Not at all what it was advertised to be, plans for Rock N Skull 2017 started with a bang and ended with something less than a fizzle, especially for those of who paid for advance tickets. Advertised headliners were Ace Frehley, Don Dokken and Steel Panther, anchoring a very large star list of performers each of three days. ROCK N SKULL soon became known on other internet sites as DROP N SKULL, as acts were posted and withdrawn from the event's Facebook page at a dizzying pace.
There never seemed to be much of an upside to these postings. From the promoter's point of view, it may have seemed like transparency to the ticket buyer, but in reality, it looked sketchy to perspective fans, investors and companies who may have provided much needed sponsorship. One artist would drop, only to be replaced by a lesser known artist, or commonly the list would just notch up to fill the void. Ultimately, the top two acts for Friday dropped out, Don Dokken and Lita Ford, moving Jack Russell into the headline spot. While this continued to be billed as Jack Russell's Great White, in reality it was Jack Russell and a guitar player. John Schlitt from Head East would be added and removed as well. Saturdays line-up was also frought with confusion, as Steel Panther dropped off, then Warrant, then Firehouse and others. Replacement acts were posted, like Juan Croucier from Ratt, but also later withdrawn. Even the lesser known acts were being added and dropped at an alarming rate. I completely lost track and interest in who was ultimately going to be there.
The event was moved from Pekin to Tremont and from a soccer dome to a small bar. Like a penis after a cold shower, RnS17 just kept getting smaller and less interesting. With only one week until showtime, Eddie Trunk was now also off the list.
By the time was all said and done, there was not one single band on the list that I would have chosen to drive 5 hours to see, spend money for hotel, etc. LA Guns, Jack Russell's Great White, Enuff Znuff, Bulletboys...they all play the annual county fairs and pit barbecue type events for free. No need to put the miles on the station wagon.
We arrived in time for Keith St John's acoustic set. Not bad at all and his guitar player did a splendid version of VH's Spanish Fly.
Friday's highlight and main reason for attending was Russ Dwarf and friends. Always a quality show with Russ with or without the full band, Killer Dwarfs.No exception here. Jack Russell was noted playing tambourine during Russ's set and as expected, Jack didnt appear to have a clue where he was. He can still keep rhythm though. Eventually Jack Russell joined Russ Dwarf for a few numbers before Russ's set ended.
Jack Russell's acoustic set with his guitar player was as disasterous as could be expected. Jack Russell appeared to be whacked out, although his voice is still 90% of what it once was. The abysmal failure was a decision to cover a Led Zeppelin song. But which one? Jack and the guitarist talked it over and opted for Going To California. Brilliant. Part way through Jack forgets the lyrics and begins mumbling. Finally, he says wait I fucked that up, let's start over. Second time around, Jack forgets the lyrics agin, much in the same spot. Clearly he doesnt know the words, but mumbles his way through the end and across the goal line. Touchdown Jack. Another round of drinks and back to the hotel.
Saturday and what to do in Pekin, Illinois? Rather than spend the entire day at Diesel Dicks in Tremont, we headed up to Peoria for more drinks and sandwiches at Khouri's followed by guitar shopping at Guitar Center. That was fun. Stopped off at Jonah's for a round of Anchor Steam Ale on draft before heading back to Diesel Dicks. Our intention was to get back in tim eto see the Talon set, followed by Tango Down. Unfortanately, we arrived just as the Tango Down set was ending so we missed both! Reason: They told us there was a scheduling snafu. So there we are, not hammered nearly enough, for Pretty Boy Floyd, Enuff Znuff and Bulletboys. Pretty Boy Floyd gave us an energetic set, although I admit I wasnt familiar with their music. By the time Enuff Znuff took the stage, the crowd had thinned out a little bit. I guess people were getting tired of the event nonsense. Still Chip and the gang gave one hell of a show. Props to his guitar player, Tory Stoffregen. Yes, the guys were there for the trim and as always the girls were there for the rig.
