hobbs

K.K.’s Priest invaded the comfy confines of Columbus’ venue The King of Clubs on Saturday night. The all-star cast that Judas Priest legend K.K. Downing has put together to represent both his storied Priest career as well as two albums of new heavy metal made their first visit to Ohio on this tour and brought a pair of bands with them to warm up the crowd. The tour package paired several heavy metal legends with several legends in the making as well.

Switzerland’s (minus one, Philly guitar virtuoso Courtney Cox) Burning Witches made their second appearance at the music venue that has quickly became the local favorite for a variety of music, but has specialized in giving headbangers a place to feel at home. Last time they visited, they were on tour supporting Cox’s former band; The Iron Maidens. While she admittedly made a comfortable living in the world famous Iron Maiden tribute act, the lure of creating original music with like minded people led her to accepting a full time gig with the Witches last summer.

As is the case with most metal music, this band brings a powerhouse rhythm section with Jeanine Grob on bass and Lala Frischknecht on drums. The aforementioned Cox has assumed lead guitar duties while founding member Romana Kalkuhl handles rhythm guitars. They are led out front by the next great siren in heavy metal, Laura Guldemond. Her stage presence is what sets their performance apart from many of their contemporary counterparts. They play heavy, heavy metal yet haven’t forgotten the idea that performing live should be fun. Guldemond’s confidence while commanding a crowd is reminiscent of the legends of the genre. Even while there were issues during the first song with her microphone and the documented physical struggle that this tour has been for Kalkuhl, they soldiered through and refused to let their performance be hampered. This is a band that is only going to continue to grow its fan base as corporate radio continues to die and more avenues become available to get real metal music to the masses.

Burning Witches Set List
1. Unleash The Beast
2. Wings of Steel
3. Hexenhammer
4. Lucid Nightmare
5. The Dark Tower
6. Burning Witches

Burning Witches performing at The King of Clubs, Columbus, Ohio 3/16/24 Photo by Chad Hobbs

Los Angeles’ heavy metal staples L.A. Guns were up next. I always love seeing bands from the 80’s era that got pigeonholed into the “hair metal” scene unjustly. Firstly, most of the bands from the era are great anyway and the “hair” label cheapens their contributions to heavy metal music. A lot of them have their metal “cred” challenged on the basis of cheesy music videos for the newly founded MTV or because they happened to write a ballad or two. L.A. Guns are no exception to the rule, but this being the second time seeing them live in the past few years, I’m happy to say that they are just a kick ass heavy metal band that are even better live. The key to most of these bands that paved the way for the heavier stuff that would come in later years, is that when you see them live, you hear these songs the way they were actually meant to be heard. Live, loud, raw. The casual metal fan may only know this band for their radio friendly hit, “The Ballad of Jayne”, (which is a great song by the way) and completely may not be aware that this band is actually much closer to Motorhead than they ever were to Bon Jovi.

Tracii Guns is one of the most well known guitarists to come out of the 1980’s metal scene. In fact, while Ozzy Osbourne’s “Diary of a Madman” was blaring over the speakers as the band was taking the stage, Guns played along in what is one of the coolest ways to kick off a concert I’ve ever seen. While it’s pretty obvious where the “Guns” in L.A. Guns comes from; his namesake is also where the “Guns” in Guns N’ Roses comes from too as for a brief time L.A. Guns merged with Axl’s band Hollywood Rose. The pairing didn’t last long, however, and L.A. Guns forged ahead. Handling lead vocals since 1987 (save for a four year stretch in the ’90s), is Mr. Phil Lewis. His vocals were on point all night. He informed the crowd prior to the performance of “Jayne” that he’s been struggling with his vocals but that he would try hard to get through the song. He sounded great and one could not be blamed for thinking that he was full of it. In fact, Ripper Owens of the evenings headlining performers would later playfully call him out for being full of shit.

L.A. Guns Set List
1. Cannonball
2. Electric Gypsy
3. Over The Edge
4. Sex Action
5. Speed
6. Hell’s Bells (instrumental jam of AC/DC)
7. Never Enough
8. The Ballad of Jayne
9. Rip and Tear

L.A. Guns performing at The King of Clubs, Columbus, Ohio 3/16/2024. Photo by Chad Hobbs

At about 9:45, the headlining act for the night took the stage. K.K. Downing is a founding member of Judas Priest. The same Judas Priest that is quite obviously on the Mount Rushmore of heavy metal bands with Sabbath, Maiden and Metallica. Don’t try to argue. His decades of playing twin harmonizing guitar with Glen Tipton in Priest formed one of the most iconic and recognizable sounds in metal music. In 2011, Downing’s time in Priest came to an end and after many years of not performing the beginnings of what would become K.K.’s Priest began to take shape right before and during the pandemic.

The new project, K.K.’s Priest, would be a combination of both some of his best work from the Judas Priest heyday as well as fresh and new music that would remain true to what his vision of the band was. Who better to recruit for lead vocals than Akron, Ohio’s Tim “Ripper” Owens who actually was in Judas Priest for a pair of albums when they reunited without Rob Halford briefly around the turn of the century. His vocal parallels to Halford are eerily close and his work with Iced Earth was my favorite that they put out. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see him perform with Iced Earth, so I’ve been looking forward to seeing him live and combined with Downing whom I hadn’t seen since 2009’s Judas Priest tour; you might say that Saturday night was a show that I was excited for.

Rounding out the band are guitarist A.J. Mills, bassist Tony Newton, and drummer Sean Elg. The hard hitting quintet opened the night with the first single from their first record; 2021’s Sermons of the Sinner. From the opening riff of “Hellfire Thunderbolt” to kick off the set and through second encore song; this was just a classic, old school metal show. With Owens piercing vocals ripping right through you and heavy riffs and plenty of double bass pedal holding it all together, the show surpassed all of my expectations and has now taken over the top spot for shows that I’ve seen at The King of Clubs. It was also a fantastic way to kick off my 2024 concert run. The night was a celebration. A celebration of the legacy of K.K. Downing and his work over the past 50+ years. It was a celebration of the legacy of Tracii Guns. It was a celebration of the future of all three of these bands. It was a celebration of the 3rd year anniversary of Columbus’ new favorite music venue. The show was sold out. Towards the end of the show, Owens remarked that after the end of this tour that the band would reconvene in England to work on the follow up to 2023’s The Sinner Rides Again album. I’m excited for that and hope that they will once again spend an evening with the headbanging faithful in Columbus, Ohio when they inevitably tour in support of whatever comes next.