Rockstar Uproar 2011 - Darien Lake PAC, Darien, NY - Sept. 10, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at 11:50PM 
Review by John Jeffrey, photos by Mike Suicide
Darien, NY - The Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar concert was the last rock show of the season performed at Darien Lake's PAC. Thankfully, during the day it was like an Indian summer, but once the night fell, everyone was reminded why they don't have concerts at the outdoor venue past the month of September. Nevertheless, the 10,000+ that were in attendance (which was comprised of a varied audience, both young and old) were clearly hungry for the music being performed by these Nu-rock/Nu-metal bands, featured on the Uproar concert bill.
Like most of these 'festival' type shows, there was a main stage (Rockstar Energy Drink Main stage) and there was also a side stage (the Best Buy Music Gear stage Powered by Ernie Ball), which was located near the main PAC entrance, set up like an outdoor, general admission club show. There seemed to be a lot of buzz about the band, Hell or High Water, but truly the second stage headliners, Sevendust, were the only band really worth a mention. A matter of fact, a lot of people were mumbling about why Sevendust weren't performing on the main stage.
Escape the FateAs Sevendust wrapped up their set on the Best Buy stage, the crowd slowly made their way to the seated area under the big top, not before stopping at the beer tent to refuel. As the seats started to fill up, Escape the Fate took the stage at 5:20, performing their half hour set to not much fanfare. After the ever so cheezy "Miss Uproar" contest, Bullet For My Valentine took the stage around 6:30. As the night got cooler,the bands got better, not only musically, but the stage sets become more elaborate as well. BFMV had a huge banner behind them, with small stair cases flanking either side of their huge, rack-mounted drum set. While definitely falling under the category of "Nu-metal," BFMV displayed many 'old school' elements in their performance. From their cut-off t-shirts and black wristbands, to their Metallica-ish looking guitars and choreographed unison head banging, they definitely got the Metal flowing.
SeetherUnder the 'which one of these bands don't belong' category was the next group up, Seether. Coming from a much more 'alternative' background, Seether played a near hour long set of Nirvana influenced grunge rock. Dressed in flannels and sporting a cool 'retro' looking stage set (complete with oversized amplifiers and stacked vintage televisions), the crowd was surprisingly supportive of the band, singing all of the lyrics to their hits and giving the band a roaring applause at the conclusion of their set.
Three Days Grace kept things going, hitting the stage at 8:20. For a Nu-rock band, Three Days Grace is surprisingly an older looking bunch of rockers, with lead singer, Adam Gontier, looking like an aged 
Three Days Graceversion of WWE wrestler, CM Punk. Ironically, much of Gontier's stage banter was as 'real' as a wrestling match, as he claimed they were told not to perform the song, "Riot" before they played it, which is the same thing he says before performing it, on every night of the tour. As contrived as that may be, Three Days Grace played a great set, and really stole the show. They played all of their radio hits, with the fans screaming the chorus parts back at the band. The enthusiasm of the crowd showed that this band still has a bright future if they continue to play their cards right.
Avenged Sevenfold closed out the night, as they really stepped things up stage wise, featuring a huge skull with bat wings (very reminiscent of Overkill) as the center piece. They promised to "warm up" the crowd, as by this point, the temperature really started to drop. Although the fireballs shooting from the 'deathbat' were hot, the crowd response seemed to be somewhat lukewarm, by comparison, to the response Three Days Grace received. The A7X diehards ate it up, from the intro to "Nightmare," to last note of "Unholy Confessions," but general concert goers seemed to get burned out quick on the endless guitar wanking by Synyster Gates (really?), and the monotonous double bass playing by new drummer, Arin IIejay. Their music can be described as 'Heavy Metal anime,' so it wasn't surprising when lead vocalist, M. Shadows (these names kill me), announced the song, "Not Ready To Die" was being used for the video game, "Call of Duty: Black Ops." As most of the crowd started to leave early (perhaps from either being too cold, or to beat the notoriously horrible Darien Lake concert traffic), it was clear that while A7X are attempting to carry on the tradition of 'arena rock,' maybe better songs would ensure them of keeping the audience throughout their entire set.
Overall, the Uproar Festival was a great time and a lot of fun, with a little something for anybody who enjoys Hard Rock or Heavy Metal. You have to give props to the Uproar staff, as they ran a tight ship, with all of the bands performing right at their scheduled times, with little lag time between the sets. It will be great to see what bands they have for next year, as Uproar really knows how to do it right!
Thanks to Tim Tobin from Live Nation and Kristine Ashton-Magnuson. Special thanks to Kristina Stamm for her onsite assistance!
Thomas