Cock roq

By Michelle V. Gonzales
DAILY BRIUN CONTRIBUTOR
[email protected]

  Brandon Boyd of Incubus croons to the
crowd at 106.7 KROQ’s 10th annual "Weenie Roast" at the Verizon
Wireless Amphitheater on June 15.

Amid the perfect freeways and flatlands of Irvine that provided
the backdrop for KROQ’s “Weenie Roast,” one of
the two biggest surprises of the day came when the sound went out
during Bad Religion’s set.

Other than that and a secret special guest, the 10th annual
“Weenie Roast” boasted few surprises June 15 at Verizon
Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine. The radio station’s annual
summer event included about 15 bands playing throughout the
afternoon and into the night.

Thanks to the thousands of fans that attended the sold-out show,
several charities were set to benefit greatly, including the
Surfrider Foundation, AIDS Walk Orange County and Heal the Bay.

As fans entered the venue, they headed off to the hot black top
to the artists performing on the Bud Light side stage. Unlike years
past, the main stage was closed off, so fans were left to wander
around the vendors and watch musicians on the side stage.

The stage featured singer/songwriter Jack Johnson who loosened
up the crowd with his mellow guitar riffs and soothing surfer
voice. Other bands like The Vines, Hoobastank and Unwritten Law
also entertained the crowd with high-energy rock before the members
committed themselves to their paid seats in the amphitheater.

  Photos by CATHERINE JAYIN JUN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Doug Robb of the band Hoobastank rocks out on the
punk stage at KROQ’s annual "Weenie Roast."

Fans had the opportunity to explore the vendor tents, featuring
tents by major companies Snapple and Wienerschnitzel and local
clothing companies as well as tents with the high-priced venue
food. Here, KROQ DJs entertained fans with interviews and free
t-shirts.

The bands of the main stage opened up with old and new punk acts
represented by New Found Glory, Jimmy Eat World and Bad
Religion.

Bad Religion fans filled the amphitheater with booing after the
sound went out. The band still played a song without even realizing
what had happened, and were able to play a couple of songs at the
end of their set once the sound was restored.

Other bands included mainstream electronic artist Moby, rockers
Puddle of Mudd, New York imports The Strokes, and locals Incubus
and P.O.D. As the night wound down, Rob Zombie ended his set and
surprise guests, The Violent Femmes, took the stage to play a
classic and instantly recognizable set of songs. The members of The
Violent Femmes were calm and collected, moving only slightly around
the stage, but the fans did enjoy the surprise of hearing the
veteran band play live.

The last band to play was Los Angeles “nu-metal”
rock band System of a Down, who ended the night with an energetic,
eardrum-breaking set. Guitarist Daron Malakian bad-mouthed the
Verizon Company’s takeover of the venue known in the past as
Irvine Meadows. The crowd agreed with his comments with cheers and
screams, fueling the already burning fire in the audience that the
band had aroused.

  CATHERINE JAYIN JUN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff New Found
Glory’s bassist bounces around the stage early on at the KROQ
"Weenie Roast" in Irvine.

Despite the rowdy reputation of years past, lawn antics were
kept to a low thanks to the multitude of yellow-shirted security
guards. One of the few things that caused an uproar were a few
smuggled fireworks and fans diving down the lawn into crowds,
imitating a human-lawn-bowling meets ice-blocking event. The lawn
was definitely the place for fans who didn’t want to be
constrained by seats and appreciated the chance to bond with other
music fans.

The music satisfied the KROQ listeners’ spectrum of genres
and interests. Fans enjoyed music from the genres of
singer/songwriters, pop punk, old school punk, hard rock,
electronica and heavy metal. But the lack of female artists in the
repertoire was very questionable. All of the bands were
testosterone-fueled rock, with no representation of the female
voice in rock music.

Similar to previous “Weenie Roasts,” the price of
the ticket seemed reasonable for the amount of bands that played,
but any intimacy was lost in the big amphitheater. The price of
food and drink was high, with lemonade for $4 and beer for $10, in
addition to the pricey food menu.

Yet despite all, the day’s events left fans happy,
satisfied, sunburned and with enough testosterone driven angst to
last at least until next year’s show.