The Rock Fest was built on the foundation of a re-emerging '80s Rock scene that's finally granted some attention again after a ten year dormancy. Riding on the frilly coattails of success that was the Poison-driven Glam Slam Metal Jam, The Rock Fest pools together many of yesterday's million sellers, originally made for the stage, and today's aging centerfolds out to prove that they still got the moves to entertain on the grand scale. So the concept of combining the efforts of four or five and occasionally six proven acts for what is effectively a mini-fest, throw about a "greatest hits" type set up, play up the nostalgic kick and give the new age whining thirty-something's something to crow about makes perfect sense, for the bands and their fans, who no longer have to dish out half a week's paycheck to previously catch one and a warm-up. So while to many who've been outta the loop a while, hearing names like L.A. Guns and Firehouse, or Ratt, hitting the stage again, there's that measure of surprise and suspicion-what? They're still playing? Can they still play? I always thought they sucked anyway. So aside from those summertime sheds where these vaudeville Rock veterans can get back to letting the sparks fly, you're basically getting the stripped down approach and with the decline of the front page cover stories, these bands are gonna live or die by the way they perform and their record sales depend on it.

One thing immediately noticeable for this evening's performance was the diminished female populous that was as big an inducement for the many male fan fringe-riders who maybe liked a few songs here and there but of course we had our ulterior motives. There were the few standouts that had both guns blazing for a few sets, and damn hard to argue fourteen years later those Cinderella video queens ain't any less pleasing to the eye. The convention center in Asbury Park, once a landmark in the burgeoning resort community that first produced the legend of Bruce, is more than adequate to host a show of any significant size. this evening we may have been looking two or three thousand? That may be generous but we'll calculate the fact that NY and NJ were on the receiving end of a mammoth storm that at times seemed to rival the likes of South Florida's best. Add to this the fact that anyone working a regular day job without the flexibility to either leave work early or avoid the rush hour helplessness of getting through the city and down the turnpike, knowing in advance they wouldn't arrive till the show was half over and might spend more time behind the wheel then in front of the stage, might've put it off completely. So the show featured six bands, the first being L.A. Guns who were scheduled to hit the stage at 5:30 and play maybe 45 minutes, and really a can't miss performer, probably were missed by too many. I arrived there just in time to catch Ratt, band three, just after Firehouse.

Never caught Firehouse live before, but judging by the fact that for everyone that followed basically doing a "Greatest Hits" set and with really no great degree of stage effects, Firehouse fans probably got what they wanted and knew what to expect. So Ratt's up there blasting 'em out like they've been doing it for years. actually I guess they have but never quite like this. I was a bit thrown to see the line up as it sits now, in spite of already knowing of the band member changes and still more surprised they'd be brash enough to go through with it and think anyone could still care. As it turned out they were the surprise of the night and easily had the clearest sound. This comes into play soon after with their successors. So you had Jizzy Pearl doing the vox, he of previous Love/Hate duty, tooling with the few post-'80s club acts and promoting his second book, and did a damn good job not unlike the missing Pearcy. And that's saying something for anyone who knows what Pearcy sounds like! And they did justice to the classic stuff without a doubt. That was John Corabi doing rhythm guitar work on the near side of the stage, or about 9:00 where I was stationed and they cut through all their biggest tunes and people were digging 'em. Ironically I think the last time they did play with Pearcy they were doing the club thing and were probably lucky to have an eighth of this amount in attendance. Their highlights were "Nobody Rides For Free" which is simply too good a song to complain over the muffled minute long intro; "Lay It Down," "You're In Love" and of course "Round And Round." DeMartini and Blotzer, as always, and as the last originals standing, were flawless and against the odds, they just might surprise a few people who were otherwise doubled over with laughter.

Warrant was up next and by this time it was evident that the bands weren't gonna be able to stick to the schedule. There was supposed to be an allotted space between sets and thus, the lack of any real stage "show," and every band given their six or seven song limits before giving way to the next, and well thankfully the beer garden was still open. I thought it a good time to get more film for the camera and catch a few of the wondrous sights of the neighborhood. Got back in time and there's Jani Lane and the band and for the life of me I couldn't figure out the first song till about a minute in. Maybe this was my selective memory kicking in and diffusing anything related to their "DRFSR" debut record but in truth, the sound system was brutal. Jani's going on apologizing right off and you can't help but feel bad for 'em because of all the groups on the bill, they really haven't done a new record in a while and maybe they could use a break. Besides the rerouting of an impatient few, scoffing their way up the stairs as they sought refuge in the overpriced sixteen ouncers, the band got through the show. without any further incident. except for another stoppage of play and this out of left field duet with apparently one of the sound guys who the band wanted to shame at the continual misfiring of their amplitude. Well, whatever the case, they covered the expected hits-"I Saw Red," "Cherry Pie," "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Could've used a boost from their underrated "Dog Eat Dog" record but most of what we were getting from the groups' were the hits, pure and simple.

