Earthday Birthday Still Successful Even With Record Heat

After a slow sales start and an even slower morning, Earthday Birthday rebounds, in a big way, for the evening sets.

When the lineup was announced, there were certainly mixed reviews. In the past Earthday Birthday has, albeit unofficially, kicked off the Florida outdoor music season with huge line ups and even bigger crowds. Sales seemed at least a bit of pace, but as is the case in Florida the last minute ticket buyers came out in force.

When I arrived I thought I would be waiting in line forever to park. I drove straight in and parked in the third row. It was blazing hot, but not wanting to miss most of the day, I braved showing up in the early afternoon. After picking up my credentials and heading in, still not having to wait in line, I certain was concerned there would be an incredibly small turnout. It was unfortunate the heat kept many away until around 4 pm. Sleep Theory was incredible as always. They were the first act I was able to catch. Austin Mead was just plain fun.

Jimmies Chicken Shack has had a lot of press lately. They seem to be everywhere. The name is great and logo equally so. They have some really great music as well. They are definitely the uncommon musical stars. Leaning a bit to me, towards a Dave Matthews kind of cultish following.

Soil is back with a vengeance. It was the hottest part of the day, on the fully west facing stage and they still managed to keep their energy at full force. After photographing them, I had to find a shady spot to down Gatorade, water and anything else I could do. It was so brutal, I even asked a collogue to check on me if they hadn’t seen me at the next set. I was dizzy. It would have been nice it the bar was open on the second stage. If anyone needed water or any type of refreshment, they had to hike back up the hill to midway between the stages. I don’t know how some people marathon all day in a packed crowd in central Florida. There were a couple medical events and aid was rendered quickly. It’s always nice to see how a rock and roll crowd cares about each other.

Fozzy, hit the stage at 4:15, the hottest part of the day as predicted by weather forecast, it was upwards of 100 degree heat index. Lead by Chris Jericho, this is always a fun high-energy performance. The entire band, Billy Grey, Rich Ward, PJ Farley and drummer Grant Brooks were on fire. There is nothing like seeing how in sync these power houses are. Absent from the performance was the typical jumping Jericho pulls off from his trade mark white “Fozzy” box. What many people didn’t know, is a little over 24 hours later, Jericho would wrestle for, and win the FTW Heavyweight championship. I could barely move after that heat. Maybe he should change his name from “The Learning Tree” to “Hardcore Badass”. At one point he had to stop mid – song for a fight the broke out. He asked the crowd if he should start over, and of course they supported that idea. Fozzy is on tour this summer and definitely a must see.

Ayron Jones is now one of my favorite musicians. He is a very talented guy and can lay down on great guitar riff. He surrounds himself with some great collogues who know how to put on a show. Even in the face of the setting sun, he stayed true to his hashtag and song title “Filthy. Looking forward to a lot more from him, but it will have to be after he gets back from a European tour!

Admittedly, I’d heard of Dayseeker through a friend, I’d not seen them live. I’m a bit skeptical hearing things from others. It isn’t always subjective. This just wasn’t the case here. If you missed their set, you missed some great talent. Vocally, Rory Rodriguez has a great range. He can growl, scream, and carry a broad range of vocals. He can also rock a black suit in Florida. He may have an advantage as the band hails from Orange County California and are no stranger to hot weather.

Asking Alexandria delivered a great set. High energy, and at this point, they had a huge crowd. If you’re familiar to the Central Florida Fairgrounds you can picture the crowd nearly filling the entire footprint of the Amphitheater grounds. It was a wonderful feeling considering how the day started so slowly.

Having reached the equivalent of the “Home Stretch” Seether took the stage to a very happy crowd. They were happy to see Seether for the first time in years and also happy the sun was finally down and the oppressive heat had given way to an absolutely gorgeous evening. As is typical, lighting for the photographers was very low. Lots of fog machine effects. That’s unfortunate because Seether has a great show, and we love to see them. They opened with “Gasoline”, “Fine Again”, “Broken”, Country Song, and my personal favorite “Rise Above This”. There was a tiny miscue, which was only apparent because Dale Stewart began to smile and look over to Shaun Morgan. This prompted Morgan to say “this is only our second show in years, there’s bound to be some F**K ups”. They were tight for the most part. Great show all the way around. Twelve songs total went by like a greatest hits album.

It’s difficult to write much about Staind as, after being there all day, no photographers were given credentials unless they were affiliated with the radio station. Tired, beaten and battered by the heat, not wanting to sit in the large crowd with my equipment, I made my way out. Since I had someone assisting me who was out in the crowd they stayed for a few more songs. Their biggest comment was “It seemed awkward. Long pauses between songs without dialog. Just odd.” Listening by the gate waiting, I noticed it just wasn’t sounding as good as it could have. Everyone is entitled to a bad night. So, I’m hoping it was just one of those situations. I’d like to have another opportunity to give a better review.

For the price Earthday Birthday remains one of the best values out there. Water refill stations are great but having readily available and inexpensive bottled water for those hard core fans who won’t give up their spot near their preferred stage, or can’t make the walk repeatedly would be a good addition.