Wednesday, September 29th 2010
Shows: Epicenter Twenty Ten
Sun And Fun In Fontucky, California
This past weekend, we were confronted by the sober realization that we had committed to covering Epicenter Twenty Ten. Never ones to back down from a mission once accepted, we hauled our asses up to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA to catch performances by the likes of Eminem, Blink-182, Bad Religion, Rise Against, Bush… oh, and KISS.
Southern California is currently in the middle of a rare brutal heat wave, that residents of Phoenix or San Antonio may laugh at, but 25,000 attendees over two days were by and large way out of their comfort zones while the sun was out. Even with Papa Roach on the bill, however, the bro factor we anxiously feared was surprisingly low.
Eminem was hands down the highlight of the fest, backed up by D12. With the crowd in the palm of his hand, he tore through all of his singles with a fury. Saturday certainly had the more eclectic lineup, featuring Bush’s first performance in eight years, Crash Kings, Big Boi, and House Of Pain, with KISS closing the night.
And what a spectacle KISS was. Yes, the same spectacle that has been on constant re-run for twenty years. Yes, without Ace or Peter. No, I still don’t like them. But I get it. The pyrotechnics, Paul’s insane castrato ringleader hype-mannery, the giant mechanical platform… It was like a Bruckheimer movie performed live in real time.
Sunday was much more focused on punk bands, with Against Me!, Bad Religion, Suicidal Tendencies, The Black Pacific, Rise Against and of course highlight Blink-182 drawing our attention. We missed Biffy Clyro by accident, and we skipped 30 Seconds To Mars on purpose.
Please pardon the lack of photos of Blink-182 and Eminem. They only allowed photographers that were willing to blow them.
