Saturday morning was a sunny, bright, yet still very windy day as the gates opened and people made their way to Day 2 of Carolina Rebellion. Both metal and rock lovers were all-in with the given lineup of the day, Korn and Def Leppard being the last two bands to perform at the end of the night.
I found myself walking over to Carolina Stage for All That Remains as they opened up their set with “Safe House”. The set list for their entire slot was pretty solid. They got the crowd going – everyone got rowdy by the first song itself, with a lot of crowdsurfing and a whole lot of headbanging and moshing.
Up next was In This Moment. I’ve never seen them live or have ever been into them, but they sure do put on a great show – incorporating amazing theatrics with dancers and costumes. Their songs were very catchy, and they blew me away with all the dancing and acting on stage. As Maria Brink sang, she gave it her all on stage, and I’ve got to say that she is really good at it! To me, the entire set looked like it was telling a story to the crowd.
I took a break to walk around and get a bite to eat after their performance. As the day went on, I got to watch Alter Bridge open up with “Come to Life”; and what a song to start off with! It was a set list of nine belting songs. Chevelle, who have been around since 1995 from the Chicago suburb of Grayslake, gave an amazing performance to a huge crowd. Being from Chicago myself, I can’t help but get excited every time I watch them perform. They have a huge fan following back home. They played some old songs along with the new ones, and closed their set with “Forfeit” from the ‘Wonder What’s Next’ album – a song that was very popular back in 2008 when it came out, and which mostly everyone knows today.
There was then a break for about an hour for Steven and I at this point, and we went all over the place, like the media tent where Steven was interviewed. There were people from all around that traveled so far for this gig – it is amazing how music brings all of us together.
Getting back to the stage – In Flames never disappoint me, and they always crank up the energy levels on stage. They opened with the masterpiece “Deliver Us”, and as soon as Anders Friden started singing, the pit opened up and the aggression got out of control in an awesome way. I liked how some of the band members interacted with me as I photographed them. Niclas Engelin and Bjorn Gelotte were as usual, amazing guitar players.
The day was almost coming to an end, and it was getting dark as I arrived at the Rebellion stage patiently waited for Korn. I got my camera ready as the music started, and drummer Ray Luzier joined the stage along with keyboardist Zac Baird to start off with “Right Now” – one of my all-time favorites. I’ve seen them live so many times and Korn never disappoint! I got to hear a lot of my favorite tracks in the 13-song set list. It was very hard trying to walk and find a good spot to watch them amidst the mayhem, though the crowd sing-along was definitely cool. There were people up on the air the entire time, horns up to the sky as they made it to the front of the stage!
Finally, after waiting, Def Leppard was about to hit the stage – and they had the coolest set-up. I never get tired of watching them. They sound sounds so good live, and have very catchy songs that make you want to sing along with them at all times. Me being a music lover and growing up listening to them along with many other sweet rock bands, it was amazing to see them live. Seventeen songs in, and we and the crowd loved every moment of it.
All in all, Day 2 of the Carolina Rebellion festival was pretty sweet. There were all kinds of people coming together for one thing – music. And well, for alcohol. Aside from rain pouring down on us in the middle, it was a fun time!