Next up, Marq Torien and his Bulletboys. Great high energy show as usual. Come to expect an arena size show from Marq, no matter how small or how divey the bar is. Obviously THC Groove and Smooth were the crowd pleasers, but a full frontal attack from these guys and a great show. Tryo Patrick Farrell filled in for drums. Peter Criss had the levitating drum kit. Tommy Lee had the rotating drum kit. Troy had the unsecured bass drum that kept moving away from him all night and had to be chocked with a cinder block to finish the show.
Sunday morning - ugh. I looked at the list of bands. LA Guns at 10pm and nothing to do from now until 10pm. My Givafuk-O-Meter flat-lined. Either listen to bands I dont know and don't give a shit about or watch NFL at the local Bdubs. We opted to drive back. So at the end of the day, I bought a ticket to see Ace Frehley, Steel Panther, Don Dokken, Lita Ford, Warrant, Firehouse, Tota Tora, Wildside and LA Guns to end up with basically Jack Ryussells Great White, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bulletboys, Enuff Znuff and LA Guns. Not exactly an equitable trade off.
There's a lot of sympathy for the promoter on Facebook and elsewhere. Comments like: Great show. Thanks for all you did Justin. Not your fault Justin. Those folks are entitled to their opinions, even though they know deep down they got completely ripped off. Whatever. Not for me. This show should have never been planned with a larger venue and acts like Ace Frehley and Steel Panther in mind. When other sources started reporting that bands were dropping like flies, those were not rumors, the bands were indeed dropping like flies and more would continue to drop. Still the promoter kept insisting this wasn't his fault or that these bands would be replaced. Whatever. Beer sponsorship. Cant get Miller, Coors, Budweiser? There must be 500 craft breweries in the midwest to choose from. Why am I down on the promoter? Because just like you, I pay for the vast majority of the shows I see. This was no exception. I got ripped off. The value of the show compared to the price we paid was a complete injustice, just so the promoter could make something/anything happen out of this train wreck. Simple as that. I'm a fan of music, just like you. If I paid $40 to see Bulletboys, Enuff Znuff and Killer Dwarfs in one night, I would have considered this a full on success. But filling the marquee each of three days with bands that bring minor value to the bill? No. Furthermore, was this bait and switch? I get the fact that bands were signed with real contracts and for whatever reason they dropped out. I do get that. But once tickets are on sale, there seems to be an obligation to refill those spots with similar calibur artists, not garage bands that never were. I'm not saying those were bad bands necessarily, but from a dollar-to-value perspective, Axeticy is by no means a replacement for Warrant, Lita Ford, Ace Frehley, etc. Fighter Jet Pin-Ups don't replace Steel Panther. Hell, Scatgrub doesnt even replace Ted Poley. See my point?
Just look at the graphic above to see how many bands were advertised on the Rock N Skull facebook page as billed acts. Half of those artists have a red X over them to show they either dropped or were removed from the line-up...or for all we know - never booked at all.
So congratulations I suppose to the promoter.He managed to put a show on a stage somewhere, even if wasnt the show that was advertised or intended. However, he ripped a lot of people off. We all lost money. High Five. Justin Muir gets no more of my hard earned money.
Rock N Skull 2017 @ The Avanti's Dome (Pekin,Il), Diesel Dicks (Tremont, IL)
Acoustic Friday Oct 27
Jack Russells Great White
Russ Dwarf of Killer Dwarfs
Keith St John of Burning Rain
Dressed To Kill Show
Gary Schutt
Fighter Jet Pin-Ups
Saturday Oct 28
Bulletboys
Enuff Znuff
Pretty Boy Floyd
Tango Down
The Fifth
Talon
Inner Siege
Chrome Mollie
Lords of The Trident
Sunday Oct 29
LA Guns
Tyketto
The Rumours
Budderside
Livesay
Scat Grub Band
Axeticy
Meet & Greets: Jack Russell, Chip Znuff, Troy Patrick Farrell, Steve Summers
| JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE |
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| RUSS DWARF from KILLER DWARFS |
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| KEITH ST JOHN from BURNING RAIN |
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| BULLET BOYS |
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| ENUFF ZNUFF |
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| PRETTY BOY FLOYD |
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