Sound Check drove the dreaded 32 miles down to LaPine Friday night for
the R3 Festival and learned three very important things; Vengeance
Creek are Central Oregon’s metal royalty, clever beat-boxing can steal
the show and you can three-person sandwich grind to metal.
As the
sun set on a triple-digit August night, band after band played to a
half-interested crowd switching between the two trailer truck stages.
The crowd grew as the sun descended and the local rap group Povciti
took the stage giving the crowd its promised dose of local rap and
properly woke them up. Sound Check learned from this set that you can
apparently find Povciti’s Epic and H@ze in the Old Mill District and
that they’re established local celebrities. Well, if they weren’t local
celebrities before then they are now. The duo laid their underground
hip-hop routine on thick and brought the crowd to its feet with their
finale – a freestyle rap accompanied by master beat boxer Dain
Strothoff. The kid can beat-box like nobody’s business to every kind of
beat imaginable and stole the show from right under the duo. Whoever
this kid is, Sound Check contemplated that he could give Person People
(keyword “could”) a run for their money if accompanied by the right
freestyle artist. Maybe it was the possible heat stoke, but our thirty
bucks entrance fee was justified right then and there.
Soon after, it was time to switch stages and give metal their go with local heroes Vengeance Creek. At first glance, the band members mirror other rock gods. The bass player is a dead ringer for Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, guitarist Don Adams resembles Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell and for a moment in the heat of metal riff shredding you could swear it was him and the singer has a serious case of Eddie Vedder hair. Appearances aside Vengeance Creek handed every other band their asses royally in just the first shred of metal riffs.
Yagermeister and all, and Don Adams approached the mic and announced he would be playing a Dimebag Darrell-style national anthem. With the first note of the “Star Spangled Banner” power cut out. The crowd in its drunken haze was bewildered by the screeching sound. Then the power struck back on and the band rocked that trailer truck bed with glory.
Vengeance Creek’s one up on all other local metalites becuase of their musicianship, especially Adams. They don’t need to scream lyrics to get their presence felt. It’s throwback metal done with justice. Paul Roberts truly captures Bruce Dickinson and the band wouldn’t do badly as an Iron Maiden tribute band either.
After Creek properly put up points for the metal side it was time to venture back to Sound Check’s neck of the woods and cool off. It’s a bonafided fact that its always ten degrees hotter in LaPine. Or so we heard…
This article appears in Aug 21-27, 2008.
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So where was the pit when they played? cause from where i was Open Defiance got the the pit. nobody else. just OD.
OD headlined that show. if you left before the headliner, you missed the best act there. At the battle of the bands, open defiance slaughtered them, and they did it again at R3. the only thing that vengeance creek is good for is lyrics involving being hurt by your mother. lol now thats funny. OD slaughtered you again, and they will over and over and over again until everyone learns what metal really is. and it ain’t vengeance crap.
Hmmm. Somebody got their feelers hurt I see. If OD slaughtered us, why aren’t they getting any recognition for it? If you were a headliner, why was our name on the top of the fliers, the T-shirts and all the promo stuff? Why was our name the first one listed in the R3 article preceding the show? You guys were the “clean up” band. This isn’t a pissing contest. Have some class.
Oh yeah, by the way, winning a battle of the bands because of “internet points” doesn’t constitute a “slaughter”, nor does it have anything to do with music. We beat you in performance, musicality, and material. Once again, have some class.
Hmmm. Somebody got their feelers hurt I see. If OD slaughtered us, why aren’t they getting any recognition for it? If you were a headliner, why was our name on the top of the fliers, the T-shirts and all the promo stuff? Why was our name the first one listed in the R3 article preceding the show? You guys were the “clean up” band. This isn’t a competition. Have some class.
Oh yeah, by the way, beating us by way of “internet points” in that battle of the bands doesn’t constitute a “slaughter” and has nothing to do with music. Once again, have some class.
I’ve got a shop vac for all that sand in your vagina. True musicians can stand on their merrits and don’t have to convince the cats writting the articles to like them bettah. I would frickin pistol whip any of my bandmates if they embarrassed our group publically like that. Kinda disappointing, OD. Pass out your fliers, play your shows, and stop reading the articles if it screws with your head so bad. Jesus Christ.
