Another Report Regarding Rock Gone Wild

This report comes from our friends at KIMT-TV.

Click here to access. Full story follows.

Diamond Jo says "No" to Rock Gone Wild


Northwood, IA- The future of a major rock festival is uncertain.

The General Manager of Diamond Jo Casino in Worth County tells us they're not allowing Rock Gone Wild to happen on any of the casino's licensed grounds.

Promoters are planning to issue a press release at 4:00pm on Friday. They were hoping for a crowd of ten thousand people, now they’re working with lawyers to come up with a plan.

We talked to several of the Management Companies who oversee some of the headlining acts. Some believe the event is still on while others think its all but dead.

Hundreds of people who had bought tickets to see major acts are wondering what will happen to their money; others living in Worth County invested a lot more.

Rodney Hagen has dreamed of creating an RV oasis right in his backyard for a long time.

"5 years ago I started kicking it around and last year we started digging the pond and just kept on going from there I guess," Hagen said.

But when he found out a major rock festival featuring international acts like Twisted Sister, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, And Puddle of Mudd had moved from Algona to just three miles away, he kicked his plans into high gear hoping to score some business.

"We were supposed to have a bulldozer here today and start hauling rock roads in tomorrow so we would have made it, it would have been close but we would have made it," he said.

With just five weeks notice, Hagen isn't the only one who rushed to make preparations for the event.

"Usually if something this big happens then we usually have about a year or so to get ready for something like this, but we're given basically five weeks to start looking into it and figure out what we're going to need and if we can take care of some things here," said Worth County Sheriff Jay Langenbau.

Langenbau says a meeting to discuss event safety and security with local emergency officials on Thursday afternoon was postponed. And there are more signs the event isn't happening as scheduled in Northwood.

Two weeks away from the concert there's still no agreement between the landowner who owns the property where the concert was planned and concert promoters. The landowners also tell us they're hesitant to move forward without support from the casino.

Hagen says whether it happens or not, the event won't make or break his plans.

"We just did it a lot faster than we would have planned on, maybe would have done a few things different, but no, we didn't go too crazy," Hagen said.

We're awaiting official word from rock gone wild promoters on the future of the festival.

On a Rock Gone Wild online discussion board, ticket holders are writing in with questions of a possible venue change.

Rock Gone Wild Festival Update

Questions still swirl about the fate of Rock Gone Wild, set to take place August 20 - 23 at the Diamond Jo Casino in Northwoods, Iowa. Bring Back Glam! just spoke with an official at the casino regarding the festival, preparations and ticket sales.

“I’m not able to say it will or will not happen,” says Scott Smith, Marketing Director for the Diamond Jo casino.  

Rock Gone Wild general manager Nathalie Faghihi posted this online just hours ago: "Rock Gone Wild was notified on August 5, 2009, by email from legal counsel representing Diamond Jo Casino, that... 'The event cannot take place anywhere on the licensed premises.'"

That may or may not be true. According to Smith, the festival was never really going to take place on festival grounds anyway. Smith says Rock Gone Wild promoters were supposed to use grounds to the north of the casino. “We’re not a sponsor,” he adds. “More like a landmark.”

“It is our understanding ticket sales are good, but we don’t have official numbers,” says Smith. He also adds all the rooms in the casino are not booked for the weekend of August 20-23.

“We’ve been referring everyone back to the Rock Gone Wild website.”  Smith also adds the casino itself is in limbo and isn’t in a position to say whether the event is on or off. “I’ve not heard from a promoter regarding a confirmation.”

The last time anyone at the casino received official word from Rock Gone Wild was Monday, via email. Specific details of that email were not disclosed.

“[The] majority of people around here are excited for Rock Gone Wild. The prospect of having thousands of people [in town] only helps everyone,” concludes Smith.

Bands booked for Rock Gone Wild include Twisted Sister, Saving Abel, Candlebox, Lita Ford, Kix, Puddle of Mudd and many more.

Rock Gone Wild is (Probably) Canceled

I've spent the past three hours trying to independently confirm that Rock Gone Wild, the new multi-day festival in Iowa, is canceled. Rumors started flying that the festival was off days ago and then Stevie Rachelle, owner of Metal Sludge posted this on his website:

Save your money, cancel your plans, do NOT fuck yourself. I got friends who are getting fucked by this, and i am NOT happy about it.

This event is about as likely to take place as a full solar eclipse over IOWA at noon tomorrow while Slipknot plays a set of all covers by KIK TRACEE.

Don't ask me how, but I know.

