ROCKVILLE 2018
Last weekend in April – Jacksonville, Florida
For a decent preview of what the 3-day festival entails, check out my article at Metal Sucks. Rockville is not a metal festival and has a lot of mainstream bands on the bill, but as one commenter put it, “An event like this is good for fans, who can enjoy Clutch (yay!), Power Trip (the best new thrash group out there), Ozzy, etc” and perhaps people can deviate from the norm and enjoy new bands.
I attended this event on Sunday only because the lineup featured a rich combination of heavy metal, stoner rock, rock ‘n roll, and punk rock, including Fireball Ministry, The Bronx, The Sword, Red Fang, Quicksand, Clutch, Billy Idol, Queens of the Stone Age, and Foo Fighters. I understood that I would be missing party rock Andrew WK and Butcher Babies on Saturday, plus the must-see new thrash metal band Power Trip and Ozzy Osbourne with Zakk Wylde‘s guitar solos on Friday, but the perfect Florida coast weather and plenty of sun made me forget all about it.
There weren’t many people out watching bands at 1 o’clock; I think everyone was still waking up and having brunch and beers before coming back out. I don’t blame them – beers are $8 for Budweiser and $9 for 16 oz Sam Adams craft beers, $10-$15 for a cocktail, plus tips, and on-site food is $10-20 per person, including a turkey leg, noodles, and pizza. Plus there is no re-entry and you’re only allowed a small clear bag with you.
By the time The Sword and Red Fang played, though, the main stages were filled with fans who were crowdsurfing and basking in the sun, sunburn and all. Everyone seemed to have a good time. I spotted about a handful of metalheads throughout the whole festival – they were hard to find, but they were there! I couldn’t stop people-watching, there was a lot going on. Clutch really drew the crowd in, Quicksand made a comeback with Interiors, and Billy Idol had just about all of 90,000 people singing along to “White Wedding.”
There were plenty of merch booths, and one of the most interesting is The Music Experience, where you can go in and play the same instrument as your favorite rock star, and you can buy it on the spot, too. Another booth had shirts that said, “Show me your kitties” and “Rock out with your paws out” in support of the Take Me Home animal rescue.
Despite the numerous opportunities at my fingertips to see Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters, something had always come up, and it was time to make up for lost time. This is Rockville, after all, so it only made sense to watch these legends on massive outdoor stages! QOTSA sounded spot-on and I still remember the excitement of finally seeing them live. There’s also nothing like Josh Homme with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, despite my personal stance against them. Dave Grohl stole the show, however. Two hours of non-stop entertainment, an impeccable guitar tone, classics from over the years, and guest appearances by Billy Idol and John Travolta.
Coming out for a day to see everything was definitely worth it. I ran into some friends and made new ones, and besides a very awkward Uber airport pickup (don’t take your kids to work and fix your A/C), everything else went really well. I’m curious to see what’s in store for next year.
Here is the full album from this festival:
