Heaven, Hell, Pantera, Bret and Busta: Live, Laugh, Love

Writer Music

Last weekend's four-day run of shows at Ruoff Music Center was a study in contrasts. 50 Cent kicked off my weekend of shows with gig #13 of my Ruoff Challenge. Jeremih started the show with a nice engaging set that was capped off with his banger, "Birthday Sex." Busta Rhymes then roared onstage and DOMINATED. Despite looking a little like Tracy Morgan nowadays, Busta still laid out a master course in what it takes to be a rap superstar. His last two songs, "Break Ya Neck" and "Pass The Courvoisier," featured his supersonic rap style. The performance was so good and pleasing that the show should have stopped there.

BUT 50 Cent had to trot out his lackluster strippers on poles, who half-heartedly worked the pole and ran for the AC as soon as it got uncomfortable. No matter if it was 1000 degrees outside, I guarantee you that if it were a bachelor party full of drunken groomsmen all waving 20s, they would have worked that pole until the sweat made their makeup melt off. The same thing goes for Fiddy. Why work that hard when you have nothing to prove and the paycheck is already in your pocket? Pretty dismal and sad.

Lily Rose opened show # 14 with a smart set of countrified poppy singer-songwriter goodness. "Sad In The Summer" and "Villain" stuck in the membrane even after the blandness took over. What came after was bland AF. So bland that I felt like I was in a Fishers-area mega-church. It was all families and squeaky clean people singing lustily along to songs about family values and idealized stories about small-town feel-good we got our heads stuck in the sand because Jesus and our Republican leaders will make things great again. Now, not one word was spoken about anything religious or Political, but the place oozed it right down to the identical Kohl's clothing to the rural sitting on a bridge, live, laugh, love bland-fest that encompassed Brett Young and Sam Hunt's set. I was born in a small town. Arcadia mother-fucking Indiana. When I sat on a bridge, it was because I was too high to move. When I looked out at the endless fields of corn, I didn't feel good, I wanted to get the fuck out, and if you tried that in my small town, I'd probably try it too. Yeah, we went to church and all that, but hell. What else was there to do?

Show #15 was more my speed. It was full of anger, violence, and denim. Lamb of God was all hair, speed, and teeth. They moved effortlessly between perfect renditions of songs like "Walk With Me in Hell," "Desolation," and "Redneck." By the time Pantera hit their stride right around the time they were doing "I'm Broken," the entire place was one fist-pumping, head-banging, sweaty hate machine, and I dug it. Lead vocalist Phil Anselmo and bassist Rex Brown made damn sure they paid a heartfelt tribute to their departed bandmates, drummer Vinnie Paul and Guitar god Dimebag Darrell. A lengthy version of Sabbath's "Planet Caravan" featured Vinnie and Dime in various videos and home movies that was brilliant and moving. Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante and Ozzy guitarist Zakk Wylde were the perfect choices to take Vinnie and Darrell's places in the band. Wylde did fantastic work, particularly on a wicked "Cowboys From Hell." But it was the band's biggest songs, "Walk" and "Fucking Hostile," that sent the place into an adrenaline-soaked frenzy that held a type of upbeat, feel-good negativity. Hail Satan.

Finally, show #16, and it was Party Gras time with Jefferson Starship, Night Ranger, and Bret Fucking Michaels. I missed most of Jefferson Starship's set waiting in line for a Bret Michaels meet and greet. From what I heard, the people playing the parts of Grace Slick and Marty Balin were spot on. So, we wound our way around a bus to meet Bret Michaels, and it wasn't precisely the meeting of great minds. But I had time to tell him I enjoyed interviewing him, and he said something about the great review I did on last year's stadium tour; he signed my pass, and we took a picture, and bada boom, we were back to reality. It's weird. Bret probably meets hundreds of people a day. Yet, when he tells me he enjoyed my article from a year ago or tells the crowd how much fun he is having onstage, you believe him.

We got to our seats as Night Ranger was putting on a surprisingly rocking little set. "Sister Christian" is so huge that it's easy to forget that other songs of theirs are stone-cold rippers. "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" and "Sing Me Away" showed a band in fine fettle, even if the crowd only woke up during the big hit. Michaels came on, and he proved to be engaging, fun, and as good a master of ceremonies as can be. From "Talk Dirty To Me" to "Unskinny Bop" to, of course, "Every Rose Has It's Thorn," he was a consummate frontman. He shared the stage with Sugar Ray's Mark McGrath and Steve Augeri, who replaced Steve Perry in Journey during that period when nobody gave a fuck about them and before that amazing Philippine kid joined.

Honestly, the Journey stuff felt a bit out of place, and really, I was surprised at how fucking fun Mark McGrath was. The Augeri dude should have stayed in whatever casino he was toiling in, and McGrath should have been given more time because "Fly" and "Every Morning" hit the crowd in the same way an old favorite comes on in the middle of a playlist and brings the party to a whole 'nother level. Overall, it wasn't a bad way to end the weekend; it wasn't a blatant money grab, a suburban young Republican mixer at the iTown church, or an anger management rejects meeting. It was a classic rock feel-good summer party with nothing on the agenda but having a good time.

Winners of last week's free ticket give-a-way are:

Janie Van Buskirk - Gov't Mule

Christopher Smail - Rick Springfield

Kate Brewster - Kidz Bop

Sharon Smith - Zac Brown Band

Jessica Hawkins - Mudvayne

Kieran O'Shea - Matchbox 20

Congrats!

Stay tuned next week for the next opportunity to win.

-Jeff Napier

Photos by Phil Taylor and Mark, Bret Michaels's bodyguard.

[email protected]

Writer Music

Log In

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,racist or sexually-oriented language.PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.Don't Threaten. Threats of harming anotherperson will not be tolerated.Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyoneor anything.Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ismthat is degrading to another person.Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link oneach comment to let us know of abusive posts.Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitnessaccounts, the history behind an article.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Sign up to receive daily updates!

Sign up for weekly updates

Top 10 reader's preferences from the past week

Partly cloudy. High 89F. Winds light and variable..

A few clouds from time to time. Low 67F. Winds light and variable.

Updated: August 4, 2023 @ 2:10 am