Then later:

It's sad that the people who are behind this have left everybody hanging as long as they did. I have been hearing inside rumblings that shit was gonna hit the fan for a while now. So I confronted the "powers that be" and was told repeatedly all was okay.

I have fans, friends and family who were making ALL kinds of arrangements and are out money.

As of 11:30pm last night I was being told "hold on another 2 days"

Fuck that. I put the word out ASAP. Sent my post to every major outlet on the web. Bands, fans, friends, etc.. are e-mailing me, calling and texting asking if this is just a "rumor". No it's not.

Anyone who still believes this event is still gonna play is a moron.

Blabbermouth posted a similar story earlier today. Most significant, however, is the post left on the Fevertalk.net forum by the festival promoter herself. In it, Nathalie Faghihi writes:

"Rock Gone Wild was notified on August 5, 2009, by email from legal counsel representing Diamond Jo Casino, that... 'The event cannot take place anywhere on the licensed premises.'"

Bring Back Glam! has left two voice mails with the Diamond Jo Casino regarding the festival. Two different switchboard operators have never heard of the festival. I await official word one way or another regarding the fate of this festival.

Remember, Rock Gone Wild moved locations just weeks ago for unspecified reasons. For months, the festival was billed as taking place in Algona, Iowa. Diamond Jo Casino is located in Northwood, Iowa.

Penny Lane Release 'Midnight Tales from the Funhouse: Part 1'

Classic-turned-modern Glam outfit Penny Lane just released a new disc called Midnight Tales from the Funhouse: Part 1 (RSR/Garden House Records). The album features Steve Summers (Pretty Boy Floyd) and Keri Kelli (Alice Cooper). Kelli produced the disc in addition to helping with guitar duties.

Midnight Tales from the Funhouse: Part 1 features 12 tracks and just about every song was written by some conglomeration of the band. This means it wasn't just a case of Steve and Keri coming in to play - they really contributed 100%.

Now here's the interesting thing: there's lyrics about school, just like classic Pretty Boy Floyd. This surprised me because the songs on this Penny Lane disc are new...and no one in the band is anywhere near school age.

"California Man," "Waiting for You" and "Blood from A Stone" are exceptionally strong tracks. I especially like "Blood from A Stone" - the chorus and main riff are cool. Also cool is a cover of The Cars song "Dangerous Type." If you're looking for a good ballad, "Best of Friends" might be what you need. The song is sweet and the guitar work nice.

If you like Pretty Boy Floyd, you'll like the new Penny Lane effort. There's a lot of cross-over similarities here. Yes, part of that is because of Steve Summers, but also many of the song lyrics and themes are similar. Basically, this is just a fun Glam record.

Ray C. and Billy Gash are regular members of Penny Lane. You can order the disc by clicking here.

Club vs. Stadium

I have a pretty big birthday later this month and Heather is flying in to celebrate with me. I've been thinking of things I want to do while she's here on her visit...and one of the things that made the list is a club show with Firehouse headlining.

There are definite positives and negatives to club gigs. There are also major positives to stadium shows. I honestly don't know which I prefer.

Stadium shows are better during the work week because the shows end earlier. I've been out until 5 a.m. at club shows and I just can't do that on a work night. After all, I'm old.

With stadium shows, you're usually guaranteed a major act. These days, shows are packaged to the hilt, so you might get as many as ten bands as the case with Crue Fest or three awesome bands like the Pop Evil/Whitesnake/Judas Priest tour.

Club gigs are way more intimate and let the fan get close the musician. You can always talk to bands after they finish their gig in a small club. You don't get that chance in a stadium show. You also don't (usually) need a hundred dollar ticket to see a band at a club. Of course, clubs are GA so it's hard to find a seat when no band is playing and that sucks, but it is what it is I guess.

I suppose if a crazed Glam lunatic held a gun to my head and said "Choose! Club vs. Stadium show" I would choose...stadium.

What say you?

For the record, some of my best concert memories come from clubs, but that's usually because of things that happened between me and my friends long after the music stopped. Going to shows is a complete experience, at least for me: dinner, getting dressed up, seeing friends, rocking out - the whole nine.

Win A Pinkburst Epiphone Guitar, Autographed By Twisted Sister

Ok - I'm traveling back from Las Vegas but I wanted to pass along this cool contest. I'd like to win the grand prize myself! Here's the press release:

In 1984, Twisted Sister stormed the music world with STAY HUNGRY, featuring the timeless hits "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock," among many others. Now, Rhino Records celebrates the multi-platinum hit with a 25th Anniversary Edition that includes a bonus disc of unreleased outtakes and early demos from the original sessions, as well as "30," a new track recorded especially for this collection by the 1984 lineup: Dee Snider, Jay Jay French, Eddie Ojeda, Mark Mendoza, and A.J. Pero.