OK first of all I am the one that put you people on the bill to begin with!VC being at the top of the flier was a clerical error-Open Defiance was the “HEADLINER” so put your egos away for a minute!Don Adams was a true star that night,he carries himself in a professional way and is a very level headed individual,he has carried VC for quite some time and continues to do so! Simply put Don was accompanied by his band!Any mention of the PIT?Any mention of the bands that played sat.?Or shall I say “MODERN DAY” bands?No reason to be shmucks!Any mention of necktie killer? There performance was awesome and they deserve recognition for that(WORD!)And you are right ,POV CITI did kick some ass !Simply put,the person in charge of writing this article needs to review the whole entire show not just Fri.night.Open Defiance got the crowd moving and so did many other bands playing R3-mad props to EVERYONE!!Or how about my 13 year old son on drums for Snap Point?Does it really get more metal than that?I THINK NOT!!How about jake white-the 15 year old guitarist in Symbolic?Does it get more metal than that ?I THINK NOT!!GROW UP, reality check, its 2008 not 1988 and this is too small of a community to not be working together as a team.Heres a challenge for everyone,go out of town and start mentioning bands from central oregon and see just how many people out there even know who even a third of us are.Take a look at a map sometime-owning the scene or supposedly owning the scene in central oregon is ,im sorry,no great accomplishment!!The world is a big place and with this kind of attitude no one will ever make it.So stick those spandex in yer pipe and smoke it!! Waaaaaa! cant we all just get along????????If you think that if you “run to the hills” while “screaming for vengeance” is gonna do you any good,”youve got another thing coming” try riding the “crazy train” to “22 acacia avenue” while you “shout at the devil” “in the still of the night” be careful though because its “slippery when wet” and you might “slide it in ” to the “head hunter”
Did any of these band’s members actually write any of this? Or is this some random anonymous pinhead trying to start some drama? If any of VC’s members actually wrote any of these comments there will be some definite ass chewing. It is unacceptable pure and simple. This whole thread is a pathetic display of childish antics. If any of OD’s members actually wrote any of these comments then they truly are low class, but I can’t believe that any of them would. I know them and am surprised at what I have read. If you don’t like what the reviewer wrote or want to know why they didn’t review the entire show, of which there was plenty to rave about, then ask the reviewer. Knock off this bs of a pissing war. And Ben, thanks for the use of your vagina cleaner.
Wow it’s amazing on how a few articles from a SMALL FREE MAGAZINE gets certain people these HUGE EGOS! LMAO – I’m amazed how the writer even got a job working for the source. I expected to read and learn more about the R3 Festival in general. On how all these bands played for a cause and that cause was to raise money for the LaPine Parks and Rec. They came from far and near and not one band got payed to do so… We do it for the music and to help a cause. How narrow minded the writer of this article was and I strongly agree with MIKE on how ALL bands should be praised and get kuddos for getting together for a great cause! I can’t wait to do it again next year!!! Music is for the passionate and not for the egotistical losers! Wake up and Snap out of your little dream….
Will
Ok, so after reading this, i had a conversation with my bandmates, and let me clear the record. For one, we may have beaten VC at the BotB a while back, (Not just from internet points, thanx) but what the heck does that have anything to do with the R3 festival?? And plus, to Openly Defiant, thank you very much for supporting us, we really do appreciate it, but in NO WAY does that make it ok, to openly bash another local band like that, especially one that we have been friends with for a very long time. I would like to apologize to fans that are reading this, and also to VC for any problems this may cause between our bands. I personally do not agree with any of this attitude from either Openly Defiant or VC on this. The R3 festival was meant to get out there and have some fun, and show people what we are ALL made of. Every band that was out there!! We all did a great job, no matter what magazine thought about who was the actual headliner. Which by the way, saying “Have some class”, while also saying OD was just a cleanup band, does not make your comments any better indeed. So yes, everyone needs to put their egos away for a bit and think about what happened. A great show, with great people and a great feeling for a great weekend. That’s what it is all about. Not everyone likes OD, and not everyone likes VC,…who cares? That is what the industry is about, we are not gonna be liked by everyone, no matter how much we wanna be. But DO NOT start crap with another band publicly and put our name as your headline!! We are not here to say we are kings, or gods, we are here to play our music and have fun doing so, plain and simple. We were more than honored when we were asked to close the show on Friday, and we had a great time. As far as i’m concerned, VC AND OD were the headliners for the biggest show this year for Oregon bands, and we hope to be a part of it all next year as well. But i will definitly agree with Mike about the fact that Saturday was not mentioned at all. What is up with that??
