Too old for Family Values?

By Brian Campbell

Ah August, or as I call it, "festival month." There are a lot of different sorts of festivals that come to town in August and I started my “mini-tour” on August 3 with Family Values. I'll see Warped Tour next week and then cap it all off with Projekt Revolution the following week. Of course, all shows are at Darien Lake, which is something I would have liked to avoid, but guess I cannot.

We got to Family Values a little early and it definitely showed, since there really wasn’t anyone there yet. We hung out in the parking lot and enjoyed a few cold ones before heading over to will call to claim our passes, then proceeded back to the parking lot in order to relax some more before heading in.

I missed some of the opening bands on the second stage early in the day, bands including Bloodsimple, Invitro, Twin Method and others. I got into the venue at the perfect time to catch the main stage open with one of the bands I was excited to see, Droid. I didn’t like how short their set was, but they completely powned nevertheless. They were by far the heaviest band to grace either stage on that day. And let me say, I cannot wait to see them again next week. They were as brutal as I had expected them to be, and in my opinion, they won the crowd over and definitely worked well to kick off the main stage festivities.

After them came Neurosonic, the other band signed to Munky’s Emotional Syphon Recordings label, alongside Droid. I hadn’t really heard that much about the band before Family Values came to town, but they impressed me. I really liked what I heard, and these guys were extremely energetic and into their music. It makes me happy as a fan and a writer to see bands out there enjoying it, and making the best of their opportunities. Bands that take what they have for granted really put me off, and Neurosonic was definitely not one those bands. Their set again was short but they made the best of it, and I will be looking for their album this week.

I split my time between the next set of bands, the almighty Trivium on the main stage and the up-and-comers Through You on the second stage. I started at the main stage to check out Trivium, and live they were what I imagined; loud, fast, raucous and shredding. Their set wasn’t complete until they ripped off an excellent cover of Metallica’s amazing Master of Puppets. It came as a complete surprise to me, and pretty much everyone else in attendance, but they played it incredibly well, and the crowd responded in kind. By playing this cover, they set in motion a trend that a few other bands would follow the rest of the night.

Then I made my way over to the second stage to catch Through You’s set. I had wanted to hear these guys and I’m glad I did. They had a cool blend of rock and emo, and they might have been the most active band of the day. They were completely all over the stage, blasting through their set and enthralling the crowd. Again, I will be looking up their CD. Hopefully, they will be touring again soon.

My buddy and I decided to take a peek backstage, so we did and just walked around. There really wasn’t much going on. We watched Fieldy from Korn lift some weights and Jonathan Davis and Munky drive by on a golf cart. All in all, there wasn’t much going on, until we stumbled upon a bar and some lawn chairs. We took in a tall cool one and sat back as Hellyeah took to the stage. I was watching Hellyeah and then caught some of Five Finger Death Punch’s set as they headlined the second stage. Hellyeah was my second favorite band that night, behind Atreyu. They finished their set with their two best songs, "Alcohaulin’ Ass" and "You Wouldn’t Know." Hellyeah was fantastic all the way through and I would absolutely love to see them live again soon.

With the second stage now done, we spent the next 30 minutes walking around the festival in order to take in some of the color that Family Values brings to town. It almost felt like an Ozzfest with games throughout and a variety of clothing and accessory vendors. They also had a giant 100-pound rat and headless women sideshow exhibit for all to see. They also had the standard FYE tent for autograph signings and CD sales and such, but unless you feel like spending $18 or $20 on a CD you can go into the store and buy for $7 or $8, this tent could be bypassed. I took some time to enter a contest at the 94.1 the Zone radio station tent for Velvet Revolver tickets.

Then back to the main stage to see Flyleaf. They sped through their 35-minute set and pretty much played their entire album live, since they don’t really have any other material. They were electric live. They were really into their music and showing it live. What I didn’t like about them live was the fact that they didn’t take any time out to address the crowd until right before they ended their set with "Cassie." The lead singer told the crowd that the song was about two girls that had died and we should not be surprised or sad when people die, and we should be surprised that we are still alive. That sort of put a morbid spin on their set, but they were good anyway.

We took to the midway after their set, and decided to walk around the lawn, then checked out some other booths, including the Guitar Hero booth. Man, the guys playing at the booth were very good at the game, and it really made me want to never play it again.

Back to the pit at the main stage, and Atreyu was next. These guys were the band I really, really, really wanted to see live, since I had missed them when they came with Taste of Chaos this year. Man, they did not disappoint me whatsoever. They opened with Bleeding Mascara, then ripped through a set, including songs off all of their three previous records records, like "Right Side of the Bed," "Ex’s & Oh’s," "Creature," "Crimson & Red," and then added to that three songs from their upcoming release, Lead Sails Paper Anchor, including the debut single "Becoming the Bull."

They also played a cover of Bon Jovi’s "You Give Love A Bad Name," putting a little Atreyu spin on it and making it their own. You see what I’m talking about--another band, another cover. I’m excited for their new record after hearing songs off it. Well, I was excited anyway. They ended their set with the grandiose finishing track to Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses, "Lip Gloss and Black." This was a suitable closer to their show, which will keep local fans satisfied until they are back in town September 19 at Town Ballroom.

It was a long time before Evanescence went on and I just sat around. My legs hurt from walking and nothing was going on backstage, so I just sat there, literally. They finally came on and they played a pretty enjoyable set, including (of course) all of their radio hits, like "Going Under," "Bring Me Back to Life," "Lithium," "Sweet Sacrifice" and so on. They were good since it was the first time I saw them. I liked Terry’s guitars, as he had some sweet air brushings like a Coors Light guitar, two Halloween guitars, and a Friday the 13th guitar. The new drummer was also fantastic, an extreme upgrade from their original one. They played for around an hour, and all of it was pretty good.

Next, finally, Korn graced the stage, and I can honestly tell you I wasn’t expecting much from them. Since I haven’t really been into their last few records, I thought we would hear the majority of their new stuff. Thankfully I was dead wrong. Within three songs, I heard their fantastic "Dead Bodies Everywhere," and then also got the chance to hear "Faggot," "Good God" and more. They also churned through some newer radio songs, like "Twisted Transistor," "Evolution," "Right Now," and so on. They finished off the night’s set of cover songs by doing their rendition of Pink Floyd’s "Another Brick in the Wall." It was alright, and since I have never really liked their version, I would have rather heard "Word Up" or "One" for a cover. They ended their encore with "Blind." I’m not sure why though; you’d think this would be a better opening song.

Overall, Family Values was great. I’m incredibly happy I was able to attend, and hopefully festivals like this one will be coming to town for years. I personally think that there should be more. Just none sponsored by radio stations--ugh, they make my skin crawl. On a side note, at one point during the show, after seeing a ton of really young-looking people, I turned to my friend and said, “Dude, this used to be our scene, what happened to it?” to which he replied, “We are getting old.” I didn’t need to hear that, but nevertheless, it is true.