Now you have a chance to win Twisted Sister's Stay Hungry 25th Anniversary CD and one lucky grand prize winner will also take home an Epiphone Jay Jay French Signature Guitar autographed by all original Twisted Sister band members. Don't miss your chance to score a very cool edition of a monumental album and your very own Pinkburst Epiphone.

One Grand Prize:
- Epiphone Jay Jay French Signature Guitar in Twisted Pinkburst (autographed by all the original band members)
- Stay Hungry 25th Anniversary Edition CD
Five Runner-up Prizes:- Stay Hungry 25th Anniversary Edition CD
ENTER @LIVE DAILY
(http://www.livedaily.com/contests/504.html)

(Contest ends at 12 P.M. Pacific Time August 11, 2009)

Bring Back Glam! returns to normal tomorrow...and trust me, I have a lot to say regarding all things Glam.

Crue Fest 2 Live Review

On Saturday, August 1, Crue Fest 2 rolled into Las Vegas and the new Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Charm City Devils, Drowning Pool, Theory of a Deadman, Godsmack and Motley Crue performed for the big crowd.

Before the show, I interviewed Charm City Devils and Drowning Pool. Those conversations will appear on my extended coverage over at Noisecreep.

Charm City Devils sounded great. It's always hard for the first band on any show, but there was a decent crowd in Vegas for CCD. Security at The Joint was militant about getting in line and then actually filing into the venue. Guards were taking in small grounds at a time through a security check, so it took forever to get inside before the show. Still, I think everyone that saw CCD enjoyed the show. I think the band is getting stronger each time they perform.

The biggest surprise of the night for me was Drowning Pool. The band just literally left it all on the stage. The set was nice and heavy and the crowd was definitely into the band. I left a major fan - I think seeing Drowning Pool live made me appreciate their songs more.

Theory of a Deadman sounded bad. The mix was rough, the vocals were off - and the set seemed to take forever. Even "Bad Girlfriend" and "I Hate My Life" seemed to drag. This was the point in the show where I noticed just how bad my feet were killing me. I was on the GA floor - and The Joint is all concrete. I'm pretty sure there were spikes around the little area I was occupying. Oh, the agony!

Godsmack put on an awesome show. I've been a fan for years but just never saw the band live. Sully Erna was very energetic and the band sounded tight. The best part was the dueling drum solos on two rotating risers. The two drums risers spun and moved in and out and there was pyro, too.  I forgot my sore feet during the drum solo - but remembered the pain quick enough after Godsmack finished and roadies switched the stage for Motley.

The set change seemed to take forever.

I was not in the middle of the pit - that's not my scene - but I'm told it was brutal. I do know that I watched as security continually pulled out drunkards left and right. Believe me when I say drinks at The Joint are not cheap. We're talking $25 for two margaritas...so I'm assuming anyone that got drunk during the show is independently wealthy.

After I rubbed my feet and watched the drunk people stumble, it was finally Motley time. The band is doing all of Dr. Feelgood on this tour and that was the first part of the set. The stage set-up is cool: a demented hospital ward, with a padded room, wheelchairs and mic stands that are really IV drips. The two female back-up singers dressed as sexy nurses (of course) and Vince Neil even came out in a cool lab jacket of sorts.

I'll admit it was very cool hearing the Feelgood B-sides, especially "She Goes Down" and "Time for Change." Tommy Lee injected his odd banter after each song, which seemed way more often than normal. Perhaps he was just chatty. Vince acted like he was trying hard to put on a show - after all, Vegas is his home and I'm sure he had a long guest list for the gig.

After Motley finished Dr. Feelgood, there was a lengthy break for a set change. This seemed to be a giant waste of time, but Motley might be getting to the point where they need a break in the middle of the show. After the set change, Mick Mars did his solo and then it was time for the greatest hits.

By this time, the blood was pooling in my shoes. Ok, not really, but it was bad. Really bad. I'm not sure why my feet hurt so bad, but it was unreal and by the mid-point of Motley, I was near tears and couldn't even focus on the second half of the show.

I wanted to post some videos with this review, but no clips are on YouTube. I did see a few people smuggle cameras...I'm sure decent clips will surface soon enough.