I think Its great to be reviewed like that. I hope if any of you ever get that kind of recognition, nobody tries to ruin it for you.
first of all (NECKTIE) which i must say rocked the R3 fest, i was the “first” one up dancing when you got on stage. second of all, who is openly defiant? we have nothing to do with this cat! and third, yes V.C. were the “headliner” on the fliers, but as i was told by R3 it was a “typo” i really don’t care as my band mates feel, we didn’t care if we went first or last that wasn’t the point! it was a charity for parks and recs!!we played for FREE!! we were there for the local bands, in which were in my opinion, way better bands than V.C. or O.D. what about Northwest royal a band that, we open defiance watched open for HATEBREED and TYPE O NEGATIVE at the Roseland just one month ago! they rocked! or how about all the other great band from around central Oregon??? whom we are very good friends with!! where is the review on them SOURCE WEEKLY, you do represent “local” music, do you not? or do you represent V.C.?? THE STRANGE THING IS,TWO DAYS AGO, WAS LISTENING TO VC`S NEW CD ON MY WAY TO GET THE SOURCE WEEKLY!! and will do so until it is too scratched to listen to! and will continue to get my news from the source, how ever, i do feel ripped off for no mention of any of the 30+ other bands that gave it there all. they deserve something more.
Re: Saturday … perhaps The Source can’t send someone to every show every night all the time? They can only be at so many things, and guess what? There are other things happening out there that deserve coverage.
Lots of shows happened Friday and Saturday that didn’t get a review; be glad The Source made it for one night of R3, and don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.
wow this sounds like a lot of drama what ever happened to playing rock and roll and,all the bands supporting each other like family keep music in the “HEART” and not in the head and let’s all have fun doing what we love
I just want to thank everyone, R3 staff and all the bands, for a great show. It means alot to have support not only from fans or local media but also fellow musicians. But one thing I cant stand is any kind of ego-b.s. contest. There has been good relations between most Central Oregon bands for quite awhile and I want to keep it that way.For instance , we have shared our PA system and ran sound for at least a dozen bands(local and out of town) and didnt ask for a single extra dollar. This is not Los Angeles or Hollywood where on any givin weekend 50+ bands are playing in a 100 mile radius. This is Central Oregon. We all know one another,we hang out together, we jam and rock and thrash and headbang at each others shows. If a fellow local musician passes away we share in those sad moments as well and try to lift one another up. Its not about Headlining or battles of bands or even stupid blogs. It is and always will be about THE MUSIC. I myself will try to live up to the greatness and inspiration that many musicians, especially Randy Rhoads,has givin me. If just one person picks up the guitar after hearing or watching me play Than I will have accomplished an important goal. To pass the torch That Randy gave me to the next generation of Metal Guitarist. Please let this controversy end here and lets get back to what matters most. METAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don
Who the heck writes these articles? Someone who wears earplugs and blinders? Sure Don is a shredder.. I give VC that, but the rest of the band are average musicians, at the most, and there were way better bands at the venue than them. Perhaps you should practice unbiased writing and mention the 30+ other bands. Truthfully though, I never put much faith in the writing abilities of the TS Weekly.
True, Katrina, in some of what you say. But you obviously have no musical background or education and wouldn’t know a good musician if your life depended on it. Very few local bands have the musicianship, song writing ability, and professional attitude that these guys have. Quantum Theory, Tentareign, and Open Defiance are 3 that can compete on the same stage. These are all great bands. Snap Point, on the other hand, has got to be one of the worst bands around, except for their bass player. He truly deserves to be in a better band. Snap Point is just a bunch of noisy thrashy trash, in essence a load of garbage.
Do the world a favor and educate yourself on what it takes to be able to do what the members of VC, Tentareign, OD, and QT can do.
All of the bands who were apart of the bill played great. Friday was just the kick off night. Saturday was a blast with even more talented musicians. I think this writer shouldn’t write anymore. This festival was for a good cause and for bands to connect with one another. The Source weekly did an excellent job in promoting R3 up until this article. Thank you and see you next year!