Dokken came on about 90 minutes and three beers and another ten cigarettes later. and by this time I'm ready to play the father figure and lounge out in the upper level seating. So the question then becomes, are they taking this long because they're all intentionally fucking up the sound system to cover something up? I'm not quick to suggest the facilities because by comparison, Ratt sounded terrific. So Don and his band stride on the stage, Dokken, a bit red-faced and apparently peeved over a perceived technical deficiency beforehand. and this became further evident when they cut into their "Kiss Of Death" opener and Don's diving into the lyrics while there's some fifty stage front onlookers tilting their heads and cupping their ears in unison. The band sounded flawless, Don's voice was non-existent. It did get better however but certainly not up to par. They too were sporting a couple of new members for the show. By now it's a foregone conclusion they'll never play with Lynch again but losing Pilson is definitely a significant blow. It shows up on Dokken's relatively weak "Long Way Home" album and the apparent fact that their not even acknowledging any of their post-"Back For The Attack" record. Now of all of these bands, save for Priest and L.A. Guns, Dokken's done some credible post-prime material in the 1990s. I've got no problem with the set they did, they gave the people what they wanted, cruised through all the hits and the new guys-which did not include John Norum on guitar this time-held their own on classics like "Into The Fire," and "It's Not Love," but they've got maybe two marketable songs on the new record that "Tooth & Nail" era fans would approve of and I couldn't see any reason why they didn't throw in a heavy lead-in track like "Sunless Days," where even if the fans did shit can it, fine, then go ahead and introduce the unexpected "Tooth & Nail" and stop 'em in their tracks. But that's just my opinion and I don't think these bands can continually sell records in this day and age solely on the merit of their past because it's not the same thing anymore. Overall Dokken was tight and they put on a good show but they need to get more stability in this line up and go to work on doing another record like the second or third if that's where they feel their strengths lie, and obviously that's what the people want.

Priest was the final band and I'm still a little dumbfounded that you could throw in an age old classic like them and eliminate the "Metal" from the tour title altogether. However, they are only playing on select shows and thus "Rock Fest" is reasonable. I'd seen 'em already with Ripper Owens and this was after several years of inactivity and plenty of unfounded doubt, so I already knew they were gonna be a real strength on this set. A lot of people have slagged their new record and rightfully so to a degree, but here's one band that could've ended ten years ago-many thought they did actually-and never put out another record and they could still live off the legacy of their past. Now their sound was a marked improvement over the others, Tipton and Downing, like few others of their class, tight playing and in tandem, their riffs razor sharp, the harmonies, flawless and unfettered. We already know of Ripper's similarities with the beloved Rob Halford, currently enjoying his own solo success as a resurrected Metal God, and his abilities are inarguable. While the band did throw in a couple of quick jabs to accentuate their post-Painkiller era, which has only yielded three albums up to now, a tune like "Jugulator" or even the bare fisted "One On One" from their "Demolition" debacle were definitely a welcome dose of heaviness from a band that dulls down nothing. Of course the classics were all there and in abundance-"The Ripper," "Victim Of Changes," "Electric Eye," "Living After Midnight," and overall they hit on all cylinders. Anyone who's seen them in the current state knows they haven't missed a beat. Sure it's always great to think about a reunion with Halford and see if they can recapture that original magic, but there's little denying that Priest, in their current set up, still retains that hard to the core mentality and superior musicianship that's placed them among the Heavy Metal elite. So in all, a night that began with a hasty appearance backstage for The Knack's appearance for that morning's Today Show and their "One Hit Wonders" segment, it didn't end too badly. The beer garden closed entirely too early where apparently the powers that be actually thought the bands' sets would go off as scheduled and six hours after the show began. well nothing really went according to schedule anyway but considering what it cost for one ticket to see six once prominent bands where it would've cost that much for a single nosebleed seat back in the day, it was worth it. Yeah there's a lot to make fun of now that the years have passed and are thumbing their nose at those formerly famous fashion leaders, and maybe a few could stand a few months at the gym, but they've made the required transition from being photogenic headline grabbers to streamlined performers who've learned the value of serious musicianship. So based on that merit alone, The Rock Fest didn't do too badly.

Copyright 2002, BallBuster, The Official Int'l Underground Hard Music Report